Official Review: The Dream King's Courier: Pawn

[ALynnPowers]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Dream King's Courier: Pawn" by Patrice Sikora.]

---

2 out of 4 stars

---

Share This Review

---

The Dream King’s Courier: Pawn by Patrice Sikora combines elements of ancient mythology with the modern world. This story follows Gwen, a woman who has pledged a life of service to Nathao, the god known as the King of Dreams. After King Nathao’s rank among the gods improves, Gwen, as his Courier, also finds herself in a higher position of power, met with both respect and death threats. Then Persephone, the wife of Nathao’s brother Luke (the Prince of Death), chooses Gwen as one of the witnesses for the birth of their son. Gwen is pleased to be a part of her friend’s momentous event, but she immediately finds herself thrown into the midst of a family power struggle involving the brothers, Persephone and her mother (the more powerful goddess Demma), and a group of political activists. Gwen soon learns why it is never a good idea to meddle in the affairs of others.

I must admit that I had a very hard time getting into this book, and maybe it’s my own fault. I found the first couple of pages very captivating, which initially drew me in and attracted me to the story in the first place. However, I soon found the pacing of the story to be a bit odd. Among a few scenes involving a very slow-paced conference and several conversations in which the same information was repeated multiple times, there were lots of details of past events and so many characters that I couldn’t keep track of everyone without making a list. Even with my list, I couldn’t keep up – there was one particular character I assumed was either someone’s grandmother (because her name was Nan) or a ghost, but about a third of the way through the book, it was revealed that she was actually a psychic connection to a jacket.

At this point, I literally threw the book down in frustration (don’t worry; my Kindle bounced off the sofa and landed safely on a conveniently discarded sweater), and I did a bit of research. My suspicions were correct; this is actually the second book in a series. I wasn’t aware of that when I chose to read this book, and I would certainly not recommend it for anyone else who has not read the first book. It’s way too confusing, especially with all of the characters, and this book just doesn’t work very well as a stand-alone novel.

Perhaps if I had read the previous book, my feelings would be different. As it is, I just couldn’t connect with any of the characters in the story, especially Gwen. All of the other characters seemed to love her and fawn over her, but personally I found her a bit rude and disrespectful, especially toward her superior gods, who inexplicably tolerated her behavior even though she was eternally indebted to them for many reasons. The slow-moving plot of the story didn’t really begin to develop until about the halfway point of the book, and I immediately (and accurately) predicted the final outcome of the story. There were a few moments of surprise here and there, but for the most part I was disappointed by the lack of action and suspense.

As for the positive points of the book, the writing itself is excellent and nearly flawless. Conversations between characters are smooth and easy to read. I’m also a big fan of modern retellings of ancient myths, so I enjoyed making connections between the characters in this story and the gods and goddesses from mythology. For example, I am almost certain that Demma is based on the goddess Demeter, her daughter is Persephone (both in this story and in the myths), and Luke is the equivalent of Hades. I would be interested in learning about other connections that were not so easy to pick up.

Taking all of my experience with this book into consideration, I have decided to give this book a rating of 2 out of 4 stars. If I had read and enjoyed the previous book, I would probably give the book a higher rating. As a stand-alone novel, I can’t recommend this book, so for anyone who enjoys mythology and contemporary fantasy, I would suggest reading the previous book first.

******
The Dream King's Courier: Pawn
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

Like ALynnPowers's review? Post a comment saying so!

[CzechTigg]

A smoothly written and honest review. The feeling of missing out on stuff is not just in books.. Were I to try a TV show in the middle I would struggle to care as much, compared to viewing it from day one.

[PashaRu]

This is a great review, from the summary (not too much, not too little) to the thorough critique. Nice, detailed analysis. A model review. And I'm glad the Kindle survived the...uh...passionate reaction, couch, and sweater.

[psyche]

I always get very irritated when I find a book I thought was standalone is actually sequel. I wish they would put that on the cover.

[Mpassy18]

You bring up a valid and important point, ALynnPowers. The fact that The Dream King's Courier: Pawn is the second in a series is obviously not made clear and that change is in the works. We are very glad your Kindle survived the frustration and we would love to provide you with a copy of the first book Payback....not for a review, but to share the story with someone else who enjoys mythology.

Best
PSikora (author) and Mathew

[kimmyschemy06]

That was a very honest review. I think I can relate to your frustration when you could not understand the story only to find out that it was the second in the series. I love mythology and modernized adaptations. I read Percy Jackson and the Olympians and I enjoyed them. I think I would enjoy this series, but of course, I have to read the first book first.

[ALynnPowers]

You guys, I really feel terrible for this review! I think that I probably would have loved this book to pieces if I had read the first book and knew what I was getting into. It's SOOOOOOO something I would love.