Most Helpful Customer Reviews
19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Take me in, tender woman, sighed the snake, October 24, 2004
This review is from: Hawksong: The Kiesha'ra: Volume One (Hardcover)
In light of the current marketing blitz of young adult authors (ala "Eragon" and "Secret of the Stones") it's useful to remember that the existence of authors barely out of childhood is not a new occurrence. Perhaps the best example of this is the highly readable and talented Amelia Atwater-Rhodes. Born in 1984 (you do the math) her first book was published when she was a mere slip of a lass of thirteen years. With "Hawksong" she's reached the wise old age of nineteen, though you'd never know it from reading the book. Atwater-Rhodes is prone to over-formal sentences, familiar if limited plots, and sometimes stock characters but "Hawksong" withstands these criticisms and remains interesting and (in its way) original reading.
It's like Romeo and Juliet. Only in this case, Romeo hates Juliet, Juliet fears Romeo, and the two are only getting together for political reasons. Danica is the last surviving heir to her people's throne. As an Avian, she and her people have the ability to transform into various winged fowl, sometimes completely and sometimes only by half. They have been at war longer than they know with the Serpiente people. Led by Zane Cobriana, these are the Avians' snake enemies. In a desperate effort to create a new peace in the land, Zane and Danica decide to wed, thereby creating a political marriage between their warring tribes. The trouble is, of course, that these two can't stand one another. Also, it's clear that a centuries-long war isn't about to end just because two optimistic kids decide to dedicate their lives to it. To make the peace survive this new pair must address dissent, learn to appreciate one another, and sniff out the assassins that keep attempting to kill them.
It's nice to read a kind of anti-love story once in a while. Atwater-Rhodes also has the wit to write a realistic enough war without making Zane/Danica's solution instant and tidy. War's a messy business, and some of the most convincing moments in the book come when Danica must face potential mutiny in her hepped-up-ready-to-fight recruits and soldiers. The love story that slowly emerges between the two heroes is slow but, sadly, a little predictable. I found myself, oddly enough, comparing it constantly to the story of Beauty and the Beast (another tale where the girl fears the man and then comes to love him). It was disappointing to say to one's self "I wonder when the moment will come when one has to nurse the other back to health" and then actually see it occur. None of this to degrade Atwater-Rhodes's work, however. Though the book, as I've said earlier, is somewhat repetitive and familiar, it's still an interesting read. The author has filled it full with little touches and interesting ideas. The Serpiente, for example, are (despite what you may think) very touch oriented and warm to one another in their society. Emotional creatures, if you will. The Avian, on the other hand, do not touch and are particularly aloof and formal. It was Atwater-Rhodes's intelligence that told her to make her heroine (and narrator) come from the cool collected side and not the warm emotional one. By extension, the book is far more interesting.
It must be particularly frustrating to all the terrible fantasy authors out there that someone like Amelia Atwater-Rhodes has accomplished, prior to the ancient age of 21, what they themselves have been unable to attain. Which is to say, she writes good fantasy. Not particularly original or deep fantasy, but fantasy with enough reality and interesting ideas that it's worth your while to read. "Hawksong" is a fun dive into an entirely different world. It won't knock your socks off but it'll give you pause and win your respect. I went into the book hoping it wouldn't make me cringe due to the writing. Not only didn't I cringe, but it won my respect. An interesting creation.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Rhodes is Back!, August 5, 2003
This review is from: Hawksong: The Kiesha'ra: Volume One (Hardcover)
After reading her last effort, the dissapointing Midnight Predator, I had almost lost my faith in Amelia's creditbility as a teen author. But when I found out her next book, Hawksong, was about to be released, I decided to give her one more chance. After picking the book up, I was able to take my time with this book. Taking a much needed break from the world of witches and vampires, Rhodes treats us to a world ruled by two breeds of shape-shifters (One is avian; the other is serpienten). A war that has been going on for ages leaves the heir to the avain throne, Danica Shardae, to achieve the goal of creating peace between the two lands. With the help (an a forced marriage) to Zane Corbriana, heir to the serpienten throne, they must try to put their differences aside and start the long road to peace. Hawksong, in case you didn't know, is Book I in a series of four planned by Rhodes. The writing has diffently matured and has become more descriptive since Amelia's first novel, which was the biggest welcomed change. I haven't seen people complain (yet) if Hawksong is a rip-off of an L. J. Smith novel (Midnight Predator) or a knock-off of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Shattered Mirror), but to me this seems to be more orginal than the other four books. I would happen to agree with most reviewers that this is her best offering so far, but we'll just have to wait until the next three are published in order to justify this. Also, she has improved on characticterzation. No more 2D, cookie-cutters here. But with most of Rhodes' books, she still has flaws. The most common is her tendency to "over-dramitize". While she has lightened up on this through out most of the book, she still has hints of it in some passages. Amelia also has a problem with description. She will often give her readers too little or too much, which will throw you off. If anyone wants to get into Amelia Atwater-Rhodes, suggest this book!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
the most well-written from Amelia Atwater-Rhodes, July 27, 2003
This review is from: Hawksong: The Kiesha'ra: Volume One (Hardcover)
In my opinion, Hawksong is the most well-written book that Amelia Atwater-Rhodes has published so far. This is not to say that I did not enjoy her previous books (In Forests of the Night, Demon in my View, Shattered Mirror, & Midnight Predator), but this is the first book where her plot did not involve a tough girl falling inexplainably in love with a vampire guy of sorts. Her writing style has matured, there is more closure to the events that takes place. In Hawksong, the plot is based on the political union of the leaders of two warring peoples: the avian and the serpiente. Danica Shardae, the queen (the Tuuli Thea in avian culture) and Zane Cobriana, the king (the Diente in serpiente culture) sacrifice their own happiness in exchange for the lives of their people. How this marriage will turn out is up to you, the reader, to find out when and if you read Hawksong. Atwater-Rhodes' descriptive prose will keep you going through the book. She seems to begin to create her own worlds, but she brings them to the real world so that the reader could imagine a culture like the avian's and the serpiente's actually existing. To sum it up: this is a great book. Five stars. Read it =)
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
|
