Book Review: "The Last Quarrel: Complete Edition" by Duncan Lay

Gaelland is a nation gripped by fear.

In the country, fishing boats return with their crews mysteriously vanished, while farms are left empty, their owners gone into the night, meals still on the table. In the cities, children disappear from the streets or even out of their own beds. The King tells his people that it is the work of selkies – mythical creatures who can turn from seals into men and back again – and witches. But no matter how many women he burns at the stake, the children are still being taken.

Fallon is a man who has always dreamed of being a hero. His wife Bridgit just wants to live in peace and quiet, and to escape the tragedies that have filled her life. His greatest wish and her worst nightmare are about to collide.

When an empty ship sails into their village, he begins to follow the trail towards the truth behind the evil stalking their land. But it is a journey that will take them both into a dark, dark place and nobody can tell them where it might end ... - from NetGalley.com

I received this copy from the publisher, Momentum Books (Pan Macmillan) in exchange for a review, through Netgalley.com.

This title had crossed my path before, and I had not jumped at it, but this time around it was different. Previously, there were five parts, I believe, and I was not interested in reading a serial series, so did not look twice. However, this selection was the five parts combined into one, and I was intrigued by the story description.

I openly admit I did not read the whole book. The beginning was fine. My attention was grabbed, the characters were being introduced, the on-going conflict beginning to be formed. All that was fine .... until about halfway. By that point, I was struggling to understand what was going on among all the <my opinion> whining the characters seemed to be doing. I started skimming, hoping that this was just a "slow part" that would resolve itself shortly, and get back to the story it had started out to be. I could not find that spot. I skipped a couple pages, then a couple more. I could tell the story was still on-going, but just couldn't tolerate the writing.

That being said, it truly felt like five separate sections/serials were lashed together to form this novel. Unfortunately, the writing style seemed to suffer, as once about halfway, I am not sure if the author's tone while writing the story changed (be it from life events, tiredness, etc) or what happened, but it felt completely different than the start of the story. I would still recommend the book to one that likes YA.

Book Review: "Trial of Intentions" by Peter Orullian

The gods who created this world have abandoned it. In their mercy, however, they chained the rogue god--and the monstrous creatures he created to plague mortalkind--in the vast and inhospitable wasteland of the Bourne. The magical Veil that contains them has protected humankind for millennia and the monsters are little more than tales told to frighten children. But the Veil has become weak and creatures of Nightmare have come through. To fight them, the races of men must form a great alliance to try and stop the creatures.

But there is dissent. One king won't answer the call, his pride blinding him even to the poison in his own court. Another would see Convocation fail for his own political advantage. And still others believe Convocation is not enough. Some turn to the talents of the Sheason, who can shape the very essence of the world to their will. But their order is divided, on the brink of collapse.

Tahn Junell remembers friends who despaired in a place left barren by war. One of the few who have actually faced the unspeakable horde in battle, Tahn sees something else at work and wonders about the nature of the creatures on the other side of the Veil. He chooses to go to a place of his youth, a place of science, daring to think he can find a way to prevent slaughter, prevent war.

And his choices may reshape a world . . . . - from NetGalley.com

I received an ARC of the preview excerpt of this book from the publisher, MacMillan-Tor/Forge, through NetGalley.com, in exchange for a review.

This is the follow-up novel to Orullian's first novel "The Unremembered" (which just had the Author's Definitive Version released). It continues the tale of Tahn and his band of followers, as they continue to grow in knowledge, and in some cases, assistance, in the fight against the creatures coming through the Veil.

I have been waiting for this book for quite some time, after having read the first one about three years ago. Orullian has a wonderful way of shaping the world and characters throughout the tale, that drew me into the story rapidly. Having gotten my greedy hands on a preview was great, but such a let-down for me, as now I have to wait until the release date to actually read the whole novel (the release date according to Amazon.com at this writing is May 26, 2015).

Thanks to the publisher (and author) for at least allowing me to get a preview to keep my excitement up until the release date.