Tuesday 24 August 2010

FANTASY REVIEW: Banners in the Wind - Juliet E McKenna

Release Date: 24/06/10

BOOK BLURB:

A few stones falling in the right place can set a landslide in motion. That's what Lescari exiles told themselves in Vanam as they plotted to overthrow the warring dukes. But who can predict the chaos that follows such a cataclysm? Some will survive against all the odds; friends and foes alike. Hope and alliances will be shattered beyond repair. Unforeseen consequences bring undeserved grief as well as unexpected rewards. Necessity forces uneasy compromise as well as perilous defiance. Wreaking havoc is swift and easy. Building a lasting peace may yet prove an insuperable challenge!


REVIEW:

Whilst the original offering in this trilogy dragged a bit for me, the second seemed to really pick up the ball and deliver exactly the type of novel that I wanted. So upon hearing that the third title was available I really had to get my hands to see how Juliet would conclude what I hoped would be a pleasing series.

What unfurled however was a title that felt that it was a bit flat. It spent way to much time on dialogue and really didn’t feel that it accomplished much in the way of overall arc, almost as if the author was dragging their feet in order to make a certain word count. It’s slow in pieces and for me, the pace was off with the peaks and lulls never really getting past a flat ocean rather than building crescendo’s and Marianas trenches. A great shame to be honest especially when the whole thing feels a little too neatly tied up by it’s conclusion.

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