Review of Chimeras of Estmer
Posted: 18 Aug 2024, 08:28
The book Chimeras of Estmer, written by Heather Marsh, is undoubtedly a great epic fantasy. It is obviously presented with all the advantages that this interesting genre has to offer. However, this novel has none of the characteristic flaws of epic fantasy.
The imaginary world in which the story is set is excellently described. The geography and politics of the Kingdom of Estmer, where the main action takes place, and the neighbouring states are covered in great detail. In many chapters there are excursions into the ancient history of these countries, which add a certain multi-dimensionality and depth to the fictional world created by the author's imagination. As a result, this novel helps readers to immerse themselves in the fictional world and forget all the problems of real life for a while, as a good fantasy book should do.
Like other books in this genre, Chimeras of Estmer is populated by many characters. Several plots intertwine like strands of hair in a woman's braid. One of them concerns the journey of Tessa and Smokey, a young man turned into a cat who is trying to regain his human appearance and punish the murderer of his teacher. Another character, Prince Roderick, embarks on a military campaign to subdue a lord whose sinister image was clearly inspired by Bluebeard and Dr Frankenstein. Meanwhile, Roderick's sister Tristana and his friend Kemlilin investigate previous attempts on the prince's life, while the villain behind them hatches ever more devious plots and tries to bring them to fruition with the help of an extremely strange assistant.
In addition, almost all the characters are well developed by the author. Moreover, their personalities change over the course of the book, just like the personalities of real people. Tessa, who is shy and timid at first, develops a certain backbone. If at the beginning of the book she was afraid to stand up to her foster mother, in the final chapters she will argue with the prince when she feels it is necessary. As for the other characters, they change not only psychologically but also physically. However, it would be a blatant spoiler to describe the extraordinary transformations they undergo.
In general, Chimeras of Estmer is a classic epic fantasy, with court intrigue, military campaigns, magic and even the salvation of a significant part of the world, if not the whole world. But at the same time, Heather Marsh has managed to pack so much adventure into one book that other authors of the same genre would probably need at least a trilogy.
And yet this circumstance has no effect on the author's great writing style. Chimeras of Estmer is by no means a dry account of the crazy adventures of numerous characters. The novel vividly describes cities with busy streets and primeval forests, bloody battles with monstrous chimeras, the embroidered dresses of beautiful maidens and much more.
Besides, this book is a real page-turner. Usually the action in epic fantasy is very slow. But Chimeras of Estmer is different. The structure of the novel, with its interwoven storylines, often allows the author to stop telling the story of Tessa and Smokey's wanderings at the end of one chapter and immediately move on to Roderick's military campaign or Tristana's investigation in the next. Sometimes the author leaves one of the characters in an extremely precarious position, only to return to the other's story as if nothing had happened. When the reader gets the answer to one mystery, several new ones immediately take its place.
There is also a lot of humour in this literary work. Of course, Chimeras of Estmer cannot be fully classified as a comic book. But this novel is spiced with a certain amount of irony, with which the author presents the adventures of the main protagonists, who often find themselves in very funny as well as dangerous situations.
The book is passably edited and a few minor typos should not prevent readers from enjoying this literary work. Therefore, I give this novel 4 out of 4 stars.
Chimeras of Estmer can be recommended to all lovers of the fantasy genre. Perhaps mystery fans will also be interested in this book, as the main plot revolves around the search for the murderer of Smokey's teacher and Tristana's attempts to find out who wants to kill her brother and why.
Although Chimeras of Estmer does contain some violence and fighting, the author usually describes such events without focusing too much on gruesome details that could easily shock the reader. The only minor exception are the eerie scenes in Lord Siwald's castle, where he creates his chimeras by combining animals, humans and even pieces of household utensils. For this reason, the book is probably suitable for teenagers as well as adults.
The imaginary world in which the story is set is excellently described. The geography and politics of the Kingdom of Estmer, where the main action takes place, and the neighbouring states are covered in great detail. In many chapters there are excursions into the ancient history of these countries, which add a certain multi-dimensionality and depth to the fictional world created by the author's imagination. As a result, this novel helps readers to immerse themselves in the fictional world and forget all the problems of real life for a while, as a good fantasy book should do.
Like other books in this genre, Chimeras of Estmer is populated by many characters. Several plots intertwine like strands of hair in a woman's braid. One of them concerns the journey of Tessa and Smokey, a young man turned into a cat who is trying to regain his human appearance and punish the murderer of his teacher. Another character, Prince Roderick, embarks on a military campaign to subdue a lord whose sinister image was clearly inspired by Bluebeard and Dr Frankenstein. Meanwhile, Roderick's sister Tristana and his friend Kemlilin investigate previous attempts on the prince's life, while the villain behind them hatches ever more devious plots and tries to bring them to fruition with the help of an extremely strange assistant.
In addition, almost all the characters are well developed by the author. Moreover, their personalities change over the course of the book, just like the personalities of real people. Tessa, who is shy and timid at first, develops a certain backbone. If at the beginning of the book she was afraid to stand up to her foster mother, in the final chapters she will argue with the prince when she feels it is necessary. As for the other characters, they change not only psychologically but also physically. However, it would be a blatant spoiler to describe the extraordinary transformations they undergo.
In general, Chimeras of Estmer is a classic epic fantasy, with court intrigue, military campaigns, magic and even the salvation of a significant part of the world, if not the whole world. But at the same time, Heather Marsh has managed to pack so much adventure into one book that other authors of the same genre would probably need at least a trilogy.
And yet this circumstance has no effect on the author's great writing style. Chimeras of Estmer is by no means a dry account of the crazy adventures of numerous characters. The novel vividly describes cities with busy streets and primeval forests, bloody battles with monstrous chimeras, the embroidered dresses of beautiful maidens and much more.
Besides, this book is a real page-turner. Usually the action in epic fantasy is very slow. But Chimeras of Estmer is different. The structure of the novel, with its interwoven storylines, often allows the author to stop telling the story of Tessa and Smokey's wanderings at the end of one chapter and immediately move on to Roderick's military campaign or Tristana's investigation in the next. Sometimes the author leaves one of the characters in an extremely precarious position, only to return to the other's story as if nothing had happened. When the reader gets the answer to one mystery, several new ones immediately take its place.
There is also a lot of humour in this literary work. Of course, Chimeras of Estmer cannot be fully classified as a comic book. But this novel is spiced with a certain amount of irony, with which the author presents the adventures of the main protagonists, who often find themselves in very funny as well as dangerous situations.
The book is passably edited and a few minor typos should not prevent readers from enjoying this literary work. Therefore, I give this novel 4 out of 4 stars.
Chimeras of Estmer can be recommended to all lovers of the fantasy genre. Perhaps mystery fans will also be interested in this book, as the main plot revolves around the search for the murderer of Smokey's teacher and Tristana's attempts to find out who wants to kill her brother and why.
Although Chimeras of Estmer does contain some violence and fighting, the author usually describes such events without focusing too much on gruesome details that could easily shock the reader. The only minor exception are the eerie scenes in Lord Siwald's castle, where he creates his chimeras by combining animals, humans and even pieces of household utensils. For this reason, the book is probably suitable for teenagers as well as adults.
