9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Hoping for a Sequel, August 7, 2007
The premise of the book will be familiar to more experienced fantasy readers. History professor Max Ravenhill discovers he's not who he thinks he is. He's not even human. He's an exile from the lands of the Fae, guardian of the Talismans that can select the next High Prince and end the cycle of death and corruption. Now, as Max's exile comes to an end, the Basilisk Prince is determined to capture him and use the Talismans to make himself High Prince.
It took me a few chapters to get into the book. Malan jumps right into the action with a fairly brutal (off-screen) massacre, and it also took me a while to grasp the fantasy side of her worldbuilding. It wasn't until a few chapters into the book, when Max and his protector Cassandra left our world and returned home, that I started to wrap my brain around everything.
With that said, I enjoyed the book a great deal by the end. Max and Cassandra were fun, and it was interesting to see the relationship between the guardian (who knows what's going on) and Max (whose memories have been altered, so he doesn't even know Cassandra at first). Malan even gives us glimpses of "humanity" from the Basilisk Prince, and I always like conflicted characters.
While some elements of the story felt familiar, others were intriguingly original. I enjoyed Malan's take on enchanted weapons and armor, and the creative ways they can be used. Her revelation about the Hounds (hunting beasts, from the original Hunt) was fascinating enough I wanted her to spend more time on it.
Actually, that was my biggest frustration. Some of Malan's most fascinating ideas seemed to get skimmed over. I wanted to learn more about the Naturals and the Solitaries, the other "races" of Max's realm. I wanted to understand guidebeasts better. And if the biggest complaint about a book is, "I wanted more," then I think that's a pretty positive thing.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great Plotline-A Good First Try, September 16, 2006
The plotline of this book is what caught my interest. The action begins in our world-the Shadowlands. The protagonist is a Faerie Prince whose memory has been taken and has been banished to our world. He is long-lived and his memory fades every 15-20 years. His time of Banishment is ending and his old enemy has sent the Great Hunt to track him down. He is rescued by a Warden sent to watch over him. Unfortunately, she is given the unhappy task of convincing him of his identity and bringing him back to the Faerie Lands.
The beginning of the book lacks much of the atmosphere and character building that makes the best novels work. The plotline is extremely fast-paced and without the initial framework in place, it is difficult to really empathize with the main character. The writing improves towards the end. Overall, it seems like this was a great novel that was hurried a bit too much.
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9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The mIrror prince, August 9, 2006
This is a fast paced novel. For such a stand alone book it has
has unsually well-developed fantasy world. Such development usually takes a longer book or a multiple volume series. Unlike the profssional review, I like time Malan spent develping the faerie culture and history. It has a good mistusre of humor and seriousness, plus a few unexpected surprises.
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