Official Review: Hazard of Shadows by Mike Phillips
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Official Review: Hazard of Shadows by Mike Phillips
[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Hazard of Shadows" by Mike Phillips.]
2 out of 4 stars
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Hazard of Shadows by Mike Phillips is the second novel in the Chronicles of the Goblin King series. Featuring the main character introduced in the first novel, Hazard of Shadows takes the reader on a journey following his exploits, from the trials and tribulations involved in his somewhat tumultuous relationship, to the difficulties he has with reconciling the world he has always known, and the world he has recently stumbled into. Hazard of Shadows has very wide scope, but fits squarely into the Sci-fi/Fantasy genre.
Since the events of the first book, Mitch Hardy, the protagonist, has discovered that too many things have changed for his life to go back to normal. For better or worse, and quite irrespective of his own opinion on the matter, he’s thoroughly involved in a world he is still trying to understand – let alone navigate effectively – and his attempts to make some sort of difference have long-reaching consequences that touch upon every aspect of his life. With the people he cares for in steadily increasing danger, it’s up to Mitch to act – and fast – before it’s too late.
I was disappointed with Hazard of Shadows. At first glance, I thought the premise was intriguing, the setting even better, and the characters full of potential. It looked to be exactly the kind of novel I typically gravitated towards, and I fully expected to enjoy it. In reading it, however, I quickly realised that I had made a mistake. While Hazard of Shadows does have many positive qualities, I found it to be a dull, tedious read, with many aspects that I thoroughly disliked.
That said, the plot was intriguing, featuring many narrative twists, and multiple interconnected strands. It was far from predictable, felt believable in the context of the established setting and characters, and had a distinct, clear structure, with a particularly dramatic climax that brought the various strands together into an admirably cohesive conclusion.
On the other hand, the two settings touched upon in Hazard of Shadows, while reasonably well crafted, showed few differences. Posited as fundamentally disparate worlds inhabited by fundamentally disparate people, they seemed, nonetheless, to be exceedingly similar, with little to distinguish them aside from some dubious magic on one side, and the pervasive influence of technology on the other. Aside from being predictable, this ensured that the once-intriguing crossover of the two settings quickly became much less so.
The characters were particularly disappointing. They lacked depth and variety, with little to commend any of them to my attention. Arguably the only character to be given any kind of substance was the main character, Mitch, but his character development did little more than establish his competence in every single activity he happened to turn his hand to, however varied. His personality and attitude remained consistent for the entirety of the novel, but his inexplicable ability to pick anything and everything up near-instantly ruined it for me.
Additionally, I found the representation of women in the novel to be, at best, nauseating. In the first chapter, a human woman is kidnapped by a fairly nasty contingent of creatures, but it is her rescuers that touch her without permission - and against her explicit wishes. These are characters that are consistently represented as heroic throughout the rest of the novel, and yet they insist on leering at her despite her obvious distress. It is not unreasonable to argue that their behaviour might be considered to be unproblematic by their own standards, but it is never given that justification, and in fact never arises again. It is potentially even inconsistent when considered in comparison to their later behaviour.
Therefore, while there are many positive aspects, I failed to enjoy Hazard of Shadows. I could not enjoy a novel that consistently and unjustifiably represented women in such a gross fashion, that depicted the main character as, essentially, a Mary-Sue, able to pick up anything and everything with little effort, and that failed to capitulate on the benefits offered by the inclusion of two extremely disparate societies. There were far more things for me to complain about than there were for me to enjoy, and while I started the novel with an open mind, prepared to delve into an intriguing fantasy world, I emerged all too quickly, singularly unimpressed, and utterly unable to thoroughly immerse myself into the narrative.
Finally, I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars as it is gifted with an interesting premise, a well structured, equally interesting plot and an admirably tense climax. I could not rate it higher, however, because of the problems mentioned above. Readers of similar novels are likely to enjoy it, as it is an assured fantasy novel with a recognisable structure, provided they do not also find issue with the aforementioned aspects.
******
Hazard of Shadows
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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2 out of 4 stars
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Hazard of Shadows by Mike Phillips is the second novel in the Chronicles of the Goblin King series. Featuring the main character introduced in the first novel, Hazard of Shadows takes the reader on a journey following his exploits, from the trials and tribulations involved in his somewhat tumultuous relationship, to the difficulties he has with reconciling the world he has always known, and the world he has recently stumbled into. Hazard of Shadows has very wide scope, but fits squarely into the Sci-fi/Fantasy genre.
Since the events of the first book, Mitch Hardy, the protagonist, has discovered that too many things have changed for his life to go back to normal. For better or worse, and quite irrespective of his own opinion on the matter, he’s thoroughly involved in a world he is still trying to understand – let alone navigate effectively – and his attempts to make some sort of difference have long-reaching consequences that touch upon every aspect of his life. With the people he cares for in steadily increasing danger, it’s up to Mitch to act – and fast – before it’s too late.
I was disappointed with Hazard of Shadows. At first glance, I thought the premise was intriguing, the setting even better, and the characters full of potential. It looked to be exactly the kind of novel I typically gravitated towards, and I fully expected to enjoy it. In reading it, however, I quickly realised that I had made a mistake. While Hazard of Shadows does have many positive qualities, I found it to be a dull, tedious read, with many aspects that I thoroughly disliked.
That said, the plot was intriguing, featuring many narrative twists, and multiple interconnected strands. It was far from predictable, felt believable in the context of the established setting and characters, and had a distinct, clear structure, with a particularly dramatic climax that brought the various strands together into an admirably cohesive conclusion.
On the other hand, the two settings touched upon in Hazard of Shadows, while reasonably well crafted, showed few differences. Posited as fundamentally disparate worlds inhabited by fundamentally disparate people, they seemed, nonetheless, to be exceedingly similar, with little to distinguish them aside from some dubious magic on one side, and the pervasive influence of technology on the other. Aside from being predictable, this ensured that the once-intriguing crossover of the two settings quickly became much less so.
The characters were particularly disappointing. They lacked depth and variety, with little to commend any of them to my attention. Arguably the only character to be given any kind of substance was the main character, Mitch, but his character development did little more than establish his competence in every single activity he happened to turn his hand to, however varied. His personality and attitude remained consistent for the entirety of the novel, but his inexplicable ability to pick anything and everything up near-instantly ruined it for me.
Additionally, I found the representation of women in the novel to be, at best, nauseating. In the first chapter, a human woman is kidnapped by a fairly nasty contingent of creatures, but it is her rescuers that touch her without permission - and against her explicit wishes. These are characters that are consistently represented as heroic throughout the rest of the novel, and yet they insist on leering at her despite her obvious distress. It is not unreasonable to argue that their behaviour might be considered to be unproblematic by their own standards, but it is never given that justification, and in fact never arises again. It is potentially even inconsistent when considered in comparison to their later behaviour.
Therefore, while there are many positive aspects, I failed to enjoy Hazard of Shadows. I could not enjoy a novel that consistently and unjustifiably represented women in such a gross fashion, that depicted the main character as, essentially, a Mary-Sue, able to pick up anything and everything with little effort, and that failed to capitulate on the benefits offered by the inclusion of two extremely disparate societies. There were far more things for me to complain about than there were for me to enjoy, and while I started the novel with an open mind, prepared to delve into an intriguing fantasy world, I emerged all too quickly, singularly unimpressed, and utterly unable to thoroughly immerse myself into the narrative.
Finally, I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars as it is gifted with an interesting premise, a well structured, equally interesting plot and an admirably tense climax. I could not rate it higher, however, because of the problems mentioned above. Readers of similar novels are likely to enjoy it, as it is an assured fantasy novel with a recognisable structure, provided they do not also find issue with the aforementioned aspects.
******
Hazard of Shadows
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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