They got very little attention and were not used to the extent that could have made them great. As the main artifacts of the books, from which they get their names, were not major players in the series. Even when the magic came into play it was more an ex machina style last minute undeserved save. Dain himself had little to no character development. In addition, as a Dain character Dain felt very passive, all his successes were handed to him via plot and never felt like he earned it. For a supposed fantasy book it was more just a realistic middle ages style with little weight or attention given to its, I'll admit, interesting magic and fantasy side. Also there was such promise for a magical and mythology side of this series that was just abandoned quickly in the beginning and barely used throughout. The "love story" that made up much of the motivation for Dain was so underdeveloped, felt ham-fisted, and failed to make me believe in it. The Sword, The Ring, The Chalice Review: This series felt like a bit of a wasted read. When I finished it, I felt like even though I was a bit disappointed it was well written and left off for its subsequent books to be redeeming and re-grab my interest. This first book I felt did a good job setting put character and relationships, it was interesting, a bit slow but in the end no overt flaws. But it became clear in this first book that, that would fall flat. It seemed from the really good introduction story that the series would be ripe with conflict, political intrigue, magic, war, etc. But when it got into the main story it lost much of this intrigue. I was hooked in the beginning because it set up an interesting world filled with magic and conflict. The Sword Specific Review: Despite being a disappointing series, the first book was not bad. I like that the main character is such a wimp, even if that isn't intentional. The book is readable, if pretty uneventful and unfulfilling. There doesn't seem to have been much thought put into creating a believable or interesting fantasy realm. I know this is the first book in a trilogy, but this really fails to set up any interest in what's going on in this world.Īlong with the random animal names, there are euphemisms from our world that seem oddly out of place here. One of the main characters mentioned on the back cover and featured prominently on the book's cover.has about six pages of story. I don't really know what this book is trying to say or accomplish, either. Some animals have lazy alternative names, like "beyar" for bear while other animals have the same names they have in our world. The writing is bizarre as far as world creation goes. I wasn't sure why he seemed so off.his character is rather poorly developed. The main character is kind of a wimp, and his sense of morality and purpose is all over the place, which makes for a somewhat interesting read. Even wobbly stepping stones can carry you across to a satisfying shore. Though parts were incomplete, I trust her to have a complete message through the rest of the trilogy. Much of the conflict comes out of perceptions, interpretations and pride, but there's room for learning and understanding. Hierarchy, standards of masculinity and femininity, religious tolerance/intolerance, honor and "nonor," and various prejudices and values. My copy is from 2000, so maybe it's changed.Įditing distractions aside, Deborah Chester has conveyed her intentions and defined the important factors of the trilogy's world. This book needed more time for revision and unification, more showing and less telling, so that its potentials could be realized and the writer taken out. Two pages later his single eye is stony and I am jarred by this detail and can only conclude that one eye dissolved in the steam of the bath room as nothing else supports this change in eyeball inventory. They glitter disdainfully, they glare, they meet other eyes. Sr Roye has persistently yellow eyes (plural). Dain realizes he's going into battle unarmed, then is using his dagger the dagger is confiscated, then fastened on his belt to be confiscated again further down the hall. There were some areas that needed reinforcement or to be checked for continuity. What bothered me about it was the lack of editing.
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