C. R. Daems

I rather liked 'Talon of the unnamed Goddess'. It has the type of story I like, about a woman in a men's world (that of a Talon: a bodyguard and warrior). Clearly she’s at a disadvantage, but she also has two advantages: she thinks things through more than her fellow warriors (and her enemies), and she gets chosen by the unnamed goddess. Using those characteristics allows her to protect her charge when her kingdom is taken over by her neighbour. This book is an easy read and definitely has potential.

On a more critical note, the book doesn’t entirely follow through on its potential. The characters are a bit flat. Aisha’s main characteristic is that she wants to be a Talon. Apparently this is because her family got murdered when she was younger and she wanted to take revenge. However, this revenge is not forthcoming. She never even speaks of it. Also, she doesn’t even blink the first time she kills someone, which seems rather unrealistic, and she hardly shows any emotion when fellow Talons are killed. In the end, all we know about Aisha is that she wants to be a Talon and that she comes to like her charge. Which is a pity, since she is clearly an unusual woman, given the fact that she has chosen the Talon life.
All in all, the book could have used more depth for its characters and more background, for instance on what happened during Aisha’s training. The book has potential, but the writer could have done more with it.… (mehr)