The Wayfinder's Apprentice by K. Dezendorf - A fantasy journey into another world with rich characters, descriptions, and story - 4.5/5!

Today, I am reviewing the Portal Fantasy novel The Wayfinder's Apprentice by K. Dezendorf. This book features Rose, a young woman who lives in an abusive household but once found her way into a magical realm known as the Umbra. With that secret held tight in her heart, she waits for the chance to return, cultivating a friendship (and romance) with some denizens of that realm who have found their way here to our world. A chance encounter upends her destiny...but is she ready for it?

I give this book a 4.5/5. Here is my breakdown.

Characters: 5/5. This is the biggest strength of this novel and one I greatly appreciated. Every character, from Rose to Macklass to Edward to Kyan, feels real and alive on the page. Dezendorf crafts her characters well, and they are people, with flaws and fallacious beliefs and agendas that make sense. Each interaction feels personal and genuine, and I loved watching Rose grow throughout the book.

Also: #teamedward, but Bal has piqued my interest :) 

Plot/Storyline: 4/5. The plot in this story is a setup for the full series, but serves more than that purpose. We establish quickly that Rose is special, with her poltergeist friend and relationship to some Earthbound elves, and we move to a bigger and grander realm-wide war very quickly. I found myself able to predict some plot points - which signifies only a good use of the Chekov's Gun principle - but I was engaged by the story the entire time and enjoyed it immensely.

Flow: 5/5. I feel like Dezendorf paced her story very well. It certainly has a classic three-act structure, and the amount of time spent with each character, on each scene, always feels just right. I applaud her mastery of this skill as it makes writing much more entertaining when the flow works well.

Spelling/Grammar: 4/5. I noted three minor errors. Nothing of consequence. Sentence construction was skilled and readable.

Overall: 4.5/5. Dezendorf has crafted a unique, entertaining, and deep fantasy world with compelling characters that I want to see succeed. The ones you hate and the ones you love are both nuanced, and it's so much fun to watch them play off of one another. I eagerly await the next entry in the series and I suggest that you pick it up yourself!

If you liked my review, check out my books over at my main site: www.jasonpatrickcrawford.com/bookstore.html

Thanks as always, and keep reading!

One in the Same: Journey from Mortal to Sorcerer by Douglas Breeden: A Great Idea Hampered by Its Execution

Today, I am reviewing the Urban Fantasy novel One in the Same: Journey from Mortal to Sorcerer by Douglas Breeden. This book features a pair of autistic protagonists as the younger discovers he was born to be a Sorcerer Prince, also known as those who are One In the Same, a direct servant of God.

I give this book a 2/5. Here is my breakdown.

Characters: 1.5/5. At the beginning, the very beginning, I was interested in the main character Michael because he is autistic - specifically, he has Asperger's Syndrome - which is also true of my oldest son. For a short time, the internal monologues and perceptions of the character were interesting to me from that lens.

Then it all went downhill.

There are no female characters of consequence, except perhaps Satan. Every single female with the exception of mother figures are referenced immediately by their level of attractiveness. Waaaaay too many jokes are made about the protagonist's status as a virgin, and waaaaaay too many offers to relieve him of that same status. The mentor was not interesting - I could scarcely tell the difference between him and the younger, teenage protagonist. I simply was not invested in any of them, even by the end of the book. 

Plot/Storyline: 3/5. At its core, the story is not bad. I don't have anything against the Chosen One trope, or against religious-based fiction (my own uses religious mythologies heavily). The plot itself is serviceable if not unique. 

Flow: 0/5. Oh my dear. This is where the book falls apart. Far too much time spent on the mentor figure's childhood traumas as the result of him being autistic in an age where that wasn't understood. I know this is true, I know it was awful (and still is!), but I don't want to spend that many pages on it. Too much time diving into historical references that I didn't care about. Not enough time spent on exciting scenes, like the revelation of Michael's status as a sorcerer, or his conquering of his fears. One paragraph, done. The flow made no sense and kept me from deriving virtually any enjoyment from the book.

Spelling/Grammar: 3/5. There were some punctuation errors, mostly quotations, that I noted scattered throughout the book. It wasn't awful, wasn't too distracting, but I did notice.

Overall: 2/5. Breeden made an honest effort with this book but the execution is deeply flawed. I simply was not interested in most of what he wrote down as I went through the novel, and that feeling only got stronger as I continued. I hope that he will revisit the work, maybe read On Writing (as I recommend all fiction authors do!) and keep trying!

If you liked my review, check out my books over at my main site: www.jasonpatrickcrawford.com/bookstore.html

Thanks as always, and keep reading!