Michael J. Allen: The Wizard's Bane (Bittergate #2)

Mon frère est ma soeur Naja Marie Aidt: Schere, Stein, Papier

Michael J. Allen: The Wizard's Bane (Bittergate #2)

Dear Mr. Allen,

could you draw me a four-pointed circle like the one your centaurs form on page 340?

Which martial art is Sensei Truth teaching? I have never come across a practitioner of Martial Arts, they usually say Jiu Jitsu or Karate or Wing Tsun or Taek Won Do. A whole dojo where nobody ever names the martial art they're learning is hard to believe. Almost as hard as Mason earning a belt (or several?) in a matter of weeks. Magically enhanced speed or no, belts are all about technique and that takes time to learn.

If Jordan can swim through the earth with the help of a mud-puppy, why doesn't she do the same when the fauns attack her and the elves come to help? She has enough time inside her earth-cocoon to swim away down.

When Billie Jo starts her baking spree, what oven does she use?

Who attacks a necromancer on a graveyard? And why did said necromancer lose the fight? It sounds like she's stomping her attackers into the mud and resurrecting them to fight for her, but suddenly you say: Nope, she's losing. Because of plot?

Just a few questions an editor would have asked you if you had one. You might want to rethink the whole self-publishing thing, Mr. Allen. At the moment, you're living off your reputation, but that won't last if you keep churning out half-baked novels that never got more than your word-processor's automatic proofreading.

The Wizard's Bane bored me in the beginning, just like the first Bittergate novel. But I decided to read at least the first 100 pages this time. And by then, there were two characters I cared about: Jordan and Mason. Both have their future and happiness at stake. The other plotlines were still boring me, so I read the first sentence of every scene and skipped most of them. Jordan's and Mason's parts made an enjoyable read up to page 346. I always knew what was going on and why. When Jedediah the almighty was back, the whole story turned boring for good and I skipped right to the next-to-last chapter, skimmed the last two and read the epilogue. Still knowing what's going on, still not feeling like I missed anything. I'm afraid The Wizard's Bane has more chapters than it needs. This, too, is something an editor might have told you.

Yours sincerely
Christina Widmann de Fran