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I re-read my review and it is quite incomplete. I only went over the aspects of the book that I didn't like. What I did like was Mr. Thompson's obvious homage to the authors that he enjoys (Terry Brooks). It is in that same vein and well-done for one of those types of books (Eddings would be another such author). Mr. Thompson does seem to have a world that can be considerably expanded and his world-building is actually well-done. I also enjoyed his description of the elves of the time. They aren't glowing ethereal forest denizens, but rather barbarous, cannibalisitic forest denizens. How the mighty have fallen. His secondary characters are the strength of the book, especially Kronos the 16 year old swordsman, who in some ways is Gandalf to Jarom. It was an unusual pairing, but it worked. The book is also a complete story, which I also appreciated.
Overall, I think he has talent and potential, but this first book could have been improved by being shorter with less obvious adjectives and a more worthy main character (more interesting).
I'll read the second book.
As a side note, there are many people who read fantasy who probably can't stand the kind of books that is typified by Brooks and Eddings (probably hundreds of thousands). There are also at least as many who love them (again hundreds of thousands). I find it comforting that our genre has grown so much and is so popular that we have brought forth such a diversity of opinion and authors.
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