Review by Velzath -- Tsalix Silverthorn and the Scepter ...
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Velzath
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Review by Velzath -- Tsalix Silverthorn and the Scepter ...
[Following is a volunteer review of "Tsalix Silverthorn and the Scepter of Destiny" by Richard Siddoway.]
Richard Siddoway's Tsalix Silverthorn and the Scepter of Destiny follows the story of three teens on a quest to find a powerful artifact that might bring peace to the war-torn land as two princes vie for the throne of their ailing father. They must do so secretly and quickly, all the while avoiding the henchmen of the evil prince Abadon, who has his sights set on the mystical artifact as well.
This book toes the line between young adult fantasy and adult fantasy. While there aren't any sexual scenes, nor any profanity, there are a few gory battle scenes and more adult themes such as war and tyranny. The book does, however, feature teenagers as the main characters. I cannot honestly recommend this book to anyone for I do not think this is a good book, however I wish to point out two things that do make it a good recommendation for both veteran fantasy fans and newcomers to the genre as well: its world-building and its concision. If you are looking for a non-traditional fantasy setting or something short and quick to read, then Tsalix Silverthorn and the Scepter of Destiny might be for you. However, if you're looking for something more well rounded you're best off looking elsewhere. I give this book a very generous 2 out of 4 stars.
The thing that immediately raised my eyebrow in skepticism that the book was not going to be 4/4 was the title of the book itself. I'm always wary when I see words like “fate” or “destiny” in titles because it feels inauthentic, like the author couldn't think of any more compelling reasons for the actions of his characters except “because destiny.” It feels forced and obvious, and takes the initiative out of the characters' hands. Now, I was pleased to discover that destiny played a minor role—Tsalix's destiny was merely alluded to briefly near the end of the book—however, the “Scepter of Destiny” also played a minor role, and so I felt a bit cheated, like I didn't get what was advertised. “Scepter of Destiny” would be an appropriate name for the series, but it failed as a name for the first book of it as it spent the entirety of the novel locked in a mountain and was only spoken of. It's used as a plot device to set the characters' motives and actions: get the Scepter, rule the land. How Tsalix and the Scepter are related remains to be seen other than he (and some others) are sent out on a quest to find it before the bad guy does. Names are incredibly important in fantasy settings and I think Siddoway hasn't quite grasped the art of making good fantasy names for his characters as names like Gah (I didn't even realize this was a name at first) and Doitsoh (all I can think of is Homer Simpson saying “Doh!”) show, however, the most egregious name is the name of the bad guy: Abadon—besides Satan, this is the most obvious of bad guy names. “Abadon” is one “d” away from the name of a demon in Judaeo-Christian mythology and also a word that translates to “a place of destruction.” However, I can't take points away for that as it might not even have been intentional.
Before I go in depth with what I didn't like, I'll briefly discuss what kept it at 2 stars instead of 1. The only redeeming quality the book has is the world-building. It's a non-traditional fantasy setting with no elves, no dwarves, no dragons, and a limited amount of magic. What it adds is new creatures and a host of different shapeshifters and anthropomorphic races. I liked his descriptions of the various locations visited throughout the story the most. It does make me interested in the world the story takes place in. I mentioned the concision as a benefit earlier in the review, but it's actually a double edged sword for me. At under 300 pages the book is short compared with most other fantasy novels, and so it's a quick read, but it means that the sentences were simple as well. The uniform simplicity of the sentences meant that there was very little sentence variation. Which made the writing incredibly dull. The dialogue also was poorly done. The characters spoke in a way that felt unnatural and lacking in personality. The writing and dialogue felt less like a narrative and more like a robot reading off a list of actions for characters to follow.
There were a number of errors as well, too many for a book this short. They all were clumped in the second half of the book as if the editor got bored halfway through. The errors range from missing words, to punctuation usage, to improper word use. The most minor was an additional quotation mark on page 158 and the most grievous were a missing subject in a sentence on page 135 and the improper usage of the word “susceptible” on page 209.
Overall, Tsalix Silverthorn and the Scepter of Destiny, is a tale best skipped for fans of traditional high fantasy but if you're looking for interesting world-building this might be for you. It's plot is on the generic side for fantasy as well. It follows the basic motif that a lot of young adult fantasy follows: teens get sent on quest to find magic artifact to bring peace to land. Unless Siddoway addresses the dry, mechanical narrative I won't be reading the rest of the series.
******
Tsalix Silverthorn and the Scepter of Destiny
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on Smashwords
Richard Siddoway's Tsalix Silverthorn and the Scepter of Destiny follows the story of three teens on a quest to find a powerful artifact that might bring peace to the war-torn land as two princes vie for the throne of their ailing father. They must do so secretly and quickly, all the while avoiding the henchmen of the evil prince Abadon, who has his sights set on the mystical artifact as well.
This book toes the line between young adult fantasy and adult fantasy. While there aren't any sexual scenes, nor any profanity, there are a few gory battle scenes and more adult themes such as war and tyranny. The book does, however, feature teenagers as the main characters. I cannot honestly recommend this book to anyone for I do not think this is a good book, however I wish to point out two things that do make it a good recommendation for both veteran fantasy fans and newcomers to the genre as well: its world-building and its concision. If you are looking for a non-traditional fantasy setting or something short and quick to read, then Tsalix Silverthorn and the Scepter of Destiny might be for you. However, if you're looking for something more well rounded you're best off looking elsewhere. I give this book a very generous 2 out of 4 stars.
The thing that immediately raised my eyebrow in skepticism that the book was not going to be 4/4 was the title of the book itself. I'm always wary when I see words like “fate” or “destiny” in titles because it feels inauthentic, like the author couldn't think of any more compelling reasons for the actions of his characters except “because destiny.” It feels forced and obvious, and takes the initiative out of the characters' hands. Now, I was pleased to discover that destiny played a minor role—Tsalix's destiny was merely alluded to briefly near the end of the book—however, the “Scepter of Destiny” also played a minor role, and so I felt a bit cheated, like I didn't get what was advertised. “Scepter of Destiny” would be an appropriate name for the series, but it failed as a name for the first book of it as it spent the entirety of the novel locked in a mountain and was only spoken of. It's used as a plot device to set the characters' motives and actions: get the Scepter, rule the land. How Tsalix and the Scepter are related remains to be seen other than he (and some others) are sent out on a quest to find it before the bad guy does. Names are incredibly important in fantasy settings and I think Siddoway hasn't quite grasped the art of making good fantasy names for his characters as names like Gah (I didn't even realize this was a name at first) and Doitsoh (all I can think of is Homer Simpson saying “Doh!”) show, however, the most egregious name is the name of the bad guy: Abadon—besides Satan, this is the most obvious of bad guy names. “Abadon” is one “d” away from the name of a demon in Judaeo-Christian mythology and also a word that translates to “a place of destruction.” However, I can't take points away for that as it might not even have been intentional.
Before I go in depth with what I didn't like, I'll briefly discuss what kept it at 2 stars instead of 1. The only redeeming quality the book has is the world-building. It's a non-traditional fantasy setting with no elves, no dwarves, no dragons, and a limited amount of magic. What it adds is new creatures and a host of different shapeshifters and anthropomorphic races. I liked his descriptions of the various locations visited throughout the story the most. It does make me interested in the world the story takes place in. I mentioned the concision as a benefit earlier in the review, but it's actually a double edged sword for me. At under 300 pages the book is short compared with most other fantasy novels, and so it's a quick read, but it means that the sentences were simple as well. The uniform simplicity of the sentences meant that there was very little sentence variation. Which made the writing incredibly dull. The dialogue also was poorly done. The characters spoke in a way that felt unnatural and lacking in personality. The writing and dialogue felt less like a narrative and more like a robot reading off a list of actions for characters to follow.
There were a number of errors as well, too many for a book this short. They all were clumped in the second half of the book as if the editor got bored halfway through. The errors range from missing words, to punctuation usage, to improper word use. The most minor was an additional quotation mark on page 158 and the most grievous were a missing subject in a sentence on page 135 and the improper usage of the word “susceptible” on page 209.
Overall, Tsalix Silverthorn and the Scepter of Destiny, is a tale best skipped for fans of traditional high fantasy but if you're looking for interesting world-building this might be for you. It's plot is on the generic side for fantasy as well. It follows the basic motif that a lot of young adult fantasy follows: teens get sent on quest to find magic artifact to bring peace to land. Unless Siddoway addresses the dry, mechanical narrative I won't be reading the rest of the series.
******
Tsalix Silverthorn and the Scepter of Destiny
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on Smashwords
Latest Review: Awakening by Tayma Tameem
