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Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Book Review - The Relms Thereunder - Ross Lawhead

The Realms Thereunder
Title:  The Realms Thereunder


Review:  This is a long book that could have been shorter and still told the story had the author done less descriptions.  I found his descriptions to be distracting from the actual telling of the story.  The characters were interesting and varied and the story was good, but the flow was interrupted constantly by descriptors.  I didn’t really care how everything looked and what color the walls were as much as I cared if Daniel and Freya were going to make it out of the tunnels and back to the safety of home.

I realize that fantasy is full of strange names, places and events and that I expected.  I enjoyed the story, but found the way it switched from past to present and between reality and fantasy a bit difficult to follow at times.  This is the first in a series and so the ending is not the ending.

This author weaves a world below our own that is interesting and multi-faceted.  Good and evil fight for a foot hold in that world so they can take over ours.  I think that I enjoyed the story more when I would skip the large amount of description and pick up on the story and the character interactions.  This book is a good one, I just would prefer less filler and more guts.  4 stars for the story, 2 stars for the descriptions so a 3 star review total.

Publisher: Published September 6th 2011 by Nelson, Thomas, Inc.

ISBN: 9781595549099

Copyright: 2011

Pages: 400

Quick Review: 3 stars (out of 5)

Why I Read It:  I picked it out on Booksneeze thinking it looked interesting.

Where I Obtained the Book: Sent by the publisher for review.

Synopsis: Uncover a land that has been hidden for over a thousand years.

Beneath the land of Britain, a great army is sleeping. On a visit to an old church, Daniel Tully and Freya Reynolds awaken two ancient knights from a centuries-old slumber. They are kidnapped and taken to an underground city that stands in peril, besieged in all directions by a vicious warhost. Nidergeard is the only thing protecting the upper world's blissful ignorance of mythical forces that have been held at bay since the creation of the world. In order to return home, Daniel and Freya must strike at the heart of the opposer's power.

Fast forward eight years. Daniel, now homeless, still wages what he believes to be a righteous war against those he judges to be evil. Freya has tried to put the past behind her and concentrate on getting an education, a job, and a life. When they reconnect in Oxford, unseen forces begin to ally against them. Daniel is pulled through a portal and into another world. Freya is abducted by someone-some thing-posing as her professor and drugged to keep her in a delusional state. After they finally break free, neither can deny the truth . . . they must return to Nidergeard and resume the battle.

With a thrilling narrative that draws heavily upon British mythology, The Realms Thereunder will quickly establish Ross Lawhead as a major new voice in fantasy.
 
Author Biography:  Ross Lawhead studied screenplay writing for film and television at Bournemouth University in England. He is the co-writer and penciler on the !HERO comic books and graphic novel. Ross lives in Oxford, England.

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