Official Review: Tales From Kartli
Posted: 23 Jul 2020, 10:14
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Tales From Kartli" by Revaz-Giorgi Arveladze.]
Tales from Kartli is a mythical horror novel written by an aspiring, creative author and filmmaker from Georgia. The book entails different stories revolving around old folk tales and ancient myths of the country of Georgia.
The narrative’s nine enchanting stories are bound to leave readers encompassed with feelings of shock, humor, and all-around fear. My top three include 12th of August, a tale set in a world where mercenaries have been known to cause havoc by hunting down individuals requested by anyone who paid them. Another is A Martyr of the Serpent, which is an intriguing folktale about a merchant who amassed foreign antiques that bring forth both misfortune and pleasure. Unfortunately, those susceptible to the whims of the relic would quickly find themselves in a downward trajectory of evil and gloom. And finally, Chiakokonoba - an old tale depicting a ritual that was practiced by people to ward off evil spirits from children. The story follows Eldar and his two grandchildren as they go through terrifying moments battling demons that appear as nightmares but could be more real than imagined. The narrative vividly shows their fear and courage because, as it has been said, “The only time a man can be brave is when he is afraid.” The author brilliantly depicts this through this narrative.
The short stories written in this book accomplish what the author, Revaz-Giorgi Arveladze, set out to do, which was to immerse readers into Georgian mythology and tales in a hauntingly captivating manner. The elements of suspense were a great addition, as it helped build tension and fear of the impending dangers and horrors that awaited the characters.
The narrative also featured some amazing characters that were quite believable and interesting to follow. Some stories, however, were too short and left me in a sort of limbo when I had to move on to the next story, even though the previous one felt somewhat incomplete. A good example of this would be The Cycle; it had so little to work with and felt so limited unlike some of the other stories.
In the end, it seemed the book lacked overall flow because it was so difficult to align the tales from start to finish. This is because the author would sometimes include flashbacks of a particular story from a previous tale, but, at the same time, the tales didn’t seem to correlate. As a result, it was difficult to determine whether the tales were meant to be connected or random because others seemed connected while others did not.
I rate this book a 2 out of 4 stars. This is because the lack of flow throughout the narrative made me second-guess myself as to whether there should be a flow. Additionally, there were a number of grammatical errors throughout the book, such as the frequent misuse of tenses and verbs, which slowed down the pace. Finally, a whole paragraph was also repeated twice in one of the narratives. The book would appeal to readers from all genres, especially those who don’t mind a little poetry here and there. It would especially be suited for thriller fans with a special liking to the mythological realms.
******
Tales From Kartli
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Tales from Kartli is a mythical horror novel written by an aspiring, creative author and filmmaker from Georgia. The book entails different stories revolving around old folk tales and ancient myths of the country of Georgia.
The narrative’s nine enchanting stories are bound to leave readers encompassed with feelings of shock, humor, and all-around fear. My top three include 12th of August, a tale set in a world where mercenaries have been known to cause havoc by hunting down individuals requested by anyone who paid them. Another is A Martyr of the Serpent, which is an intriguing folktale about a merchant who amassed foreign antiques that bring forth both misfortune and pleasure. Unfortunately, those susceptible to the whims of the relic would quickly find themselves in a downward trajectory of evil and gloom. And finally, Chiakokonoba - an old tale depicting a ritual that was practiced by people to ward off evil spirits from children. The story follows Eldar and his two grandchildren as they go through terrifying moments battling demons that appear as nightmares but could be more real than imagined. The narrative vividly shows their fear and courage because, as it has been said, “The only time a man can be brave is when he is afraid.” The author brilliantly depicts this through this narrative.
The short stories written in this book accomplish what the author, Revaz-Giorgi Arveladze, set out to do, which was to immerse readers into Georgian mythology and tales in a hauntingly captivating manner. The elements of suspense were a great addition, as it helped build tension and fear of the impending dangers and horrors that awaited the characters.
The narrative also featured some amazing characters that were quite believable and interesting to follow. Some stories, however, were too short and left me in a sort of limbo when I had to move on to the next story, even though the previous one felt somewhat incomplete. A good example of this would be The Cycle; it had so little to work with and felt so limited unlike some of the other stories.
In the end, it seemed the book lacked overall flow because it was so difficult to align the tales from start to finish. This is because the author would sometimes include flashbacks of a particular story from a previous tale, but, at the same time, the tales didn’t seem to correlate. As a result, it was difficult to determine whether the tales were meant to be connected or random because others seemed connected while others did not.
I rate this book a 2 out of 4 stars. This is because the lack of flow throughout the narrative made me second-guess myself as to whether there should be a flow. Additionally, there were a number of grammatical errors throughout the book, such as the frequent misuse of tenses and verbs, which slowed down the pace. Finally, a whole paragraph was also repeated twice in one of the narratives. The book would appeal to readers from all genres, especially those who don’t mind a little poetry here and there. It would especially be suited for thriller fans with a special liking to the mythological realms.
******
Tales From Kartli
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon