Shadowmancer

Rating:
Summary: My way of thinking
Review: This is one of the very few books that I have ever willingly read. Why? Perhaps because of the way I think. When I read books, I make them more exciting by picturing each character as someone from a show or a movie. That is not all that makes this a good book to me. To any christain (like me), this would be a good book. Otherwise, it will appeal to the fantasy lovers, and maybe a few others. It's one of thoses books where you will never know until you read it.

Rating:
Summary: Can't get into it
Review: I got this book because it was so highly recommended. I am very disappointed. Three times I've tried to read it, but I can' get past the fifth chapter. It seems choppy and, quite honestly, boring. I'm very disappointed. I think I'll go back to Karen Hancock and reread Arena.

Rating:
Summary: Exciting, Unique and Moving
Review: First I have to say that this book CANNOT be compared to Harry Potter. I'm getting a little frustrated with every fantasy book released being compared to the Potter series. Don't get me wrong, I love Harry Potter, but it can't be considered a standard or criteria or model for fantasy literature. "Shadowmancer" is a very unique and fascinating story, full of great moral lessons and inspirational words and ideas. I'm not saying it's the best fantasy I've ever read, I'm not saying it's a literary masterwork, but I think that anyone who enjoys magic, mystery, adventure, suspense and classic "good vs. evil" will thoroughly enjoy this story, as I have.


Rating:
Summary: not recomended
Review: Another Harry Potter? Not even close. A Christian substitute for the young wizard? Much closer, but still inadequate. So where does "Shadowmancer" go wrong? Why all the bad reviews?

Drawn in by the marketing, I read this book with my daughters. We did find it to be in line with Biblical teachings, but we found little else to become attached to. We dragged through it. My girls had to be convinced to sit down for "reading time." (Already they're begging for more of "Peter and the Starcatchers.") I was struck by the use of repetitive phrases--"over and over," "faster and faster," "round and round." I was annoyed by the switches between point of view. Mostly, I just wanted some good reasons to care about the characters and believe the story was building toward something worthwhile. Instead, it meandered around toward a conclusion that had nothing to do with the characters' development and everything to do with angelic beings showing up at the necessary moments.

If you want an alternative to Harry Potter, this qualifies. But it doesn't qualify as great writing, gifted plotting, or entertaining storytelling. We'll be skipping book two.

Rating:
Summary: I've Read Better
Review: It's obvious that this is Mr. Taylor's first published novel. I really wanted to love this book but it was hard to do so. I kept hearing how this was "the next Harry Potter," and with a few key changes, Mr. Taylor could produce a wonderful novel. Unfortunately, this one just didn't meet my expectations.

The characters were dry and predictable, and I had little to no attachment to them. I honestly didn't really care what happened to them. I will admit that there were a couple characters that were exciting, but the main characters were not.

The ending was just plain bad. I don't want to give anything away, but it was reminiscent of sitting around a campfire singing songs. Both the good guys and bad guys, poised for an epic battle, decide to put down their weapons and walk outside for a nice moonlight stroll.

The biggest problem I had with this novel though, is the way that the suspense was built up but consistently let me down. It seemed like each chapter was a mini-book. Suspense would be built up within the chapter, and subsequently resolved. There were no loose ends left from one chapter to another, which greatly annoyed me. I expect a book to leave me hanging at the end of a chapter, forcing me to read onward. However, each of Mr. Taylor's chapters seemed to reach a conclusion and I had no qualms with putting down the book until later. It didn't make me want to keep reading.

Overall, if you want an easy-to-read fantasy novel, this book will give you something to do. I would recommend checking it out from the library, but I wouldn't spend the money on a hardback edition. It was good, but not great.