Review by Creating Serenity -- The Elf Brief
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Creating Serenity
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Review by Creating Serenity -- The Elf Brief
[Following is a volunteer review of "The Elf Brief" by Jordan David.]
2 out of 4 stars
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The Elf Brief: Book One of the Magi Charter is a nine part series by Jordan David, about elves and their lives in the North Pole. This was an interesting story. One that took a bit of patience to get through. The plot itself is good but the story is a bit long winded.
Most of the story is held in the North Pole. The main idea is that there are elves and since elves have longer lives than humans, they wind up outlasting each Santa. When Santa has to be replaced, some of the elves are there and have done the job before, and will be there long after the Santa is gone, so they help in the transition. However, no elf actually knows of all Santa's responsibilities and how the full transition takes place.
There are many different Elf departments and none of them quite see what the other departments do. The premise was well done and is very cute! I kept wanting to know how the Santa transition was going to work. There were also some things mentioned that aren't technically plot driven, such as how the sleigh moves and how Santa gets around the world in one evening, that makes this particular story very unique and updated.
There were a few things, however, that got in the way from this being a completely pleasurable reading experience. The hardest for me was the amount of detail that is unnecessary for the heart of the story. For instance, the main elf, Noel, has not seen much of the North Pole complex. He's a good elf and does his job without much questioning. So when he is asked to join Santa in a briefing Noel is taken aback but delighted and a bit scared. On his way throughout the complex he takes some time to admire the complex. He tends to do this a lot.
Multiple times Noel stops at something that has nothing to do with the story. Or seemingly nothing. There is one picture that does have a bit to do with the story, but the description goes on and on about many parts of the complex. For the few areas that do have something to do with the plot, I completely understand an author wanting to fully explain what is happening and the surroundings of the elves, however, the continuation of this throughout the plot kept me from enjoying myself.
Also, there were many misspellings. Sadly, this can also take someone out of a story. Since this is such a special world and the author took so much time to explain it, it is sad that I found so many misspellings. Many were easy words to miss, since instead of sense, and incite instead of insight, etc.
The story did get good when Noel finally gets to meet the new Santa. Also, Noel is a special type of character that questions everything. It makes sense but was not outright said and for this reason not only was Noel confused through most of the story, but so was I. For a new elf to be singled out is extraordinary and there did not seem to be a reason for the old Santa to do it. The reasoning comes around, a bit, but I really had to reach to figure this portion out and put two and two together. Foreshadowing for this part of the plot would have at least given some clues. The new Santa is delightful and full of excitement and brings this excitement to Noel's life.
This was an interesting take on a story we all have heard before and think we know. It was difficult to get through with the misspellings, but the story was cute enough for me to wonder what will happen to Noel next! For this reason I'm giving the rating a two out of four stars, but only due to wanting to put the book down. I was able to stick with the plot and with Noel and I was glad that I did.
Rating: 2 out of 4 stars
******
The Elf Brief
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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2 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
The Elf Brief: Book One of the Magi Charter is a nine part series by Jordan David, about elves and their lives in the North Pole. This was an interesting story. One that took a bit of patience to get through. The plot itself is good but the story is a bit long winded.
Most of the story is held in the North Pole. The main idea is that there are elves and since elves have longer lives than humans, they wind up outlasting each Santa. When Santa has to be replaced, some of the elves are there and have done the job before, and will be there long after the Santa is gone, so they help in the transition. However, no elf actually knows of all Santa's responsibilities and how the full transition takes place.
There are many different Elf departments and none of them quite see what the other departments do. The premise was well done and is very cute! I kept wanting to know how the Santa transition was going to work. There were also some things mentioned that aren't technically plot driven, such as how the sleigh moves and how Santa gets around the world in one evening, that makes this particular story very unique and updated.
There were a few things, however, that got in the way from this being a completely pleasurable reading experience. The hardest for me was the amount of detail that is unnecessary for the heart of the story. For instance, the main elf, Noel, has not seen much of the North Pole complex. He's a good elf and does his job without much questioning. So when he is asked to join Santa in a briefing Noel is taken aback but delighted and a bit scared. On his way throughout the complex he takes some time to admire the complex. He tends to do this a lot.
Multiple times Noel stops at something that has nothing to do with the story. Or seemingly nothing. There is one picture that does have a bit to do with the story, but the description goes on and on about many parts of the complex. For the few areas that do have something to do with the plot, I completely understand an author wanting to fully explain what is happening and the surroundings of the elves, however, the continuation of this throughout the plot kept me from enjoying myself.
Also, there were many misspellings. Sadly, this can also take someone out of a story. Since this is such a special world and the author took so much time to explain it, it is sad that I found so many misspellings. Many were easy words to miss, since instead of sense, and incite instead of insight, etc.
The story did get good when Noel finally gets to meet the new Santa. Also, Noel is a special type of character that questions everything. It makes sense but was not outright said and for this reason not only was Noel confused through most of the story, but so was I. For a new elf to be singled out is extraordinary and there did not seem to be a reason for the old Santa to do it. The reasoning comes around, a bit, but I really had to reach to figure this portion out and put two and two together. Foreshadowing for this part of the plot would have at least given some clues. The new Santa is delightful and full of excitement and brings this excitement to Noel's life.
This was an interesting take on a story we all have heard before and think we know. It was difficult to get through with the misspellings, but the story was cute enough for me to wonder what will happen to Noel next! For this reason I'm giving the rating a two out of four stars, but only due to wanting to put the book down. I was able to stick with the plot and with Noel and I was glad that I did.
Rating: 2 out of 4 stars
******
The Elf Brief
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like Creating Serenity's review? Post a comment saying so!
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