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The Brightstone Saga #2
The Fortune-Teller
"Harlano will stop at nothing to capture Orry. The metal head contains magical knowledge that the evil wizard is desperate to obtain. Only the young apprentice Mikal and his scrappy friend Lyra stand in his way. From the Miracle Fair, through the perilous woods of Periskold, down the rushing Tombow River, and to the coast of Farhaven, Mikal and Lyra must evade the powerful Harlano and his henchmen. The two youngsters fight dangerous creatures and face mysterious magic throughout their daring journey. Can they keep Orry safe from Harlano and the dark forces that stand behind him, or will the rogue wizard uncover the secret that could change the world?"
160 pages, Library Binding
First published January 1, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 13, 2013
When last we saw Mikal and Lyra, at the end of The Brightworking, they had escaped the destruction of the Guild of Constant Working's Hall in the city of Oranbold, carrying with them Orichalkon, a magic artifact in the shape of a bronze head. However, we find out almost immediately upon beginning The Fortune-Teller that the evil wizard Harlano, Mikal's former master, is hot on their trail, trying to get Orichalkon back for his own nefarious purposes.
The Fortune-Teller has essentially the same strengths and weaknesses as its predecessor. It runs from adventure to adventure at full tilt, always keeping the reader entertained, but at the cost of some character and world development. This is a conscious choice on Paul B. Thompson's part, and I think it works well for an audience just learning to cut its teeth on fantasy novels. I would have preferred a book with more detail, even if it didn't move as quickly, but I understand the authorial decision at work here, and I can respect it. (The fact that there isn't a map to help with the somewhat confusing geography, however, is a serious omission.)
There are some series -- even fantasy series -- where beginning with a book in the middle isn't particularly problematic. I remember as a teenager starting Alan Dean Foster's Spellsinger series with the eighth book (Chorus Skating), and not having any real trouble picking up the storyline. However, a reader picking up The Fortune-Teller without having read The Brightworking will be at a severe disadvantage; this is a series that should be started at the beginning. Similarly, the book ends with a cliffhanger -- to get any kind of resolution, readers will have to continue to the third (and final) entry in the series, The Battle for the Brightstone.
It's not the kind of novel that has hidden literary depths. But it's a lot of fun, and beginning fantasy readers could do a lot worse than this series.
A longer version of this review appears at abouttomock.blogspot.com
The Fortune-Teller has essentially the same strengths and weaknesses as its predecessor. It runs from adventure to adventure at full tilt, always keeping the reader entertained, but at the cost of some character and world development. This is a conscious choice on Paul B. Thompson's part, and I think it works well for an audience just learning to cut its teeth on fantasy novels. I would have preferred a book with more detail, even if it didn't move as quickly, but I understand the authorial decision at work here, and I can respect it. (The fact that there isn't a map to help with the somewhat confusing geography, however, is a serious omission.)
There are some series -- even fantasy series -- where beginning with a book in the middle isn't particularly problematic. I remember as a teenager starting Alan Dean Foster's Spellsinger series with the eighth book (Chorus Skating), and not having any real trouble picking up the storyline. However, a reader picking up The Fortune-Teller without having read The Brightworking will be at a severe disadvantage; this is a series that should be started at the beginning. Similarly, the book ends with a cliffhanger -- to get any kind of resolution, readers will have to continue to the third (and final) entry in the series, The Battle for the Brightstone.
It's not the kind of novel that has hidden literary depths. But it's a lot of fun, and beginning fantasy readers could do a lot worse than this series.
A longer version of this review appears at abouttomock.blogspot.com
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March 14, 2013In the second volume of the Brightstone Saga, erstwhile wizard’s apprentice and his streetwise friend Lyra have joined a traveling circus to earn their living as fortune tellers, using Orry, a talking mechanical head and the most powerful magical device in Periskold, as their charlatan-style prop. The evil wizard Harlano remains undeceived and dogs the youngsters from one haven to another. With Harlano at their heels, Mikal and Lyra race through the perilous woods of Periskol, down the tumultuous Tombow River, and seek asylum at Fairhaven.
August 7, 2014
I won this book from a Goodreads firstreads giveaway. I tried really hard to get into this book, but I just couldn't get into the flow of the story.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews