Official Review: The Edge of Darkness by Gabriel Bell

[Firedrake]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Edge of Darkness" by Gabriel Bell.]

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2 out of 4 stars

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Gabriel Bell’s The Edge of Darkness is a book clearly aimed at readers who enjoy high fantasy. It begins with a scene from far back in time, when the world is stripped of its color. The main story follows five-thousand years later in the same world, and features Tumbleweed, a man of the Stelt race, who is a healer and practices magic – including traveling to alternate worlds. During one of these trips, he accidentally brings back Harrison, a teenager from our own world. Recruited by the elves to help against an evil sorcerer known as the Necromancer, the two must follow an ancient prophecy and find a way to defeat the Necromancer.

I rate this book as 2 out of 4 stars. Poor editing and inconsistent paragraphs make it hard to read and even harder to tell who is speaking or acting in any given scene. Despite an intriguing beginning, the story of why the world lacks color has no actual bearing on the plot. In addition, the plot is confusing, and meanders through a number of pointless dramatic scenes (such as several cases where characters are captured and then freed) which do not actually further the story in any way. These scenes are also rendered less dramatic by the fact that they are told quickly rather than shown through character thoughts, emotions, and physical feelings. A certain amount of the plot is also revealed through character dialogue rather than occurring as action sequences, making those parts of the story feel more like they are summarized than shown.

Rampant coincidence and trite plot devices undermine the plot, and keep it from being truly original and compelling. And although the powders Tumbleweed uses to move from world to world are interesting, the lack of a systematic and unique understanding of how magic is performed in this world creates a situation where Tumbleweed seems to always have effective magic to fill every need that comes up. Harrison also seems to use knowledge of real world technology to guess unerringly whenever any sort of technology unfamiliar to the other characters is shown.

At places, the author seemed uncertain whether he was writing a comic or dramatic scene, and the attempts at comedy came out less funny than was likely intended, as they do not seem to fit into the narrative in a way that keeps the tension of the plot but also allows for comic elements. This is especially true for the character of Peter Pencil, who seems to have no function in the story that is not comic.

It is in the last third to the last quarter of the book that the plot becomes completely chaotic, cycling rapidly through events that seem unnecessary to the story and are also overly expository. In addition, new elements are thrown in that are not properly supported earlier in the story, giving the impression that the author is throwing elements in as he thinks of them, rather than properly integrating them into the plot. Tumbleweed and Harrison are suddenly granted near superpowers and almost perfect omniscience, which has the effect of removing almost all the tension in the story, since it is clear that they now know about and can overcome any obstacles with ease. This effect is reinforced by the fact that the story changes from multiple character viewpoints to an omniscient narrative. Science fiction elements are introduced very late in the story, and are never adequately grounded. It seems that the author is trying to reach the ending quickly rather than taking the time necessary to bring the story to a satisfying conclusion. The climax is more than a little anti-climactic, and does nothing to tie in the beginning of the book with its ending.

I did not rate this book as a 1 star because the author has some writing strengths. It is in the small scenes that those strengths come through, especially in his ability to set a descriptive scene filled with the tiny details that make it read in a very real way. Also, many of the characters are well-fleshed out, with individual thoughts, motivations, and weaknesses as well as abilities. However, given the weakening of the story in the last third of the book, and the dropping of any attempt to play to those strengths, I would probably rate it as 1 ¾ stars if ratings could be split.

Overall, I would say the author has some promise, and hope that he can work on the plot issues so that they complement his genuine strengths as a writer.

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The Edge of Darkness
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[Silvermoon]

Nice review. It's a shame he didn't have a better editor!

[braver]

Thanks for the review. I really dislike when an author's magic system is so undefined that a character can just fix anything they come across because all of a sudden their magic can just handle it. With that on top of all the writing issues, I'll be staying away from this one.

[kimmyschemy06]

The promise sounds interesting enough. Too bad, though, about the total execution. Great job on the review.

[Serena [Poetree]]

Great review! It's always disappointing when books aren't well edited before publication.

[L Anthony Skelton]

Interesting review that still leaves me wanting to read this book.