Wit'ch Fire by James Clemens falls into a very unusual category for me. Books I don't especially like that I manage to finish. Since I only review books I finish this is one of the rare times you'll see a broadly negative review from me.
It took me two attempts. When I first bought it I tried to read it and gave up about a third of the way through. A few months later I uncovered it while tidying up and gave it another shot. This time I finished it, but I still wasn't entirely impressed.
This is Fantasy by the numbers in the worst possible way. Dark Lords, near human races, innocent protagonist with strange powers they didn't ask for and don't want, wise councillors, evil monsters - how many times have I read this story under other titles and names? Enough that I'd like to see something different for once.
The characters are interesting enough and there is good dose of plot tension in spite of the clicheness of the story - Clemens even pulled off a couple of surprises but the ending and most of the "twists" were predictable. And for some reason beyond the cliches and the predictability it grated on me. This I suspect is a personal foible, so if you don't mind formulaic fantasy this might float your boat.
I won't be buying the rest of series though. Two stars.
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2 comments:
Thanks for the info, I'll be sure to think twice before getting this one.
I like you don't go for formulas... a bit here and there yes, but when it can be pedicted four pages in advance... or worse, then it is not the book for me.
Thank you for the comment.
I'm glad you found my review useful. :-)
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