Today I am taking part in the absolutely massive ultimate Ben Galley BlogTour. I am featuring The Written by Ben Galley, which is the first book in the Emaneska series. My fellow bloggers are featuring Bloodrush, Chasing Graves, The Heart of Stone and The Written.
Ben Galley is an author of dark and epic fantasy books who currently hails from Victoria, Canada. Since publishing his debut The Written in 2010, Ben has released a range of award-winning fantasy novels, including the weird western Bloodrush and the epic standalone The Heart of Stone. He is also the author of the brand new Chasing Graves Trilogy.
Buy The Written
About the book
His name is Farden.
They whisper that he’s dangerous.
Dangerous is only the half of it.
Something has gone missing from the libraries of Arfell. Something very old, and something very powerful. Five scholars are now dead, a country is once again on the brink of war, and the magick council is running out of time and options.
Entangled in a web of lies and politics and dragged halfway across icy Emaneska and back, Farden must unearth a secret even he doesn’t want to know, a secret that will shake the foundations of his world. Dragons, drugs, magick, death, and the deepest of betrayals await.
Welcome to Emaneska.
This is an ambitious high fantasy with elements of urban fantasy. A story of magick, mages, dragons and enchanted books, with the mage Farden in the midst of everything.
I think Farden has a reputation to uphold, albeit one the author wants him to have. He doesn't quite pull off the whole tough as old boot nails and ruthless mage image though. Sometimes, ok he often seems to dither just behind events, never quite there when the action goes off. Then there is the soft spot he has for a certain someone. Yeh, not such a tough guy after all.
It's important to keep in mind that this is nearly a decade old debut novel. Hiccups are quite common for debut novels and authors. What's important in the long run is whether the author has honed their craft as they write more books and whether they take care of the initial hiccups. The only way to know that is to read a more recent book.
Saying that, the creative ideas are there and the world-building is on its way. The characters need more depth, it needs to be less disjointed and a good edit is essential. Scenes should have some purpose, as opposed to superfluous ones that take the reader up the garden path and then leave them wondering what the heck they came up the path for.
It's the first book in an intricate fantasy series. Hopefully the entirety of the premise and series evolves. Clearly the author is a high fantasy and urban fantasy fan, now he just has to ensure that the worlds in his head end up on paper.
Kudos for the drugs storyline Not necessarily something you see in this genre.
Buy The Written ( Emaneska Series Book One) at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Buy at Amazon com.
Buy Chasing Graves at Amazon Uk - Amazon com
Buy Bloodrush at Amazon UK - Amazon com
Buy The Heart of Stone at Amazon Uk - Amazon com
No comments:
Post a Comment