B. Stadelmann

I rate this novel 3.5 out of 5 stars. There's a lot to like, but also a few things that didn't work well for me.

Pros: Stadelmann has a strong narrative voice. His vocabulary is vast, and he describes his world in minute detail. (Maybe too minutely, but we'll get to that later.) You can feel the heat ravage the characters as they trek across the desert, you can feel the peace and warmheartedness of the villages and the sanctuary, you wince as swords slash and arrows pierce flesh during the battles. He's clearly pondered each setting carefully.

The conflict between “real religion” and “paganism” is intriguing, if a bit predictable. Nathaniel Grey, our protagonist, straddles the line between these two extremes, and his formerly solid beliefs alter as he becomes immersed in the world outside his once-cherished city. Religion is a nettlesome subject to tackle, but Stadelmann confronts it deftly.

The various tribes that appear during the story are described so sympathetically and richly that I wanted to jump into the novel and join them.

There's a lot of tension, especially during the last third of the novel, as the “purifiers” approach to wreak havoc in God's name. The battle itself is realistically horrific, as are various fights throughout the novel.

Cons: For all his narrative strength, Stadelmann's dialogue is weak at times. A lot of the conversations just go around in circles, with nothing much being revealed and characters just repeating what they've previously said.

And another point about narrative: as mentioned above, Stadelmann sometimes gets too focused on describing a particular setting. It seems he doesn't want us to miss any part of his world. If he pulled back some, and focused on the important elements so the story moved along at a faster clip, his novels would be impossible to put down.

The characterization also had me scratching my head at times. Nathaniel despises the heathens at first – then he thinks they're beautiful and compassionate – but he still thinks they're going to hell – and he wants to save them and stop his own people from eradicating them – but he still thinks much of their belief system is hokum, even though countless things have happened during the novel confirming that there is much more to the aether than he knows. I understand that he's wrestling with his beliefs and his conscience, but there's a little too much contradiction and obstinacy.

Annyka is another head-scratcher. On one page, she's a mysterious, entrancing witch. On the next, a spunky girl with a sharp tongue. It was confusing.

Some of the scenes between Nathaniel and Ashidi were savage, and not in a good way – or a logical way, when you consider the characters and what happens before and after these incidents. In fact, I didn't like that Nate was basically a punching bag throughout the whole novel. I like my protagonists to get in a few licks instead of just getting drubbed over and over.

In sum: This novel does a good job setting the stage for what will surely be an even more epic book two. If Stadelmann sharpens up a few things, it'll be a blast. He has all the pure writing ability he needs; it's the storytelling choices and the pacing that I found lacking. This is his first novel, so he has plenty more opportunities to knock 'em out of the park!… (mehr)