I read two indie fantasy novels that recently caught my eyes in the blogsophere. I don’t usually read these sorts of stories, but the premises, reviews and bargain prices of these two prompted me to have a go.
- The Word Changers by Ashlee Willis
- Rating: ★★½ [ratings guide]
- Cute premise – what avid reader doesn’t love the idea of entering a book?
- I thought Posy and Kyran were cute, although if I looked at that relationship at all closely I might find it’s built on pretty loose foundations.
- Posy (despite her name) felt very realistic and relatable. There were a number of passages where I thought “Yup, that’s a real world accurate feeling you don’t usually read about in a book!”
- I liked the mermaids…I think I always like mermaids.
- Overall, a cute story written in basic prose and featuring largely plain characters. Inoffensive Christian themes are apparent but don’t distract from the story (unlike that final Narnia book…)
- The Reflections of Queen Snow White by David Meredith
- Rating: ★ [ratings guide]
- Good idea, poor execution. The main thrust of the story seems to be Snow White realizing she’s strong even without Prince Charming, but I certainly didn’t see that. Every example given, I thought “What? That actually proves how dependent she was!”
- Why was there no discussion of the evil queen’s disposal? This seems like an event that would make a significant impression on Snow.
- Hrm, this felt like a story trying to be a ‘grown up’ book. There’s torture and sex, but the writing is not really great. I wasn’t moved by those scenes; they just felt a bit awkward. I think the story could give depression a bad rep because it doesn’t really go beyond the surface of Snow’s “I’m so lost without Charming, I can’t function without him”. I can certainly accept that Snow White would become depressed after her beloved husband’s death, but this book doesn’t really sell me that.
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