Review by Ariel Lynn -- The Sparrow by Denna M. Davis
Posted: 25 Mar 2019, 16:54
[Following is a volunteer review of "The Sparrow" by Denna M. Davis.]
4 out of 4 stars
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Amanda was expecting a boring month at her grandparents' house in Minnesota. Her expectations of boring quickly disappear when her grandmother, Rose, hands Amanda a letter, instructing her to read it and follow her down a hidden staircase.
After descending the stairs, Amanda exits a portal and is greeted by an impossible sight. The land around her appears normal, but two moons are floating along the horizon. After wandering around for hours, she stumbles across a sterling silver, winged young man named Solomon. She learns that she is on Emaji and that she is Ha'Ankor, the Sparrow. What he leaves out, however, is that the Sparrow is prophesied to receive amazing, unknown powers from Ema, their god, and to use those powers to defeat Zorn, a tyrant among the people. She is also to be Solomon's future wife.
Amanda finally finds her grandmother with Solomon's help and eventually learns of the prophecy. She must learn about the different Kishu, magic, the Emajian possess and then take her Journey of Discovery to meet with Ema, receive her powers, and prove to the people and the Diyen that she is indeed the Sparrow. No one predicted, however, that Zorn would have heard of her arrival and sent someone to destroy her before her journey even begins.
The Sparrow is one of those amazing examples of fantasy fiction where the author creates such a diverse and complex universe that the reader is drawn in without even realizing it happened. Denna M. Davis's writing is so descriptive and was truly a pleasure to read. Even written in the third person, the viewpoint narrative voice changes to match each character we follow throughout this story.
One of my favorite parts of The Sparrow was how beautifully Emajian skin is described. Each person is different, their colors and patterns as unique as a fingerprint. Snowy white, yellowish-orange, teal, sapphire blue, and forest green are just a small fraction of the full spectrum rainbow decorating Emajian skin. For those with wings, they are also different from person to person. I also loved the animals inhabiting Emaji. My favorites were the mobiat, a cross between a polar bear and rhinoceros and the bardalas, a large, black jungle cat with purple stripes.
There was nothing I disliked about this book. Seeing Amanda grow into the Sparrow was a delight and while the story mainly focuses on her, character development was strong for everyone as they faced the challenges of their circumstances.
There were very few grammatical errors in The Sparrow. Taking that into account, along with how descriptive Denna M. Davis was with Emaji, and how wonderfully the various characters and relationships are written, I am giving The Sparrow 4 out of 4 stars. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys fantasy stories and is ready to absorb a whole new world. It is a lot to take in, but there is a glossary at the end of the book to help. There is also a bit of violence in this story, so it may be better suited to an older audience.
******
The Sparrow
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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4 out of 4 stars
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Amanda was expecting a boring month at her grandparents' house in Minnesota. Her expectations of boring quickly disappear when her grandmother, Rose, hands Amanda a letter, instructing her to read it and follow her down a hidden staircase.
After descending the stairs, Amanda exits a portal and is greeted by an impossible sight. The land around her appears normal, but two moons are floating along the horizon. After wandering around for hours, she stumbles across a sterling silver, winged young man named Solomon. She learns that she is on Emaji and that she is Ha'Ankor, the Sparrow. What he leaves out, however, is that the Sparrow is prophesied to receive amazing, unknown powers from Ema, their god, and to use those powers to defeat Zorn, a tyrant among the people. She is also to be Solomon's future wife.
Amanda finally finds her grandmother with Solomon's help and eventually learns of the prophecy. She must learn about the different Kishu, magic, the Emajian possess and then take her Journey of Discovery to meet with Ema, receive her powers, and prove to the people and the Diyen that she is indeed the Sparrow. No one predicted, however, that Zorn would have heard of her arrival and sent someone to destroy her before her journey even begins.
The Sparrow is one of those amazing examples of fantasy fiction where the author creates such a diverse and complex universe that the reader is drawn in without even realizing it happened. Denna M. Davis's writing is so descriptive and was truly a pleasure to read. Even written in the third person, the viewpoint narrative voice changes to match each character we follow throughout this story.
One of my favorite parts of The Sparrow was how beautifully Emajian skin is described. Each person is different, their colors and patterns as unique as a fingerprint. Snowy white, yellowish-orange, teal, sapphire blue, and forest green are just a small fraction of the full spectrum rainbow decorating Emajian skin. For those with wings, they are also different from person to person. I also loved the animals inhabiting Emaji. My favorites were the mobiat, a cross between a polar bear and rhinoceros and the bardalas, a large, black jungle cat with purple stripes.
There was nothing I disliked about this book. Seeing Amanda grow into the Sparrow was a delight and while the story mainly focuses on her, character development was strong for everyone as they faced the challenges of their circumstances.
There were very few grammatical errors in The Sparrow. Taking that into account, along with how descriptive Denna M. Davis was with Emaji, and how wonderfully the various characters and relationships are written, I am giving The Sparrow 4 out of 4 stars. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys fantasy stories and is ready to absorb a whole new world. It is a lot to take in, but there is a glossary at the end of the book to help. There is also a bit of violence in this story, so it may be better suited to an older audience.
******
The Sparrow
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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