Thursday, October 20, 2011

Review of Drops From the Kingdom: The Silver Arrow (Volume 1)

Drops From the Kingdom: The Silver Arrow (Volume 1)
By: Larry Itejere


Amazon Kindle
Amazon Paperback





Summary from Amazon:
As men gather in a final battle that will determine the fate of mankind in a land torn by war, Isaac looks back on the events that led to this pivotal point as he makes his way with an army of men to the Abyss of Rorrah to fight a being with the power of a god.
Born with a gift, unique to a few, known as Anamerians. Isaac learns that he was a counterpoint on events that affected humanity before it happens.
Trained by a patron named Gabram, he is given charge of an elite group of warriors known as Acklans and sent to find three youths that were their hope of stopping an impending war that if not stopped could end in the annihilation of humanity.
In his quest, Isaac finds himself in a small town where everyone was killed by creatures that appear and disappear without a trace. He finds an only survivor in one of these mysterious attack, a young man named Samuel who managed to escape and soon they both discovered how tied their fates are to the oncoming battle.



My Review:
Iseac and Samuel are two boys who who don't plan on doing more than being just boys, however destiny has other plans.  Iseac is his generation's Anamerian.  His task is to find three people who will will help determine the out come of a great war with the Gaid'dum.  Once the Gaid'dum was simply a curious boy like Iseac and Samuel, but after touching one of the sacred scrolls, he has become something of great evil.  Looking only to conquer the kingdoms and take control of the rest of the sacred scrolls.  Samuel is quietly enjoying his own life, when his town in attacked.  His entire family is either slaughtered or captured by the Gaid'dum's army.  While trying to find a way to save his mother and remaining brother his path crosses Iseac's and his life's course is altered forever.   


I'm caught in the middle on this book.  On one hand I love the story.  Itejere's world he has created, with it's different kingdoms and various people, is very intriguing. His characters seemed solid in how they were written and didn't jump all over the place. In fact I really enjoyed the story and how he brought Iseac and Samuel's separate stories together.  In fact there were some unexpected but interesting twists along the way. I would definitely be interested in reading the next book in the series and finding out what else happens to Iseac and Samuel, and who survives the war. 
Itejere was also very descriptive, and here is where the other hand comes into play.  Sometimes he was too descriptive.  It wasn't just that he went into detail, but sometime he would repeat things while describing a character, or in a scene, that he really didn't need to repeat.  I would find myself pulling back from the story and losing interest because of this.  I would say that maybe this is his writing style, but he didn't do it all the time.  There were some sections of the book that flowed quite smoothly and I found myself getting lost in.   
Other than that I think this is a good first effort for this series and it has a lot  of potential.  I would also recommend it if you have a male teenager you are looking to find a book for in regards to the up coming holidays.While there is an underlying romance between Iseac and Elena, it isn't mushy and the story centers more on the war between the kingdoms and how Iseac and Samuel became involved in it. If you are looking for a new fantasy series to get into and you are not a teenage boy, I would also recommend it. As I said before, I personally would be interested in reading the next book in the series. Despite some of the issues I had with the writing style in various parts of the book, I did find myself being drawn into the world the author created and I would definitely like to learn more about it.   






*****In compliance with FTC guidelines, I'm disclosing that I received this book for free through GoodReads First Reads. ****
(I recommend everybody should go check out all the awesome first read giveaways they have!)


2 comments:

  1. I know a YOUNG reader. I wonder if he'd be too young for it? Hm... I think he's almost MG level. He might enjoy it!

    ReplyDelete
  2. About how old? For example I don't think the 9 year old I know would be interested in it. but maybe the 13 year old might be if he were more interested in fantasy, instead of football.

    ReplyDelete