Official Review: The Dream Walker Land of Mystica Series
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RStone
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Official Review: The Dream Walker Land of Mystica Series
This review refers to an old edition of the book. Since this review, the book was professionally edited and the editor is credited on the book's Amazon page.
[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Dream Walker Land of Mystica Series" by Michelle Murray.]
1 out of 4 stars
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Michelle Murray introduces her readers to her world and vision in 'The Dream Walker: Land of Mystica Series.' The book tells the tale of a kingdom under siege by an evil wizard, Midnight, released from his magical prison by a hapless young boy, and the Dream Walker, Miranda, summoned from another world to save Mystica. Miranda must find and release Lightning, the only wizard who can defeat Midnight, while struggling both to find her way in this new world and to learn to use the powers she's never known she possessed.
The world is interesting and engaging and sounds truly beautiful. There are crystals and dragons and flowers in shades we don't see here. As far as the story itself, it has potential. It's interesting and imaginative, and there is a hint of real mythos that could be intriguing. However, all the best aspects of the book are just potential and haven't been fully developed.
While breakneck storytelling is usually considered a good thing, in this case it truly makes the narrative fall flat. Everything is rushed, conflicts are easily and quickly resolved, and the characters seem to have little interior life. When Miranda is told she is a Dream Walker, her response is only mildly skeptical, mixed with the feeling of 'something falling into place.' Upon being transported to a strange world immediately after this revelation, she adapts quickly and without any real signs of confusion, shock, or fear. From there, things move far too smoothly for her, despite an abduction and imprisonment by the Ice People that seems unnecessary, improbable (she and her guide were snatched from a city!) and just added in to draw the story out longer. Despite the interlude, the story is still very short, not even breaking 115 pages in length. The climax of the story is anything but climactic, being resolved largely off to the side- or up in the air, as the case may be. There is no feeling at any point of real threat or danger to any of the characters.
This book is a classic example of telling and not showing. Everything is laid out clearly, and the only real attempt at hidden menace, in the form of Kate the Watcher and her dubious motivations, is hinted at so strongly that it's all but spelled out that she's evil, while no reasons or explanations are given for it. Characters are introduced and forgotten, or introduced twice with different descriptions each time (the seer, Sarah, is blonde and then red haired the next time she's mentioned, Miranda's hair changes color as well from black to brown). The first few chapters are especially rocky, telling the same tale from different perspectives, but in a choppy way that makes it hard to follow the timeline clearly. Characters are flat and two dimensional, being either all good or all evil, with no motivations or explanations given for any of them. Despite reading the entire book, which spent most of the time focused on Miranda, I'm not sure I could say I know anything about the character beyond her magical ability and love of giving freedom to those she encounters. Any temper, quirks, passions, or interesting character traits just don't exist. Reasoning for actions, like Miranda choosing to go forward through the Forest of the Lost when she could easily go back through the caves of the Ice People, is shoddy and unrealistic.
Overall, the book, which I give 1 out of 4 stars, reads more like a rough draft than a finished book. There are major editing errors, typos, and words used incorrectly, and it reads like the summary of a story with very few of what I would call actual scenes filled in. The passion for the story is there, but the whole thing feels as if it were written in a rush and then put out there just so it can be called finished, when it really isn't. With the help of a good editor to help pull the story out, it could be an engaging read, though for children more than young adults, but until it's been revised it really can't be called a finished book.
******
The Dream Walker Land of Mystica Series
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like RStone's review? Post a comment saying so!
[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Dream Walker Land of Mystica Series" by Michelle Murray.]
1 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
Michelle Murray introduces her readers to her world and vision in 'The Dream Walker: Land of Mystica Series.' The book tells the tale of a kingdom under siege by an evil wizard, Midnight, released from his magical prison by a hapless young boy, and the Dream Walker, Miranda, summoned from another world to save Mystica. Miranda must find and release Lightning, the only wizard who can defeat Midnight, while struggling both to find her way in this new world and to learn to use the powers she's never known she possessed.
The world is interesting and engaging and sounds truly beautiful. There are crystals and dragons and flowers in shades we don't see here. As far as the story itself, it has potential. It's interesting and imaginative, and there is a hint of real mythos that could be intriguing. However, all the best aspects of the book are just potential and haven't been fully developed.
While breakneck storytelling is usually considered a good thing, in this case it truly makes the narrative fall flat. Everything is rushed, conflicts are easily and quickly resolved, and the characters seem to have little interior life. When Miranda is told she is a Dream Walker, her response is only mildly skeptical, mixed with the feeling of 'something falling into place.' Upon being transported to a strange world immediately after this revelation, she adapts quickly and without any real signs of confusion, shock, or fear. From there, things move far too smoothly for her, despite an abduction and imprisonment by the Ice People that seems unnecessary, improbable (she and her guide were snatched from a city!) and just added in to draw the story out longer. Despite the interlude, the story is still very short, not even breaking 115 pages in length. The climax of the story is anything but climactic, being resolved largely off to the side- or up in the air, as the case may be. There is no feeling at any point of real threat or danger to any of the characters.
This book is a classic example of telling and not showing. Everything is laid out clearly, and the only real attempt at hidden menace, in the form of Kate the Watcher and her dubious motivations, is hinted at so strongly that it's all but spelled out that she's evil, while no reasons or explanations are given for it. Characters are introduced and forgotten, or introduced twice with different descriptions each time (the seer, Sarah, is blonde and then red haired the next time she's mentioned, Miranda's hair changes color as well from black to brown). The first few chapters are especially rocky, telling the same tale from different perspectives, but in a choppy way that makes it hard to follow the timeline clearly. Characters are flat and two dimensional, being either all good or all evil, with no motivations or explanations given for any of them. Despite reading the entire book, which spent most of the time focused on Miranda, I'm not sure I could say I know anything about the character beyond her magical ability and love of giving freedom to those she encounters. Any temper, quirks, passions, or interesting character traits just don't exist. Reasoning for actions, like Miranda choosing to go forward through the Forest of the Lost when she could easily go back through the caves of the Ice People, is shoddy and unrealistic.
Overall, the book, which I give 1 out of 4 stars, reads more like a rough draft than a finished book. There are major editing errors, typos, and words used incorrectly, and it reads like the summary of a story with very few of what I would call actual scenes filled in. The passion for the story is there, but the whole thing feels as if it were written in a rush and then put out there just so it can be called finished, when it really isn't. With the help of a good editor to help pull the story out, it could be an engaging read, though for children more than young adults, but until it's been revised it really can't be called a finished book.
******
The Dream Walker Land of Mystica Series
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like RStone's review? Post a comment saying so!
Latest Review: "Malevolent Shadows" by Abdul Sami
