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Ardalia #1
The Breath of Aoles
Pelmen hates being a tanner, but that’s all he would ever be, thanks to the rigid caste system amongst his people, the hevelens. Then he meets Master Galn Boisencroix and his family. The master carpenter opens up the world of archery to young Pelmen, who excels at his newfound skill. But Pelmen’s intractable father would have none of it, and tries to force Pelmen to stay in the tannery.
One day, however, Pelmen’s best friend and Master Galn's son, Teleg, disappears. Lured away by the prospect of untold riches through mining amberrock, the most precious substance in the world, Teleg finds himself a prisoner of the Nylevs, fierce fire-wielding worshippers of the god of destruction.
Now Pelmen must leave all he knows behind, overcome his fears and travel across the land, in search of his childhood friend. Along the way, he will ally himself with strange and fantastic beings: a shaman who controls the Breath of Aoles, or the power of the wind, a krongos, a creature of the mineral realm who can become living rock, and a malian, adept at water magic.
One day, however, Pelmen’s best friend and Master Galn's son, Teleg, disappears. Lured away by the prospect of untold riches through mining amberrock, the most precious substance in the world, Teleg finds himself a prisoner of the Nylevs, fierce fire-wielding worshippers of the god of destruction.
Now Pelmen must leave all he knows behind, overcome his fears and travel across the land, in search of his childhood friend. Along the way, he will ally himself with strange and fantastic beings: a shaman who controls the Breath of Aoles, or the power of the wind, a krongos, a creature of the mineral realm who can become living rock, and a malian, adept at water magic.
337 pages, ebook
First published March 20, 2010
24 people are currently reading
947 people want to read
About the author
Alan Spade
47 books61 followersAlan Spade worked for eight years for the press, reviewing video games. In his youth, he acquainted himself with the classic French authors, while immersing himself in the works of H. P. Lovecraft, Isaac Asimov, J. R. R. Tolkien and Stephen King.
That wide range of influences is reflected in his style, simultaneously approachable, visually evocative and imaginative.
Alan likes to say that "a good book is like a good old pair of shoes: you feel at ease inside, comfortable."
The Breath of Aoles is his third book: previously, he wrote a fantasy novel for two years, between 2001 and 2003, but after submitting it to publishers, he decided the story wasn't good enough. He didn't try to publish it anymore. Then he wrote a Science Fiction short stories collection, and then, for six years, The Breath of Aoles.
That wide range of influences is reflected in his style, simultaneously approachable, visually evocative and imaginative.
Alan likes to say that "a good book is like a good old pair of shoes: you feel at ease inside, comfortable."
The Breath of Aoles is his third book: previously, he wrote a fantasy novel for two years, between 2001 and 2003, but after submitting it to publishers, he decided the story wasn't good enough. He didn't try to publish it anymore. Then he wrote a Science Fiction short stories collection, and then, for six years, The Breath of Aoles.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 76 reviews
July 31, 2014
I loved this book and I'm eagerly waiting to read all the books in this series. Breath Of Aoles has a lot of things in store for a fantasy-lover. A great adventurous journey, an intelligent and receptive lead character with a great sense of moral, faithful companions, bizarre animals and beasts and numerous magical elements.
This book has a a great narrative and a really strong storyline which makes you believe in it and fall in love with it. Pelmen is a brilliant character, that eventually grows on you, and you start to accept and respect his view of the world he lives in. You will feel the connection between you and Pelmen getting stronger with each chapter. I absolutely loved Pelmen and was able to feel his emotions very-well. At times some of the names seem strange to pronounce, but that really doesn't affect the overall magical effect of the book.
I liked Xuven and Fekkar also, and was able to connect with them easily. All other people and beings introduced, were also quite fascinating.
I'll be cutting back on half a star because of above said difficult pronunciations and some grammatical and spelling mistakes.
I'll recommend it everyone who loves reading adventure and fantasy, even suspense! I've already read it twice and will be happy to read it again.
NOTE:I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
You can also find this review at The Reading Bud
This book has a a great narrative and a really strong storyline which makes you believe in it and fall in love with it. Pelmen is a brilliant character, that eventually grows on you, and you start to accept and respect his view of the world he lives in. You will feel the connection between you and Pelmen getting stronger with each chapter. I absolutely loved Pelmen and was able to feel his emotions very-well. At times some of the names seem strange to pronounce, but that really doesn't affect the overall magical effect of the book.
I liked Xuven and Fekkar also, and was able to connect with them easily. All other people and beings introduced, were also quite fascinating.
I'll be cutting back on half a star because of above said difficult pronunciations and some grammatical and spelling mistakes.
I'll recommend it everyone who loves reading adventure and fantasy, even suspense! I've already read it twice and will be happy to read it again.
NOTE:I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
You can also find this review at The Reading Bud
December 18, 2022
The Breath of Aoles is book #1 in the Ardalia trilogy. This adventure story is full of strange creatures, unusual lands, magic and violence. Pelmen starts out as a lowly tanner however under the guidance of his uncle Xuven, a mystical shaman, Pelmen transforms into a brave hunter while on an important quest. Thanks to Alan Spade for my digital copy of his book. I look forward to continuing with the series.
September 4, 2016
I found this to be very difficult to get into at first as it seemed to jump from one thought to the next randomly. Once I wrapped my head round Alan's style of writing it was much easier - indeed it became positively enthralling and will be to many age ranges from teens to adults. This could well grow in stature as a coming of age fantasy adventure that will consume the reader and spawn a whole new generation of fans that will breathe life into the territories and peoples that Alan has created magnificently. The danger will be that it becomes so complex and convoluted a plot that the beauty of the tale will be obscured by mere words.
The story is even better on the second reading!
I was originally given a free e-copy in exchange for an honest review but I have since bought it
The story is even better on the second reading!
I was originally given a free e-copy in exchange for an honest review but I have since bought it
November 7, 2014
I was asked to review this book as part of Goodreads Giveaways and First Reads.
The first thing that grabbed me about this book was the style of writing. It reminds me a lot of my own, and for that reason I admit I was immediately sucked in and found myself loving the story. It has a very youthful sort of feel, but it's not the kind you'd find in YA novels. There's a good use of language, with a wide range of words that makes it appealing to both young adults and those older. Because of this, I think Ardalia would be a good introduction to teens about the world of fantasy.
Speaking of fantasy, this book edges right up close to the world of sci-fi. There's nothing explicitly sci-fi about it, aside from the alien creatures within the world. Even so, I think this would be a good introduction to the world of sci-fi and imagining what different beings would look like. Personally, I kept picturing the hevelens as some kind of humanoid anteater species. There's nothing specifically that says they have long snouts (though they do have three nostrils), but it's what I kept picturing in my head.
The character development varied over the characters themselves. Pelmen's development was fairly steady throughout the novel, and in essence he is still familiar to the start- which I think is good, in a three-part series. The same can be said of his uncle. It was the minor characters that struggled. Their character development was a little rushed, and I think this can come down to pacing.
Pacing is the main reason I'm rating this book three stars instead of four. I really enjoyed this book, but it covers a huge amount of time. The characters spend weeks and months walking, and either very little happens, or a lot happens and it's barely covered. It becomes difficult to tell how much time has passed unless Spade deliberately says so. While this didn't detract from my enjoyment of the novel, it did make it hard at times to gauge how much time has passed.
Overall, this is a good start to the series, and I'd be interested in seeing where it goes from here. There's a few things that could be fixed and made tighter in the upcoming books, but there's no huge faults here that I could see.
The first thing that grabbed me about this book was the style of writing. It reminds me a lot of my own, and for that reason I admit I was immediately sucked in and found myself loving the story. It has a very youthful sort of feel, but it's not the kind you'd find in YA novels. There's a good use of language, with a wide range of words that makes it appealing to both young adults and those older. Because of this, I think Ardalia would be a good introduction to teens about the world of fantasy.
Speaking of fantasy, this book edges right up close to the world of sci-fi. There's nothing explicitly sci-fi about it, aside from the alien creatures within the world. Even so, I think this would be a good introduction to the world of sci-fi and imagining what different beings would look like. Personally, I kept picturing the hevelens as some kind of humanoid anteater species. There's nothing specifically that says they have long snouts (though they do have three nostrils), but it's what I kept picturing in my head.
The character development varied over the characters themselves. Pelmen's development was fairly steady throughout the novel, and in essence he is still familiar to the start- which I think is good, in a three-part series. The same can be said of his uncle. It was the minor characters that struggled. Their character development was a little rushed, and I think this can come down to pacing.
Pacing is the main reason I'm rating this book three stars instead of four. I really enjoyed this book, but it covers a huge amount of time. The characters spend weeks and months walking, and either very little happens, or a lot happens and it's barely covered. It becomes difficult to tell how much time has passed unless Spade deliberately says so. While this didn't detract from my enjoyment of the novel, it did make it hard at times to gauge how much time has passed.
Overall, this is a good start to the series, and I'd be interested in seeing where it goes from here. There's a few things that could be fixed and made tighter in the upcoming books, but there's no huge faults here that I could see.
November 21, 2018
This is the start a wonderfully original fantasy series that is full of surprises. The main character is Pelmen, a sixteen year old boy, who – against his father’s wishes, and family tradition – escapes from a life time of malodourous drudgery as a tanner’s assistant, to go with his best friend, Teleg, and Teleg’s master carpenter family to seek a new life in the big city of Alveg as a Hunter. Of course, nothing goes to plan and soon both Pelmen and Teleg find their futures in jeopardy.
There is mention of love interest, bard’s tales of past heroic deeds against the “infernal hordes of Valshhyk”, a highly structured and unfair medieval society... So far, normal for a fantasy novel. And then you discover that the nidepoux, that you had taken for a type of cow or horse, are actually massive rodents, and that Pelmen and his fellow Hevelen have three nostrils and an incredibly acute sense of smell. They are not human at all! Neither are the Malians, who, despite only having two nostrils, tend to fuse together in four armed, four legged pairs. In fact, there is nothing that is familiar here – not the two moons, or the colour of the sky, the types of magic, the flora and fauna, the godlike wind (Aoles), the weird bathing habits of the Malians, …
The author has a phenomenal imagination, and incorporates the abnormal into the story line with such subtlety, that it takes you a wee while to grasp what you have just read. There are not a lot of descriptions –the reader is encouraged to use their own imagination – and then finds that their preconceptions were misguided.
This may all sound bewildering, but it is done with such skill that each new revelation is met more with appreciation and wonder than confusion. The pace of the story varies, but it is never dull, and never predictable. All in all, a hugely enjoyable and inventive new fantasy world that has a lot more to come.
I received this copy from the author in exchange for an honest review
There is mention of love interest, bard’s tales of past heroic deeds against the “infernal hordes of Valshhyk”, a highly structured and unfair medieval society... So far, normal for a fantasy novel. And then you discover that the nidepoux, that you had taken for a type of cow or horse, are actually massive rodents, and that Pelmen and his fellow Hevelen have three nostrils and an incredibly acute sense of smell. They are not human at all! Neither are the Malians, who, despite only having two nostrils, tend to fuse together in four armed, four legged pairs. In fact, there is nothing that is familiar here – not the two moons, or the colour of the sky, the types of magic, the flora and fauna, the godlike wind (Aoles), the weird bathing habits of the Malians, …
The author has a phenomenal imagination, and incorporates the abnormal into the story line with such subtlety, that it takes you a wee while to grasp what you have just read. There are not a lot of descriptions –the reader is encouraged to use their own imagination – and then finds that their preconceptions were misguided.
This may all sound bewildering, but it is done with such skill that each new revelation is met more with appreciation and wonder than confusion. The pace of the story varies, but it is never dull, and never predictable. All in all, a hugely enjoyable and inventive new fantasy world that has a lot more to come.
I received this copy from the author in exchange for an honest review
January 5, 2015
First of all, I'd like to thank Mr. Alan Spade for giving me an electronic copy of this book to read. I'm sorry that my review of the book was so long in coming, and now I'd like to express my thoughts.
The book was a very satisfying read. In my opinion, the magic system of the shamans and magicians was fairly well developed, and it helped build up both the characters who had recourse to the powers as well as those who did not. And speaking of the characters, they were realistic to the point that it was easy to feel human emotion towards them, something that not all books make easy to do. The main character (Pelmen) in particular, was easy to support and very well written. The plot was very well imagined, and the world building was indeed very satisfying. While this book isn't filled to the brim with action or combat, anyone who is a fan of a good story should be able to get behind Mr.Spade's believable characters and original plot. In that sense, I'm glad to own a copy of this book, and I'd recommend it to fans of fantasy and good literature in general. An excellent first book, and I'll be waiting eagerly for the next one.
So to anyone who hasn't picked this up, you should. It's well written, well developed, and it's story should give you a new book to talk about, and maybe pass along. My verdict is simple: Read this, and you should be satisfied.
The book was a very satisfying read. In my opinion, the magic system of the shamans and magicians was fairly well developed, and it helped build up both the characters who had recourse to the powers as well as those who did not. And speaking of the characters, they were realistic to the point that it was easy to feel human emotion towards them, something that not all books make easy to do. The main character (Pelmen) in particular, was easy to support and very well written. The plot was very well imagined, and the world building was indeed very satisfying. While this book isn't filled to the brim with action or combat, anyone who is a fan of a good story should be able to get behind Mr.Spade's believable characters and original plot. In that sense, I'm glad to own a copy of this book, and I'd recommend it to fans of fantasy and good literature in general. An excellent first book, and I'll be waiting eagerly for the next one.
So to anyone who hasn't picked this up, you should. It's well written, well developed, and it's story should give you a new book to talk about, and maybe pass along. My verdict is simple: Read this, and you should be satisfied.
June 20, 2014
An extraordinary book. I'm not quite finished reading, but I can already give this one 5 stars. Imagine if Tolkien had been born and raised in British India. This book is what he might have written. It contains a rich, unique world, the likes of which I have never read.
A young man Pelmen escapes from his father's tannery shop, fleeing to a big city built on the side of a canyon wall. Along the way he encounters an evil shamen. In the city he meets friends from his village. He goes to work for his uncle.
That is about as much detail as I want to give. After this, Pelmen goes on a long trek and encounters incredibly detailed cultures.
A young man Pelmen escapes from his father's tannery shop, fleeing to a big city built on the side of a canyon wall. Along the way he encounters an evil shamen. In the city he meets friends from his village. He goes to work for his uncle.
That is about as much detail as I want to give. After this, Pelmen goes on a long trek and encounters incredibly detailed cultures.
January 4, 2017
Meet the people of Ardalia: Hevelens, Krongos and Malians. Fascinating to learn more about their lives and cultures. And to read more about the adventures of some of them. Well written! At first I had a little trouble with all the strange names and words. But when you get used to those, it is a wonderful book! I can't wait to start part 2!
I got this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, Alan Spade, for giving me a chance to read this! I really enjoyed it!
I got this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, Alan Spade, for giving me a chance to read this! I really enjoyed it!
February 21, 2015
When I first started this book I didn't know how to feel. At first I was confused, then irritated, then confused again ... and the sentiments went back and forth for at least 3 chapters, until I finally decided how I felt about this read. In four simple words...?
I DIDN'T LIKE IT.
As much as I wanted to like it, being that I am a lover of Sci-Fi and Fantasy, I simply could not. There are so many things about this book that left me feeling and thinking that it could have been so much better.
Allow me to start with the premise first:
Pelmen, who is the main character hates being a tanner which is the given profession and living status of the hevelens, due to some cultural order system. Basically, he finds his life mundane and uneventful and longs to be an archer which was something that was introduced to him by a man called Master Galn.
However, somewhere along the line, his good friend Teleg—whose sister Pelmen has a crush on—disappears, later on becoming a prisoner of Nylevs. Pelmen escapes his family and the life he's always known to get away for two reasons; to pursue his dream of being an archer, but most of all, to find his friend Teleg.
Having, down the line, found his uncle, he then trains to compete in the upcoming world renowned archery competition.
In the interim Pelmen meets many, many people, including a Shaman that can control The Breath of Aoles (which means the wind) along with some other nifty stuff.
***
Here are my thoughts on this book. I will try really hard to keep my thoughts relevant and factual to the story line, syntax, character development and the like. I don't think it will be necessary to categorize them in the form of pros and cons, as most of my thoughts are general.
Plot/Story Line:
The Breath of Aoles is a book that has potential. That much can be said. Yet, it requires a massive reworking in my opinion.
I feel as though the delivery of the story as a whole was lackluster, confusing and un-engaging. I found myself struggling just to stay awake long enough to read it, thus having to read it in small portions at a time. There were, of course, some increments when I said to myself "I'm just going to gobble up as much of this book as I can, simply to get through it." but unfortunately that never lasted long. So, I found myself going back and forth between reading small portions, then longer bits.
Many times over the narrative fell stale, as though the author was just pecking away at the keys simply to elongate the story without any real thought as to how excessive wordiness can impact the story as a whole. Particularly when said wordiness was humdrum and/or blasé.
I hate to say it, but the narrative was needlessly word heavy.
The story did progress and move forward, but at an extremely slow pace. Especially, during the first 3 or 4 chapters which I thought just drew the story out much more than it needed to be, and consequently attributed to the fact that the book took forever to get to the point.
This was made worse by the length of the chapters (which I will get into more soon).
There was advancement, but it came at a snail like pace.
Another very peculiar thing was at the very beginning of the story. There are some intervals where there was a switch in narrative style, and with that came entire scenes that were dealt in italics. The problem with these scenes was that there was no indication as to what they were. Were they memories, dreams, thoughts? What the heck were they? Yet, with the switch of narrative style it only made it much harder to decipher.
Not only was the narrative style hard to follow, particularly after commencing the story in another, but it didn't seem to do anything to move the story along. I found them confusing and awkward.
Chapter Length:
This bullet will be short and to the point. THE CHAPTER WERE HELL'A LONG! I mean to the point were I eventually began counting how many pages were left in each chapter before they came to an end. There is nothing that bugs me more in a book than trivially long chapters.
Characters:
Most of the characters were believable, that much is true. Yet, that still did not take away from the fact that much of the dialogue in which they engaged was not. I will tell you more about the dialogue later.
While Pelmen was the main character, I did not take a real liking to him. I though he made too many bad decisions. Of course, he is only 16, so that does explain a lot of it. Regardless of that, he just wasn't my favorite character.
My overall favorite character was Lanthe. I thought she had gumption and was fairly entertaining. I did also think that uncle Xuven was a real bad ass, to be honest. Loved him
Names:
While I realize that the author wanted to keep the name authentic to the genre/plot, I have got to say that most of them I couldn't pronounce for the life of me. They were complicated without cause. Some of them, dare I say, were just ridiculous. I don't mind unique names for characters, as a matter of fact, I typically condone it. Yet, when the names cannot even be pronounced, then there is a problem.
Dialogue vs. Narrative:
The narrative, as I said above was pretty excessive. It was just soooooo long. Let me try to show an example, if you would permit me for a moment. Here is just one sentence:
"They climbed the steps of the staircase in the entrance hall, went through rooms carved out of the rock, where Pelmen scarcely noticed the magnificence of the woodwork, and strode along interminable corridors to end up turning into a isolated, yet sumptuously decorated room."
The above is just one sentence. Now, if you would image the innumerable amount of long, drawn out sentences like the above one on a back to back basis, then you could image the extent of unnecessary narrative. The above example could have easily been cut in half by excluding some unnecessary words.
Here is one more example:
"The driver of the vehicle to the rear, whose features he could not make out because of the glare, hard seen him, however, he must have thought him consequential, for her contented himself with shaking his head to show his disapproval."
Just so long!
This brings us to the dialogue.
In the dialogue one thing that truly frustrated me was the ENORMOUS amount of ellipses!
This is just ONE example of page after page of dialogue laden with ellipses. The problem with this is that they are being erroneously utilized. Ellipses are used for "an incomplete thought". As you can see in the example above, these thoughts HAVE been completed.
So, if the character(s) is/are stuttering, or having trouble expressing something, then these divisions should have been indicated with Short Dashes or, in narrative. If done in narrative, then said characters' form of expression should have been noted.
Then there is the fact that conversation wise, it was just so dry and unbelievable. Every conversation between the characters was monotone. Truthfully, it bored me half to death.
Then there was the situation with misused punctuation. Here is an example.
"I'll make you one—it's the least I can do."
The EM Dash, also known as the Long Dash, is not used correctly. This could have easily been two sentences. Like so: "I'll make you one. It's the least I can do."
Why implement a Long Dash without needing to? That doesn't make any sense to me.
Fantasy vs. Reality:
One major problem that I had with this story was the presentation of Fantasy vs. Reality. There are a couple of reasons for this.
First let's look at the genre.
With this book I could not tell, for the life of me, if we were talking about a Sci-Fi or a Fantasy, or a Mash-up of both. If the Mash-up is true, I really, truly think that a Prologue and/or Introduction was have went a LONG way. The story, right off the bat, dives into the lives of the characters without any real introduction as to what type of thing we are reading. Even the blurb gives no real indication.
Next thing you know, you're being introduced to a Hierarchy of government and people that leaves you with no idea as to what's going on. Terms (as in verbiage) were used, that gave the story a Sci-Fi feel, yet narrative was being used that gave it a Native American Fantasy feel. As in Native American folk lore.
This honestly drove me crazy, because I couldn't tell my head from my butt-hole as to what was what.
We met things like "ptats" (one in particular named Mils, which was Pelmen's pet), this was apparently some sort of rat. Yet, the reader doesn't find this out until a while after it's presented. Then there were this world's horses, called "nidepoux" and an entire slew of other native things. Yet, are the fey or are the made up/Sci-fi? One simply cannot tell.
Here is the kicker...
One of the passages, reads as such (Once again, this is one of many.):
"The excuse was nidepoux-shit, of course."
Let me explain my problem with the above phrase.
If we are talking about another world, with an completely alternate vocabulary, including and not limited to their names for animals and people (which are helevens—this is their word for "human" I assume.), then WHY is "shit" called "shit"?
Wouldn't it stand to reason that "shit" would be called something else—something native?
This same logic applies to many other times when the verbiage was not true to what could have been it's classification. Another example, is the following:
"His gestures were slow, and marked with weariness, but his complexion was less jaundiced and he could stand up."
My dispute with that phrase is that "jaundice" is a human condition. In this story we are talking about "helevens" not humans. So wouldn't it make more sense if the author had conjured up another word for jaundice?
Maybe it's just me.
Culmination:
(Disclaimer: Tiny spoiler here.)
The ending wasn't too bad. I dug the idea of them striding away on their horses (or nidepoux) unto the horizon in victory, albeit demonstrating the pain of the undertaking. It had some closure while leaving some things that were mentioned in the story open to question— a lead, of course, to the next installment.
I can't hate the ending too much.
I DIDN'T LIKE IT.
As much as I wanted to like it, being that I am a lover of Sci-Fi and Fantasy, I simply could not. There are so many things about this book that left me feeling and thinking that it could have been so much better.
Allow me to start with the premise first:
Pelmen, who is the main character hates being a tanner which is the given profession and living status of the hevelens, due to some cultural order system. Basically, he finds his life mundane and uneventful and longs to be an archer which was something that was introduced to him by a man called Master Galn.
However, somewhere along the line, his good friend Teleg—whose sister Pelmen has a crush on—disappears, later on becoming a prisoner of Nylevs. Pelmen escapes his family and the life he's always known to get away for two reasons; to pursue his dream of being an archer, but most of all, to find his friend Teleg.
Having, down the line, found his uncle, he then trains to compete in the upcoming world renowned archery competition.
In the interim Pelmen meets many, many people, including a Shaman that can control The Breath of Aoles (which means the wind) along with some other nifty stuff.
***
Here are my thoughts on this book. I will try really hard to keep my thoughts relevant and factual to the story line, syntax, character development and the like. I don't think it will be necessary to categorize them in the form of pros and cons, as most of my thoughts are general.
Plot/Story Line:
The Breath of Aoles is a book that has potential. That much can be said. Yet, it requires a massive reworking in my opinion.
I feel as though the delivery of the story as a whole was lackluster, confusing and un-engaging. I found myself struggling just to stay awake long enough to read it, thus having to read it in small portions at a time. There were, of course, some increments when I said to myself "I'm just going to gobble up as much of this book as I can, simply to get through it." but unfortunately that never lasted long. So, I found myself going back and forth between reading small portions, then longer bits.
Many times over the narrative fell stale, as though the author was just pecking away at the keys simply to elongate the story without any real thought as to how excessive wordiness can impact the story as a whole. Particularly when said wordiness was humdrum and/or blasé.
I hate to say it, but the narrative was needlessly word heavy.
The story did progress and move forward, but at an extremely slow pace. Especially, during the first 3 or 4 chapters which I thought just drew the story out much more than it needed to be, and consequently attributed to the fact that the book took forever to get to the point.
This was made worse by the length of the chapters (which I will get into more soon).
There was advancement, but it came at a snail like pace.
Another very peculiar thing was at the very beginning of the story. There are some intervals where there was a switch in narrative style, and with that came entire scenes that were dealt in italics. The problem with these scenes was that there was no indication as to what they were. Were they memories, dreams, thoughts? What the heck were they? Yet, with the switch of narrative style it only made it much harder to decipher.
Not only was the narrative style hard to follow, particularly after commencing the story in another, but it didn't seem to do anything to move the story along. I found them confusing and awkward.
Chapter Length:
This bullet will be short and to the point. THE CHAPTER WERE HELL'A LONG! I mean to the point were I eventually began counting how many pages were left in each chapter before they came to an end. There is nothing that bugs me more in a book than trivially long chapters.
Characters:
Most of the characters were believable, that much is true. Yet, that still did not take away from the fact that much of the dialogue in which they engaged was not. I will tell you more about the dialogue later.
While Pelmen was the main character, I did not take a real liking to him. I though he made too many bad decisions. Of course, he is only 16, so that does explain a lot of it. Regardless of that, he just wasn't my favorite character.
My overall favorite character was Lanthe. I thought she had gumption and was fairly entertaining. I did also think that uncle Xuven was a real bad ass, to be honest. Loved him
Names:
While I realize that the author wanted to keep the name authentic to the genre/plot, I have got to say that most of them I couldn't pronounce for the life of me. They were complicated without cause. Some of them, dare I say, were just ridiculous. I don't mind unique names for characters, as a matter of fact, I typically condone it. Yet, when the names cannot even be pronounced, then there is a problem.
Dialogue vs. Narrative:
The narrative, as I said above was pretty excessive. It was just soooooo long. Let me try to show an example, if you would permit me for a moment. Here is just one sentence:
"They climbed the steps of the staircase in the entrance hall, went through rooms carved out of the rock, where Pelmen scarcely noticed the magnificence of the woodwork, and strode along interminable corridors to end up turning into a isolated, yet sumptuously decorated room."
The above is just one sentence. Now, if you would image the innumerable amount of long, drawn out sentences like the above one on a back to back basis, then you could image the extent of unnecessary narrative. The above example could have easily been cut in half by excluding some unnecessary words.
Here is one more example:
"The driver of the vehicle to the rear, whose features he could not make out because of the glare, hard seen him, however, he must have thought him consequential, for her contented himself with shaking his head to show his disapproval."
Just so long!
This brings us to the dialogue.
In the dialogue one thing that truly frustrated me was the ENORMOUS amount of ellipses!
This is just ONE example of page after page of dialogue laden with ellipses. The problem with this is that they are being erroneously utilized. Ellipses are used for "an incomplete thought". As you can see in the example above, these thoughts HAVE been completed.
So, if the character(s) is/are stuttering, or having trouble expressing something, then these divisions should have been indicated with Short Dashes or, in narrative. If done in narrative, then said characters' form of expression should have been noted.
Then there is the fact that conversation wise, it was just so dry and unbelievable. Every conversation between the characters was monotone. Truthfully, it bored me half to death.
Then there was the situation with misused punctuation. Here is an example.
"I'll make you one—it's the least I can do."
The EM Dash, also known as the Long Dash, is not used correctly. This could have easily been two sentences. Like so: "I'll make you one. It's the least I can do."
Why implement a Long Dash without needing to? That doesn't make any sense to me.
Fantasy vs. Reality:
One major problem that I had with this story was the presentation of Fantasy vs. Reality. There are a couple of reasons for this.
First let's look at the genre.
With this book I could not tell, for the life of me, if we were talking about a Sci-Fi or a Fantasy, or a Mash-up of both. If the Mash-up is true, I really, truly think that a Prologue and/or Introduction was have went a LONG way. The story, right off the bat, dives into the lives of the characters without any real introduction as to what type of thing we are reading. Even the blurb gives no real indication.
Next thing you know, you're being introduced to a Hierarchy of government and people that leaves you with no idea as to what's going on. Terms (as in verbiage) were used, that gave the story a Sci-Fi feel, yet narrative was being used that gave it a Native American Fantasy feel. As in Native American folk lore.
This honestly drove me crazy, because I couldn't tell my head from my butt-hole as to what was what.
We met things like "ptats" (one in particular named Mils, which was Pelmen's pet), this was apparently some sort of rat. Yet, the reader doesn't find this out until a while after it's presented. Then there were this world's horses, called "nidepoux" and an entire slew of other native things. Yet, are the fey or are the made up/Sci-fi? One simply cannot tell.
Here is the kicker...
One of the passages, reads as such (Once again, this is one of many.):
"The excuse was nidepoux-shit, of course."
Let me explain my problem with the above phrase.
If we are talking about another world, with an completely alternate vocabulary, including and not limited to their names for animals and people (which are helevens—this is their word for "human" I assume.), then WHY is "shit" called "shit"?
Wouldn't it stand to reason that "shit" would be called something else—something native?
This same logic applies to many other times when the verbiage was not true to what could have been it's classification. Another example, is the following:
"His gestures were slow, and marked with weariness, but his complexion was less jaundiced and he could stand up."
My dispute with that phrase is that "jaundice" is a human condition. In this story we are talking about "helevens" not humans. So wouldn't it make more sense if the author had conjured up another word for jaundice?
Maybe it's just me.
Culmination:
(Disclaimer: Tiny spoiler here.)
The ending wasn't too bad. I dug the idea of them striding away on their horses (or nidepoux) unto the horizon in victory, albeit demonstrating the pain of the undertaking. It had some closure while leaving some things that were mentioned in the story open to question— a lead, of course, to the next installment.
I can't hate the ending too much.
August 5, 2016
Asked to be read by Author in exchange for Review
The author was kind enough to send me a copy of the ebook after I failed to win his giveaway. There are some things I quite liked but a few things that stopped me from being completely invested in the story and the characters. The story is quite good, but a little bit over stocked with criss crossing themes. We have elemental magic, we have strange beasts, we have a Lord of the Rings style journey. It almost seems too much though and I think the Author may have been trying to set up such a massive trilogy or series that he ends up overloading the first book. I know you are not supposed to judge a book by its cover but I didn't like this one. Felt the cover of a 60's romance novel in painting style and the little oddities like the mainly having three nostrils but no nipples was confusing as I'm thinking "Okay where the hell are we??".
Our main character is likeable but not loveable and the supporting are well written but I found Perlman interesting enough to want to know where his journey goes. I was actually enjoying his initial journey when, as told in the summary, he goes off on another mission. We are also a few times led to expect something, like Perlmans quest to compete in a competition to be a hunter, only to have it skipped or never happen. I wanted to see that competition.
I think this is a good start for the author and shows real promise. If you like Fantasy and Adventure you should get a kick out of it. I think with more practice writing in the English language Spade should be able to smooth out his writing style as currently the names and places don't quite have an English feel to them which sometimes makes saying them in your head difficult.
The author was kind enough to send me a copy of the ebook after I failed to win his giveaway. There are some things I quite liked but a few things that stopped me from being completely invested in the story and the characters. The story is quite good, but a little bit over stocked with criss crossing themes. We have elemental magic, we have strange beasts, we have a Lord of the Rings style journey. It almost seems too much though and I think the Author may have been trying to set up such a massive trilogy or series that he ends up overloading the first book. I know you are not supposed to judge a book by its cover but I didn't like this one. Felt the cover of a 60's romance novel in painting style and the little oddities like the mainly having three nostrils but no nipples was confusing as I'm thinking "Okay where the hell are we??".
Our main character is likeable but not loveable and the supporting are well written but I found Perlman interesting enough to want to know where his journey goes. I was actually enjoying his initial journey when, as told in the summary, he goes off on another mission. We are also a few times led to expect something, like Perlmans quest to compete in a competition to be a hunter, only to have it skipped or never happen. I wanted to see that competition.
I think this is a good start for the author and shows real promise. If you like Fantasy and Adventure you should get a kick out of it. I think with more practice writing in the English language Spade should be able to smooth out his writing style as currently the names and places don't quite have an English feel to them which sometimes makes saying them in your head difficult.
Read
January 9, 2017Il y a des récits qui présentent des univers dans lesquels je m’immerge totalement, dès le début, et qui me donnent envie de poursuivre les aventures du héros sans m’arrêter. Le Souffle d’Aoles en fait partie. Je me suis laissée emporter dans cette histoire dont le héros est une créature inattendue, un hevelen, dotée de trois narines. Répondant aux standards de la Fantasy, avec sa quête et son apprentissage, le Souffle d’Aoles est un roman prenant, où l’on suit l’évolution de Pelmen, un personnage très attachant, découvrant avec lui la complexité de l’univers dans lequel il vit, avec sa magie, ses créatures surprenantes. J’ai suivi l’avancée de l’intrigue avec autant de détermination que Pelmen mettait dans l’accomplissement de sa quête.
J’ai particulièrement apprécié le fait qu’ici, l’auteur n’ait pas cherché à imiter le style de grands noms de la Fantasy comme Tolkien ou Robin Hobb. Ce monde et les êtres qui y vivent créent un décor inédit, qui aident à renouveler le genre. La plume est simple, agréable, très visuelle, et on imagine aisément les différents paysages et personnages présentés par l’auteur. Je me suis même surprise à flairer en même temps que Pelmen à un moment de l’aventure, tant j’étais plongée dans le récit!
Ce premier volet est prenant et à la dernière page, on n’a qu’une hâte, découvrir la suite, preuve que l’histoire est une réussite.
https://deslivresdesfilsetunpeudefari...
J’ai particulièrement apprécié le fait qu’ici, l’auteur n’ait pas cherché à imiter le style de grands noms de la Fantasy comme Tolkien ou Robin Hobb. Ce monde et les êtres qui y vivent créent un décor inédit, qui aident à renouveler le genre. La plume est simple, agréable, très visuelle, et on imagine aisément les différents paysages et personnages présentés par l’auteur. Je me suis même surprise à flairer en même temps que Pelmen à un moment de l’aventure, tant j’étais plongée dans le récit!
Ce premier volet est prenant et à la dernière page, on n’a qu’une hâte, découvrir la suite, preuve que l’histoire est une réussite.
https://deslivresdesfilsetunpeudefari...
June 29, 2015
Note: This book was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
I have mixed feelings about this book.
On one hand, I liked the story, and felt that Pelmen grew and broadened his horizons quite well throughout. I enjoyed it enough to look forward to the second book.
On the other hand, I felt lost without proper descriptions of the peoples of the world. From the beginning, I had to wonder what the term "hevelen" meant, and once I'd worked out that it referred to Pelmen's race, I still had next to no idea what they should look like, except that they had 3 nostrils, grew hair on their heads, and the disinherited class' heads were typically shaved.
I had an easier time imagining the krongos race, as they were different enough from hevelens that the narrative (from Pelmen's point of view) required more detailed description.
I can't remember any description at all for some of the animals hunted by Pelmen, so their names are just easily-forgotten blurs, and the sparse physical description of the malians only really pointed out the differences between Pelmen's preconceptions of them and the reality.
I feel a glossary and/or a foreword describing the races, fauna and flora of the world would have increased my enjoyment of this book immensely.
I have mixed feelings about this book.
On one hand, I liked the story, and felt that Pelmen grew and broadened his horizons quite well throughout. I enjoyed it enough to look forward to the second book.
On the other hand, I felt lost without proper descriptions of the peoples of the world. From the beginning, I had to wonder what the term "hevelen" meant, and once I'd worked out that it referred to Pelmen's race, I still had next to no idea what they should look like, except that they had 3 nostrils, grew hair on their heads, and the disinherited class' heads were typically shaved.
I had an easier time imagining the krongos race, as they were different enough from hevelens that the narrative (from Pelmen's point of view) required more detailed description.
I can't remember any description at all for some of the animals hunted by Pelmen, so their names are just easily-forgotten blurs, and the sparse physical description of the malians only really pointed out the differences between Pelmen's preconceptions of them and the reality.
I feel a glossary and/or a foreword describing the races, fauna and flora of the world would have increased my enjoyment of this book immensely.
July 3, 2014
I love this book and cannot wait to read book 2. The style of writing pulled me in and made me fall in love with the characters. I found myself being frightened and cheering on the main character Pelmen. I felt the love and lose that he felt. I loved learning the way he thinks and reacts to everything that is going on threw out the book. Getting an inside look at him developing from a tanner boy to warrior and becoming so in tuned to his abilities with the animals is amazing!
This writer as the amazing talent of being able to pull you in and making you feel a part of his story! I will be anxiously watching for more to come.
This writer as the amazing talent of being able to pull you in and making you feel a part of his story! I will be anxiously watching for more to come.
January 15, 2015
Wow amazing story this mythological and evocative story was a wonderful book I found it hard to put down. This roller coaster wild ride for the imagination with magic,adventure and danger the characters well thought out are a mix of wonderful introduction to a futuristic universe of fabulous creatures. My heart felt thanks to the author Alan Spade for the wonderful privilege of reading his book. This book is the first book in a trilogy and I do so hope very much to read the other book in this trilogy. With that said my thanks again for this pleasurable voyage this story took me on so to all keep smiling and happy reading from wee me. xxxxxxxxxxxxx
June 4, 2016
Well. Alan Spade is an author of rare imagination. "Ardalia:The Book of Aoles" is a very good fantasy. There's a good plot in the background, interesting characters, unique cast and magic systems, different races with a lot of tension between them.
The only problem is lack of description of hevelens and animals.
But I'm glad I read it. This was a good story and I really enjoyed it!
The only problem is lack of description of hevelens and animals.
But I'm glad I read it. This was a good story and I really enjoyed it!
February 20, 2017
what a strange world ardalia is, both humans and animal species are truly fantastical. found it quite tough to get into at first and was not keen on the main character pelmen at all as he is such a whimp but the book grew on me as i persevered and read on as did the character of pelmen who through his many adventures is finally growing a back bone!! hope i can get into the next two books even more!!
January 23, 2019
Ardalia: A changing Life
Except for the cliffhanger, a good read. A youth in transition to adulthood, breaking ties to parents and discovering new ties and personal strengths. Good news!! All three books have been completed (thanks)!!! Adventurers of all ages ENJOY!
Except for the cliffhanger, a good read. A youth in transition to adulthood, breaking ties to parents and discovering new ties and personal strengths. Good news!! All three books have been completed (thanks)!!! Adventurers of all ages ENJOY!
December 31, 2018
A wonderful find. A story about teenagers that doesn’t feel like it was written for middle schoolers. A journey that teaches a young man to hone his skills in a realistic way that, I assume, will prepare him for the strength of his powers. All in all a very good read.
May 20, 2019
Engrossing yarn.
Captivating story, reading of Pelman adventures finding danger almost each page, this is a really enjoyable book to read, will carry on reading about Pelman and his adventures.
Captivating story, reading of Pelman adventures finding danger almost each page, this is a really enjoyable book to read, will carry on reading about Pelman and his adventures.
August 25, 2019
Arduous Quest
The author provides a richly described world through which the main character and companions must travel. The author skillfully showed how the main character matured and acquired skills has he traveled through unfamiliar territory.
The author provides a richly described world through which the main character and companions must travel. The author skillfully showed how the main character matured and acquired skills has he traveled through unfamiliar territory.
March 8, 2017
A masterfully written adventure filled story of fantasy. I loved it!
March 4, 2018
Vibrant.
October 4, 2018
A truly refreshing and imaginative read!
Read
March 15, 2020Please see blog for [K]'s review: https://thepturnersbookblog.wordpress...
July 2, 2021
Interesting start, but I just could not get into the book.
January 21, 2015
I received this book as a digital copy in return for a free review.
I've been putting this book review off for a few days. I've been busy, and it took me much longer then I had anticipated to finish this book due to taking over a new volunteer role, and working on my taekwondo for testing, and just all sorts of other things. In addition, this book was just not that good.
*SPOILERS*
The story begins like so many other pulp Fantasy novels. Young man, disheartened with life in the small village and looking for something more. Wait...did I say man. Sorry, this isn't a man, it's some other species of biped that isn't really described in a way to get a proper understanding of the physiology. He rebels against his abusive father and follows his friend and master to the big city. However, because he wasn't able to go with them he must escape the village and ends up being smuggled by a group of travelers. Turns out, though, that these travelers are actually smuggling people for some nefarious purpose; and when our main character refuses to be swayed by the temptation of riches a fire shaman attempts to kill him. Luckily, he escapes and makes it to the city.
Once into the city he searches for his friend and his master, but his master has been taken ill and is dying. Consequently, he looks for his uncle who owns a shop. This uncle takes him in and promises that should the main character become a 'hunter' and agree to work for his uncle he can have room and board. Meanwhile, he searches for a medic for his master, and gives him a few more days. Unfortunately, although his master recovers enough to give him his bow, he dies and as a result his children lose there status in the resulting political fallout. As a result, the main characters friend becomes tempted by the fire shaman people traffickers and disappears. So, our main character, his uncle and his uncles friend the krongo (a stone giant) set off on an adventure to discover what is going on.
Of course, the main character has to give up his dream of becoming a hunter (and all the subplots set up during the first third of the book); but as he heads into the wild with his uncle he gets the chance to learn in the real world. Unfortunately, although the character does get to learn many things on this journey, like the first third there is no tension in the story. Each segment of the novel seems to be building into something, but like a balloon that has been tied properly the story just fizzles into nothing. When the character kills someone for the first time he struggles for a time with having to kill an intelligent creature for reasons other than food, but that internal struggle really isn't important and just gradually fades away. At one point there is a romantic tension being built between two characters which may, or may not cause issues within the main character regarding the two females of his species that he likes. However, when the awkward 'I've never thought of a girl that way' section is past we jump ahead and the romance has come, gone, and is forgotten.
In addition to the above problems, there is no description in the book as to the characters, the world, the history, the magic, or just about anything. Things are dropped into the readers lap completely whole as though we should already know the background. Much is implied about what was and therefore what will be, but we are left wondering why we should care. A perfect example of this comes the first time the author refers to the creatures that pull the carts as rodents. I didn't know they were rodents. In fact, since I had nothing to base my picture upon I had thought of them as some form of bovine. However, apparently, they are like giant rats...maybe a tapir? Who knows? I would hope that the author knows what the animals and people in the story look like, but perhaps he doesn't? Maybe he just has a great story, but no idea of what anything looks like; and consequently, I have no desire to continue in this universe.
It is not that there isn't potential in the fantasy realm, but rather I do not believe that Mr. Spade has the ability to bring forth his vision in a way that will engage me. Perhaps I am spoiled on High and Epic Fantasy, and have forgotten how annoying Pulp Fantasy can be. However, even some of the most annoying Pulp at least takes the time to describe the characters that we are reading about. I may not think that the Drizzt Do'Urden stories are particularly brilliant, but at least I have a clear picture of what the character looks like. Consequently, I recommend avoiding this book unless you don't mind being board and frustrated with a story that falls so short of its potential.
I've been putting this book review off for a few days. I've been busy, and it took me much longer then I had anticipated to finish this book due to taking over a new volunteer role, and working on my taekwondo for testing, and just all sorts of other things. In addition, this book was just not that good.
*SPOILERS*
The story begins like so many other pulp Fantasy novels. Young man, disheartened with life in the small village and looking for something more. Wait...did I say man. Sorry, this isn't a man, it's some other species of biped that isn't really described in a way to get a proper understanding of the physiology. He rebels against his abusive father and follows his friend and master to the big city. However, because he wasn't able to go with them he must escape the village and ends up being smuggled by a group of travelers. Turns out, though, that these travelers are actually smuggling people for some nefarious purpose; and when our main character refuses to be swayed by the temptation of riches a fire shaman attempts to kill him. Luckily, he escapes and makes it to the city.
Once into the city he searches for his friend and his master, but his master has been taken ill and is dying. Consequently, he looks for his uncle who owns a shop. This uncle takes him in and promises that should the main character become a 'hunter' and agree to work for his uncle he can have room and board. Meanwhile, he searches for a medic for his master, and gives him a few more days. Unfortunately, although his master recovers enough to give him his bow, he dies and as a result his children lose there status in the resulting political fallout. As a result, the main characters friend becomes tempted by the fire shaman people traffickers and disappears. So, our main character, his uncle and his uncles friend the krongo (a stone giant) set off on an adventure to discover what is going on.
Of course, the main character has to give up his dream of becoming a hunter (and all the subplots set up during the first third of the book); but as he heads into the wild with his uncle he gets the chance to learn in the real world. Unfortunately, although the character does get to learn many things on this journey, like the first third there is no tension in the story. Each segment of the novel seems to be building into something, but like a balloon that has been tied properly the story just fizzles into nothing. When the character kills someone for the first time he struggles for a time with having to kill an intelligent creature for reasons other than food, but that internal struggle really isn't important and just gradually fades away. At one point there is a romantic tension being built between two characters which may, or may not cause issues within the main character regarding the two females of his species that he likes. However, when the awkward 'I've never thought of a girl that way' section is past we jump ahead and the romance has come, gone, and is forgotten.
In addition to the above problems, there is no description in the book as to the characters, the world, the history, the magic, or just about anything. Things are dropped into the readers lap completely whole as though we should already know the background. Much is implied about what was and therefore what will be, but we are left wondering why we should care. A perfect example of this comes the first time the author refers to the creatures that pull the carts as rodents. I didn't know they were rodents. In fact, since I had nothing to base my picture upon I had thought of them as some form of bovine. However, apparently, they are like giant rats...maybe a tapir? Who knows? I would hope that the author knows what the animals and people in the story look like, but perhaps he doesn't? Maybe he just has a great story, but no idea of what anything looks like; and consequently, I have no desire to continue in this universe.
It is not that there isn't potential in the fantasy realm, but rather I do not believe that Mr. Spade has the ability to bring forth his vision in a way that will engage me. Perhaps I am spoiled on High and Epic Fantasy, and have forgotten how annoying Pulp Fantasy can be. However, even some of the most annoying Pulp at least takes the time to describe the characters that we are reading about. I may not think that the Drizzt Do'Urden stories are particularly brilliant, but at least I have a clear picture of what the character looks like. Consequently, I recommend avoiding this book unless you don't mind being board and frustrated with a story that falls so short of its potential.
September 3, 2014
Brilliantly conceived, needs help in the follow through
Forget the three stars for just a second and listen: Ardalia, the Breath of Aoles, is a good book. There are lots of qualities inherent in this book that are pretty incredible. The characters have real personality even though they are basically aliens, and even the bizarre (and a little twisted) Malians come across as really intricate and complex.
The book begins with Pelmen doing the work his father has chosen for him, before his sixteenth birthday, when two things are going to happen: one, he will be allowed to make his choice about whether he wishes to continue to apprentice to his dad, or seek out apprenticeship somewhere else, whether that be in the village or deeper in the canyons. Two: everyone will have the choice to pack up and leave for another village, town, or city. The tanner's life is not for Pelmen; he and his buddy's dad have helped him choose a different caste for Pelmen: that of a hunter.
Pelmen is good with a bow, but not so much with the wrestling, as he soon learns. All this comes crashing on its face when his best friend's father dies, and the best friend loses the woodworking shop because he can't pass the journeyman trial (which is rigged, a spectacular bit of disgusting politics drummed up by the author).
So as the book goes along, there's a sort of iris which continually expands to let in more and more light about how the world runs. Pelmen, just a poor boy from a poor family, is gradually exposed to more and more of what he thought he always knew, and some things he had never even dreamed of. In this way, the world building of this strange alien society is revealed to be quite intricate and well planned out.
Character dialogue, motivations, and interactions are all great. Pelmen gradually comes into his own as the book progresses, and more and more about his uncle, Xuven, is revealed, enough so that he gets his own nice third dimension.
Forget elves, dwarves, trolls and dragons. In Ardalia, you have all sorts of alien species that fit well into the ecosystem of a low-magic world, which is sort of elemental in its own way. The originality is excellent here.
So back to the three stars. Yeah.
It's with great reluctance that we here at AIA give the book three stars. There are a few reasons for this. The first is with the beginning 15-20% of the book, where naming conventions (the Uncrossable Mountains? Really?) and a slew of pronouns really drag the book... once we head out of the 20% range, the book really blooms into something brilliant, but at first we're beset by sentences like: 'The driver of the vehicle to the rear, whose features he could not make out because of the glare, had seen him, however, he must have thought him inconsequential, for he contented himself with shaking his head to show his disapproval.' or 'Perhaps he was even making a fool of him.'
In the first 20%, characters haven't been introduced properly, get names out of nowhere, and there are a slew of awkward sentences that ought to be cleaned up for clarity. There are also more than a handful of punctuation and formatting issues, which distract from the reading experience.
The second large issue is the author's vocabulary, which is impressive. The problem is, there are memorable words. Not just five or ten dollar words, but some one dollar words that can't really be used more than once in a hundred pages... these words stick in your mind like peanut butter in your mouth. There are a few of these, but the most prevalent is 'supple' and it comes across too many times for comfort.
Lastly, the book's ending, while a sort of resolution, is abrupt and somewhat not fulfilling enough. It is a very clear lead-in to the second book, and while this sort of thing was made acceptable by Tolkien, Robert Jordan, and George RR Martin, it leaves the reader feeling let down in terms of some falling action. Even a little.
AIA's four and five star ratings include those of spectacular works you'd find in mainstream publishing, and good books you'd find in mainstream publishing. While this book has plenty of merits, and it is a good read, the flaws certainly detract from any illusion that this book might be found in a large scale bookstore with a major publishing house attached to it.
I received this book free of charge from the author in return for an honest review.
Forget the three stars for just a second and listen: Ardalia, the Breath of Aoles, is a good book. There are lots of qualities inherent in this book that are pretty incredible. The characters have real personality even though they are basically aliens, and even the bizarre (and a little twisted) Malians come across as really intricate and complex.
The book begins with Pelmen doing the work his father has chosen for him, before his sixteenth birthday, when two things are going to happen: one, he will be allowed to make his choice about whether he wishes to continue to apprentice to his dad, or seek out apprenticeship somewhere else, whether that be in the village or deeper in the canyons. Two: everyone will have the choice to pack up and leave for another village, town, or city. The tanner's life is not for Pelmen; he and his buddy's dad have helped him choose a different caste for Pelmen: that of a hunter.
Pelmen is good with a bow, but not so much with the wrestling, as he soon learns. All this comes crashing on its face when his best friend's father dies, and the best friend loses the woodworking shop because he can't pass the journeyman trial (which is rigged, a spectacular bit of disgusting politics drummed up by the author).
So as the book goes along, there's a sort of iris which continually expands to let in more and more light about how the world runs. Pelmen, just a poor boy from a poor family, is gradually exposed to more and more of what he thought he always knew, and some things he had never even dreamed of. In this way, the world building of this strange alien society is revealed to be quite intricate and well planned out.
Character dialogue, motivations, and interactions are all great. Pelmen gradually comes into his own as the book progresses, and more and more about his uncle, Xuven, is revealed, enough so that he gets his own nice third dimension.
Forget elves, dwarves, trolls and dragons. In Ardalia, you have all sorts of alien species that fit well into the ecosystem of a low-magic world, which is sort of elemental in its own way. The originality is excellent here.
So back to the three stars. Yeah.
It's with great reluctance that we here at AIA give the book three stars. There are a few reasons for this. The first is with the beginning 15-20% of the book, where naming conventions (the Uncrossable Mountains? Really?) and a slew of pronouns really drag the book... once we head out of the 20% range, the book really blooms into something brilliant, but at first we're beset by sentences like: 'The driver of the vehicle to the rear, whose features he could not make out because of the glare, had seen him, however, he must have thought him inconsequential, for he contented himself with shaking his head to show his disapproval.' or 'Perhaps he was even making a fool of him.'
In the first 20%, characters haven't been introduced properly, get names out of nowhere, and there are a slew of awkward sentences that ought to be cleaned up for clarity. There are also more than a handful of punctuation and formatting issues, which distract from the reading experience.
The second large issue is the author's vocabulary, which is impressive. The problem is, there are memorable words. Not just five or ten dollar words, but some one dollar words that can't really be used more than once in a hundred pages... these words stick in your mind like peanut butter in your mouth. There are a few of these, but the most prevalent is 'supple' and it comes across too many times for comfort.
Lastly, the book's ending, while a sort of resolution, is abrupt and somewhat not fulfilling enough. It is a very clear lead-in to the second book, and while this sort of thing was made acceptable by Tolkien, Robert Jordan, and George RR Martin, it leaves the reader feeling let down in terms of some falling action. Even a little.
AIA's four and five star ratings include those of spectacular works you'd find in mainstream publishing, and good books you'd find in mainstream publishing. While this book has plenty of merits, and it is a good read, the flaws certainly detract from any illusion that this book might be found in a large scale bookstore with a major publishing house attached to it.
I received this book free of charge from the author in return for an honest review.
July 15, 2015
I've read a lot of fantasy, most of it involving human characters (some with animal characters) but I've never read anything with the main character being a species completely made up. This could've gone one of two ways--absolutely terrible, or awesome in its originality. I'm happy to say, after reading four hundred pages with no humans whatsoever, the world building and histories of all these new species made it the latter.
The first book of Ardalia was a breath of fresh air from the usual fantasy, and I especially enjoyed the fact that the main character's skills progressed at a believable rate. In fact, it was this originality and the world building that was the strongest in this novel--the setting changes and takes the reader all over a world full of new species' and the interesting systems that the cities implement.
Of course, world building itself isn't enough to keep a person interested--the plot was also consistently strong, with only a few minor faults (pacing suffered in some places, lingering on things that didn't seem completely relevant to the entire picture, although as this is a first novel it could be relevant later). The main character, Pelmen, leaves a life he hates and attempts to start a new one in a new place. Tragedy strikes, however, forcing Pelmen to leave the city and begin travelling with his uncle (and various other characters along the way) to find his friend, who was lured away by a sinister being known as a crimson shaman (someone who controls fire). Along the way, Pelmen faces numerous dangers that leave him slightly stronger in will and skill every time.
I enjoyed the cloud of mystery that hung over the people who lured Pelmen's friend away. Pelmen learns along the way that the crimson shaman along with others are seducing unfortunate people with the thought of amberrock (something that can be used as a currency like gold), and you're always wondering what exactly is going on. Every time you think you get close to figuring it out, your ideas are messed up by new information. Alan Spade knows how to keep up suspense and make you want to keep reading, even if the pace isn't always quick.
So why only the three stars? The majority of faults I found were at the beginning, to the point that I'd be tempted to rate the weaker beginning two stars and the stronger ending four stars. When you're just learning about the world, you're swamped in words that aren't always explained right away (some animals or vocabulary aren't explained until past the middle). I also found it hard to imagine the world at the beginning, because although the writing is beautiful, there isn't much of it dedicated to description. New species are thrown in and you can't picture them until you've picked up hints throughout the book. Some of the characters also aren't developed--the appear and disappear, and the last few characters that are introduced aren't really given time to grow because they're introduced so late. Pelmen (the mc) is a good character, but he doesn't exactly stand out as exceptional. Of course, character development can be improved upon greatly in the upcoming novels so I'm not too concerned about that; it is a series, after all.
In the end, I enjoyed this novel, but I felt I could've enjoyed it a lot more if some of the beautiful writing was dedicated to description. Near the end, the writing began to become descriptive enough to place images in my head, but beginnings are always important in making first impressions. Despite that (really my only big gripe), I'll pick up the next book, because this beginning book did manage to capture and keep my interest, and in that, it succeeded in making a good first impression.
*I received an electronic copy of this novel from the author in exchange for a review.*
The first book of Ardalia was a breath of fresh air from the usual fantasy, and I especially enjoyed the fact that the main character's skills progressed at a believable rate. In fact, it was this originality and the world building that was the strongest in this novel--the setting changes and takes the reader all over a world full of new species' and the interesting systems that the cities implement.
Of course, world building itself isn't enough to keep a person interested--the plot was also consistently strong, with only a few minor faults (pacing suffered in some places, lingering on things that didn't seem completely relevant to the entire picture, although as this is a first novel it could be relevant later). The main character, Pelmen, leaves a life he hates and attempts to start a new one in a new place. Tragedy strikes, however, forcing Pelmen to leave the city and begin travelling with his uncle (and various other characters along the way) to find his friend, who was lured away by a sinister being known as a crimson shaman (someone who controls fire). Along the way, Pelmen faces numerous dangers that leave him slightly stronger in will and skill every time.
I enjoyed the cloud of mystery that hung over the people who lured Pelmen's friend away. Pelmen learns along the way that the crimson shaman along with others are seducing unfortunate people with the thought of amberrock (something that can be used as a currency like gold), and you're always wondering what exactly is going on. Every time you think you get close to figuring it out, your ideas are messed up by new information. Alan Spade knows how to keep up suspense and make you want to keep reading, even if the pace isn't always quick.
So why only the three stars? The majority of faults I found were at the beginning, to the point that I'd be tempted to rate the weaker beginning two stars and the stronger ending four stars. When you're just learning about the world, you're swamped in words that aren't always explained right away (some animals or vocabulary aren't explained until past the middle). I also found it hard to imagine the world at the beginning, because although the writing is beautiful, there isn't much of it dedicated to description. New species are thrown in and you can't picture them until you've picked up hints throughout the book. Some of the characters also aren't developed--the appear and disappear, and the last few characters that are introduced aren't really given time to grow because they're introduced so late. Pelmen (the mc) is a good character, but he doesn't exactly stand out as exceptional. Of course, character development can be improved upon greatly in the upcoming novels so I'm not too concerned about that; it is a series, after all.
In the end, I enjoyed this novel, but I felt I could've enjoyed it a lot more if some of the beautiful writing was dedicated to description. Near the end, the writing began to become descriptive enough to place images in my head, but beginnings are always important in making first impressions. Despite that (really my only big gripe), I'll pick up the next book, because this beginning book did manage to capture and keep my interest, and in that, it succeeded in making a good first impression.
*I received an electronic copy of this novel from the author in exchange for a review.*
January 11, 2017
The genre is fantasy, although the other books of the trilogy may expand the world and events to something more like epic or high fantasy. It takes place in a fantasy world of impressive ambition. Most fantasy authors use real-world fauna and flora interspersed with more fantastic and mythological creatures, but in this book every plant and animal was an invention of the author. There was none of the humans and dwarves and elves that we often in fantasy either. The main character is of a four-fingered three-nostriled species called hevelens, which share their world (which has two moons) with the rock-like krongos race and the
February 9, 2017
I would first like to thank the author for allowing me the privilege of receiving a free copy of the e-book (I had entered the Goodreads Giveaway for the paperback, but was not chosen). I had hoped to finish this story much sooner than I did. I think it started with a bit of a disadvantage, being this is the first electronic book I have read. I am definitely much more of a paper book in hand sort of reader.
I started this trilogy with an open mind and hopeful anticipation of excitement to come. As with any story, some parts are going to be more exciting than others, and I found the first installation of the trilogy to have many exciting moments. I will admit that I was half screaming "no" at the story on the last page and half at the author because of where it stopped. I know there are two more books to finish this story, but at that point I was wanting it all right there.
The beginning was only slightly slow so the author could set up the characters, but that is to be expected of any first book in a series or trilogy. Once we had the characters introduced with some backstory, we could get into the here and now, which also set up the for the action to come. Although the setting is an alien planet, the inhabitants are humanoid, which I think allows for readers to visualize the characters easier and the author only needs to describe their differences in relation to humans. I liked the characters and, on some level, I found it easy to relate to each of them because of different personalities, or how they would react to a situation, or how they were treated by other characters. I felt there was good development of the main character over the course of this installment, as well as others with major roles in the story. By the time we started the journey, I was already watching it unfold like a movie. There was a little bit of everything, from romance with the main character, moments of comedy, drama, a little bit of old westerns once they leave the city, adventure, sci-fi....
The main character is on a journey to save his best friend from the villains. He is helped on this journey by the wisdom and guidance of his uncle, a long-time friend of his uncle, and several new species of humanoids they meet along the way. He grows and learns about the ancient ways, which help him in ways that he does not always see right away and lend to his growth as a character.
I enjoyed this story (even if I was yelling at it by the end). Being it is the first in a trilogy, the story obviously continues over the remaining two books. Based on how the story ended, I can only imagine the next installment will have a lot more adventure and drama. I look forward to being able to finish this trilogy to find out what happens to everyone. I have so many questions for the characters.
Based on this book, I would definitely recommend this trilogy to anyone looking for an introduction into the sci-fi genre. It provides a gentle introduction and is not so drastically different from our world that a new reader would need to spend a lot of time trying to visualize the story's universe.
I started this trilogy with an open mind and hopeful anticipation of excitement to come. As with any story, some parts are going to be more exciting than others, and I found the first installation of the trilogy to have many exciting moments. I will admit that I was half screaming "no" at the story on the last page and half at the author because of where it stopped. I know there are two more books to finish this story, but at that point I was wanting it all right there.
The beginning was only slightly slow so the author could set up the characters, but that is to be expected of any first book in a series or trilogy. Once we had the characters introduced with some backstory, we could get into the here and now, which also set up the for the action to come. Although the setting is an alien planet, the inhabitants are humanoid, which I think allows for readers to visualize the characters easier and the author only needs to describe their differences in relation to humans. I liked the characters and, on some level, I found it easy to relate to each of them because of different personalities, or how they would react to a situation, or how they were treated by other characters. I felt there was good development of the main character over the course of this installment, as well as others with major roles in the story. By the time we started the journey, I was already watching it unfold like a movie. There was a little bit of everything, from romance with the main character, moments of comedy, drama, a little bit of old westerns once they leave the city, adventure, sci-fi....
The main character is on a journey to save his best friend from the villains. He is helped on this journey by the wisdom and guidance of his uncle, a long-time friend of his uncle, and several new species of humanoids they meet along the way. He grows and learns about the ancient ways, which help him in ways that he does not always see right away and lend to his growth as a character.
I enjoyed this story (even if I was yelling at it by the end). Being it is the first in a trilogy, the story obviously continues over the remaining two books. Based on how the story ended, I can only imagine the next installment will have a lot more adventure and drama. I look forward to being able to finish this trilogy to find out what happens to everyone. I have so many questions for the characters.
Based on this book, I would definitely recommend this trilogy to anyone looking for an introduction into the sci-fi genre. It provides a gentle introduction and is not so drastically different from our world that a new reader would need to spend a lot of time trying to visualize the story's universe.
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