Official Review: The Eye of Illumination by W.C. Gorski
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- ErikaP13
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Official Review: The Eye of Illumination by W.C. Gorski
Lord of the Rings was the start of a new era of fantasy novels. It set a standard for the genre that is hard to follow. W.C. Gorski’s book, The Eye of Illumination is an attempt at following in the footsteps of one of the world’s biggest fantasy franchises.
The Sword of Leahanna was made to fight off the ever warring Muzuole as they tried to conquer the Realm. However, it proved impossible to control and caused the death of Queen Leahanna’s husband. A pearl was inserted into the pommel of the sword to tame its bloodthirsty nature. The pearl and the sword were separated and hidden away to keep it from evil hands. That is until Bilford stumbled upon the pearl as he fled a group of Muzuole. Not knowing what it is, he picked it up and carried it from its hiding place. The pearl could be used to find the sword. Knowing this, Bilford and his companions set out to bring the pearl to safety and maybe destroy the sword.
Having long been a fan of high fantasy, I have consumed many fantasy novels. Among my favourites stand the Lord of the Rings trilogy and the Sword of Shannara series. Having read them too many times to count, I am exceedingly familiar with their worlds, characters and stories. Reading The Eye of illumination, I cannot help but be reminded of these two series in particular. Most of Gorski’s inspiration seems to come from Lord of the Rings. Both stories feature the same rough species, except instead of Hobbits, there are El’dwars and instead of Orcs, there are Muzuole. From the descriptions of these species, it is plain to see that they are very similar to each other. Instead of Sauron and his fiery eye in Mordor, this world has the Eye of Illumination. The description of the Eye is as follows: “glowing eye… sat as a capstone upon a pyramid in midst of the Muzuole territories” (page 10). There are many other things I can list to show just how much of this story seems to be directly inspired by Lord of the Rings in particular.
The Sword of Leahanna sits at the centre of what is driving the plot. Much like the Sword of Shannara, it is a sacred treasure to the Elves that possesses a significant history and power. And much like in Sword of Shannara, it is this treasure the Muzuole are after.
Even the characters are similar to the ones in big fantasy novels. You have the young and naive protagonist charged with the care of the main artefact, Bilford in this case. There is the wise and powerful wizard pulling the strings, Kalgarad. There is the ruling Elvin monarch who seem wise beyond time. There are strong, striking men from noble and royal bloodlines.
I am not overly concerned with these, as many of these elements are commonly found in most fantasy worlds. There is also nothing wrong with taking inspiration from other work. I just find the pure amount of similarities a bit overwhelming. I do not want to be reminded of other books at the turn of every page.
There isn’t one particular thing I can point to as the thing I liked most of this book. All in all, it is a great read. It’s well-written, for the most part, and entertaining. The characters are likeable and easy to understand. The world the story takes place in was carefully constructed and its history, rich.
What I disliked most is the inclusion of seemingly pointless scenes. Instead of following the important lines of the plot and narrative, the story is interrupted several times to show the reader a game of cards or the inner monologue of seemingly unimportant characters. The inclusion of these scenes slowed down the plot and frustrated me. To be fair, I do not care about the adventures of secondary characters in a tavern when there are more important events unfolding at the same point in time. These more light-hearted scenes could serve to lessen tension, but there were simply too many of them for my liking.
I recommend this book to any lover of fantasy. Lovers of adventure would also enjoy this story. There is some violence in the book, as there is in most fantasy novels where the forces of good and evil wage war, but it is not unsuitably graphic. There are no scenes in the book that would make it unsuitable to younger readers, although the style of writing might not appeal to them.
I rate The Eye of Illumination 3 out of 4 stars. There were quite a few mistakes, but it was otherwise well-written and enjoyable.
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The Eye of Illumination
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- ErikaP13
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I really appreciate your comment, thank you so muchIfy_Reviewer wrote: ↑31 Aug 2020, 05:02 This is a very comprehensive review. You highlighted important aspects anyone would want to know about the book. Good job
- Suesea
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I am very happy to see another LoTR fan. Thank you so much for your comment, but let me just say this: don't pass on this book only because of its similarities to others. Yes it is very similar to the books I've mentioned and that is a big tunroff, but there are good things to be found here. You might just like it, similarities and all. But the choice is yours and I probably wouldn't have read it if I knew either. I am still glad I read it thoughSuesea wrote: ↑31 Aug 2020, 22:05 The cover of the book immediately caught my attention, but, after reading your review, I'm not as enthralled. I expect fantasy books to be somewhat original. There is no need to build on the same plot lines or characters another author has created. Fantasy novels, in my opinion, should be as creative and unique as possible with surprising new monsters, worlds, and adventures that do not sound like every other adventure. I will pass on this book based on your review. I also have consumed the Lord of the Rings many times. It would bother me to read another book that plays on the same theme. Thanks for your review.
- Suesea
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- ErikaP13
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Thank you so much for your comment! I hope that you will enjoy the book if you do decide to pick it up
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