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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Well.. looks like a great set up for a series, May 16, 2005
This review is from: Empire's Daughter (The Chronicles of Kydan, Book 1) (Paperback)
I really think that Simon Brown has gotten some bad press or someething. None of his books seem to get a chance.
This book is really pretty good. I have a few problems with the story line and some of the names are pretty close to the same so it can tend to get a little confusing. The basic premise of the story is not really what is on the back cover. Yes that is part of the story but not the main line in my opinion. The main part of the story is the strife between all the family members and the family that resides in the other country.
Don't judge this book by the synopsis since it does not do it justice. This is a above average book and will certainly fill the time as you are waiting for others to be published.
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5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Unfocused, unredeemed and utter dreck, March 12, 2005
This review is from: Empire's Daughter (The Chronicles of Kydan, Book 1) (Paperback)
I cannot recommend this book to anyone. Too many characters (a lot of which are completely unlikeable) and a plot that goes nowhere. I finished this and asked myself why did I even bother. A pity since the author's earlier trilogy, (The Keys of Power) was quite good.
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3.0 out of 5 stars
Could have been the start of something good, May 26, 2010
This review is from: Empire's Daughter (The Chronicles of Kydan, Book 1) (Paperback)
I think some reviewers are angry at *SPOILER* a few apparently key characters which are killed off before the end of the book. *END SPOILER* The author does not really build any emotional attachments to any characters- apparently so it is not obvious who will live or die. At least that is what it feels like. Every character seems to be a secondary character which is more often what you find in a 3rd or 4 book of a series, not the first.
That said, the actual plot and pacing is pretty good. The world being built is unique enough to warrant some interest and there are few fantasy books which play with the discovery of a "new world" that gets colonies from the old world. The author seems to be aiming for something quite ambitious explaining the overturning of political orders and the rise of the laboring class in a fantasy setting. IE- 1600-1900 historical "borrowing"
The magical mechanism of Sefid requiring a wielder to sacrifice something they love with the stronger the wielders love and the more intelligent and itself powerful is the sacrifice, the stronger the resulting magic. It seems a solid basis to explore some interesting dynamics of human emotion and diplomacy that the author does not really put to much use.
Overall it is an ambitious start to a series which does not really reach its potential. Having read the 3 books out so far this series is good for a long flight somewhere or to read on a camping trip. Not a waste of time, but not compelling enough to make you reach for the next book when you finish the current one on a work night.
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