Official Review: The Vathiriel Blade
Posted: 18 Mar 2016, 18:47
[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Vathiriel Blade" by Mark David Brantingham.]
3 out of 4 stars
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In a town filled with corruption can one man make a difference? Mark Brantingham’s fantasy novel, The Vathiriel Blade, takes the reader on an expansive adventure with strong political elements. Heroic Sean Fitzpatrick, is a battle tested solider selected to be with King Dwyer (the tyrant) during the final moments of peace before King Keodan and his army attack. Sean is on the losing side of the battle, but is spared by King Keodan who mounts him onto a griffon that takes him away to a small town named Skoagy. Sean is known from then on by many names: the drifter, the solider, and the slayer. He reluctantly gets involved in the lives of Skoagy’s people and tries to free them from the corruption and oppression under Sheriff Phireol (Fear) Cook. Of course, no heroic quest can be complete without a hunt for a dragon and a fight with humanoid creatures.
Brantingham is a talented writer with an outstanding ability to describe scenes using all five senses. He paints a vivid picture using perfectly constructed moments. For example, a simple scene in the forest is illuminated beautifully: “By the time he reached the river, there was a tinge of color on the eastern horizon and a riot of bird-chatter rising from the tips of the trees on the opposite bank.” His dialogue feels authentic to the characters and situations. Some of the most profound writing is in conversations between characters. An insightful quote from one conversation is: “Life is the decisions you make every single day.” The world building is outstanding and is revealed organically throughout the story. The world is fictional but closely resembles our world during the Medieval Period. There is a pagan like religion, politics, magic, and law. Each chapter is named, which helps the story flow, and informs the reader about what to expect.
The book starts out with a cast of characters in King Dwyer’s castle and spends a good deal of time familiarizing the reader with them. All of this is discarded, which leaves the reader forced to learn a whole new set of characters, with the exception of Sean Fitzpatrick. While most of the characters are fully realized, there are some that remain unevenly developed. Mainly, this is due to the large ensemble of characters and a lack of space within the story to see their characters evolve.
There is a lack of differentiation between side characters and main characters, each is given the same amount of time in the book. This makes it hard to keep track of who is important and necessary to the story; unless reader is paying very close attention or taking notes, it is difficult to remember who a character is. It may have been easier if the characters names included their titles. For example, saying Grendy the pig farmer instead of relying on the reader to recall Grendy is a pig farmer.
The cluttered story telling is distracting and takes away from some of the more essential moments. For example, The Vathiriel Blade is brought up in the very beginning and then not mentioned again until more than half way through the book. If the blade is important enough to be the title of the novel, it needs to appear in the story more often.
I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. The writing is excellent, contains wonderful insights into humanity, and the world building is fantastic. Unfortunately, there were too many characters, quests, and a general lack of focus that decreased the books overall quality and likeability. The book needs to be edited to remove unnecessary story lines and put more of a focus on the main characters. Warning to sensitive readers: there is graphic imagery and curse words used. I recommend this book to lovers of quest driven fantasy novels.
******
The Vathiriel Blade
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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3 out of 4 stars
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In a town filled with corruption can one man make a difference? Mark Brantingham’s fantasy novel, The Vathiriel Blade, takes the reader on an expansive adventure with strong political elements. Heroic Sean Fitzpatrick, is a battle tested solider selected to be with King Dwyer (the tyrant) during the final moments of peace before King Keodan and his army attack. Sean is on the losing side of the battle, but is spared by King Keodan who mounts him onto a griffon that takes him away to a small town named Skoagy. Sean is known from then on by many names: the drifter, the solider, and the slayer. He reluctantly gets involved in the lives of Skoagy’s people and tries to free them from the corruption and oppression under Sheriff Phireol (Fear) Cook. Of course, no heroic quest can be complete without a hunt for a dragon and a fight with humanoid creatures.
Brantingham is a talented writer with an outstanding ability to describe scenes using all five senses. He paints a vivid picture using perfectly constructed moments. For example, a simple scene in the forest is illuminated beautifully: “By the time he reached the river, there was a tinge of color on the eastern horizon and a riot of bird-chatter rising from the tips of the trees on the opposite bank.” His dialogue feels authentic to the characters and situations. Some of the most profound writing is in conversations between characters. An insightful quote from one conversation is: “Life is the decisions you make every single day.” The world building is outstanding and is revealed organically throughout the story. The world is fictional but closely resembles our world during the Medieval Period. There is a pagan like religion, politics, magic, and law. Each chapter is named, which helps the story flow, and informs the reader about what to expect.
The book starts out with a cast of characters in King Dwyer’s castle and spends a good deal of time familiarizing the reader with them. All of this is discarded, which leaves the reader forced to learn a whole new set of characters, with the exception of Sean Fitzpatrick. While most of the characters are fully realized, there are some that remain unevenly developed. Mainly, this is due to the large ensemble of characters and a lack of space within the story to see their characters evolve.
There is a lack of differentiation between side characters and main characters, each is given the same amount of time in the book. This makes it hard to keep track of who is important and necessary to the story; unless reader is paying very close attention or taking notes, it is difficult to remember who a character is. It may have been easier if the characters names included their titles. For example, saying Grendy the pig farmer instead of relying on the reader to recall Grendy is a pig farmer.
The cluttered story telling is distracting and takes away from some of the more essential moments. For example, The Vathiriel Blade is brought up in the very beginning and then not mentioned again until more than half way through the book. If the blade is important enough to be the title of the novel, it needs to appear in the story more often.
I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. The writing is excellent, contains wonderful insights into humanity, and the world building is fantastic. Unfortunately, there were too many characters, quests, and a general lack of focus that decreased the books overall quality and likeability. The book needs to be edited to remove unnecessary story lines and put more of a focus on the main characters. Warning to sensitive readers: there is graphic imagery and curse words used. I recommend this book to lovers of quest driven fantasy novels.
******
The Vathiriel Blade
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like bluemel4's review? Post a comment saying so!
