
The Pearl (Elearah Chronicles) (Volume 1)
By Sandra Martinez
This review is from the paperback edition published through CreateSpace. The book was sent to me by the author for my enjoyment (thank you, Sandra), and I’m happy to give my unbiased evaluation.
What it’s about: The Pearl is a unique creation in the fantasy genre about a young woman who carries the soul of a future god inside her. It takes you through the first part of Elearah’s journey in a world where gods mingle with people and magic. In this particular piece of her history, Elearah travels through the land to fulfill part of a prophecy, and finds she’s not the only one with a role to play in this good versus evil saga. Traveling with her are a bodyguard as well as the wizard who has taken her in as a daughter to protect her and the unborn child within. Along the way they meet other gods, kings, and even dragons.
Look/design: On the front of the book is an interesting painting of a woman, which sets the mood for the story. The back cover contains a rather enigmatic description of the book, asking questions and promising to answer them inside. I would have preferred a better layout of what the story was about, but what the heck – I ran with it. It loosely told me there was an adventure, and I love adventures in fantasy worlds, so I climbed aboard the carriage and rode along. For the lack of synopsis in this otherwise perfect shell, I deducted a point: 19/20.
Editing/formatting: I like to know something about the author before I read the book – it gives me a little background to know where they come from, their education, and experiences, and helps me judge their work accordingly. This information was not included in the book, and although I was informed by outside sources, it would help others to understand her writing style. English is not her native language, but knowing that, I was still impressed with how well she told the story, and was able to look at the grammatical errors as minor. However, I still cut two points for this deficit.
The look and layout of the book was excellent – everything was in the right place, right size, etc. The only problem I noted was the lack of page numbers on the even pages. Not a huge deal, but it still bugged me and I deleted another point. Score: 17/20.
Story/content: As I said, The Pearl is different. It’s more emotional than physical. I like a lot more action – I expect it in fantasy, especially when there’s magic involved. There was very little action in this book, and I started to take points off for it, but then went back to my original assessment: it’s more emotional than physical. The story was an adventure, and I love an adventure. It reminded me of another meandering tale, The Pillars of the Earth, and quit judging it as an action tale, although I still took off a point.
This adventure jumped around, much like Ken Follet’s writing, but there was an underlying cohesion missing. I really struggled to put my finger on it – it was like a frolic through the fields, but only seeing part of the beauty. The descriptions of the land and people were incredible, but their actions were not. Nevertheless, I romped along with the characters and took them for what they were. I enjoyed the trip through Huo, the elaborate (but not so detailed) stories of the gods, as well as the dragons and other creatures/people they met. Since my sword was at the ready, but all the action was missing, I thirsted for blood and sliced a couple points for the lack of cohesion and dancing around. Two more points were hacked for the many scenes where I found potential for some epic confrontations. Trying not to sound too chauvinistic, I’d say this story would be more of a feminine fantasy. I’d prefer casual violence over casual sexuality/sensuality (and there was quite a bit of that). I still award the story good marks, as it was an intriguing and imaginative tale: 55/60.
Summary: I rate it a 91/100, and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a good fantasy adventure with a softer side to it, but not to the hack-n-slash dungeon masters out there. I also give kudos to Sandra for creating something different from the ordinary and inviting me into it. I read the preview pages of Book 2 to get a sneak peek into the continuing saga, and look forward to finding out what happens next.
By Sandra Martinez
This review is from the paperback edition published through CreateSpace. The book was sent to me by the author for my enjoyment (thank you, Sandra), and I’m happy to give my unbiased evaluation.
What it’s about: The Pearl is a unique creation in the fantasy genre about a young woman who carries the soul of a future god inside her. It takes you through the first part of Elearah’s journey in a world where gods mingle with people and magic. In this particular piece of her history, Elearah travels through the land to fulfill part of a prophecy, and finds she’s not the only one with a role to play in this good versus evil saga. Traveling with her are a bodyguard as well as the wizard who has taken her in as a daughter to protect her and the unborn child within. Along the way they meet other gods, kings, and even dragons.
Look/design: On the front of the book is an interesting painting of a woman, which sets the mood for the story. The back cover contains a rather enigmatic description of the book, asking questions and promising to answer them inside. I would have preferred a better layout of what the story was about, but what the heck – I ran with it. It loosely told me there was an adventure, and I love adventures in fantasy worlds, so I climbed aboard the carriage and rode along. For the lack of synopsis in this otherwise perfect shell, I deducted a point: 19/20.
Editing/formatting: I like to know something about the author before I read the book – it gives me a little background to know where they come from, their education, and experiences, and helps me judge their work accordingly. This information was not included in the book, and although I was informed by outside sources, it would help others to understand her writing style. English is not her native language, but knowing that, I was still impressed with how well she told the story, and was able to look at the grammatical errors as minor. However, I still cut two points for this deficit.
The look and layout of the book was excellent – everything was in the right place, right size, etc. The only problem I noted was the lack of page numbers on the even pages. Not a huge deal, but it still bugged me and I deleted another point. Score: 17/20.
Story/content: As I said, The Pearl is different. It’s more emotional than physical. I like a lot more action – I expect it in fantasy, especially when there’s magic involved. There was very little action in this book, and I started to take points off for it, but then went back to my original assessment: it’s more emotional than physical. The story was an adventure, and I love an adventure. It reminded me of another meandering tale, The Pillars of the Earth, and quit judging it as an action tale, although I still took off a point.
This adventure jumped around, much like Ken Follet’s writing, but there was an underlying cohesion missing. I really struggled to put my finger on it – it was like a frolic through the fields, but only seeing part of the beauty. The descriptions of the land and people were incredible, but their actions were not. Nevertheless, I romped along with the characters and took them for what they were. I enjoyed the trip through Huo, the elaborate (but not so detailed) stories of the gods, as well as the dragons and other creatures/people they met. Since my sword was at the ready, but all the action was missing, I thirsted for blood and sliced a couple points for the lack of cohesion and dancing around. Two more points were hacked for the many scenes where I found potential for some epic confrontations. Trying not to sound too chauvinistic, I’d say this story would be more of a feminine fantasy. I’d prefer casual violence over casual sexuality/sensuality (and there was quite a bit of that). I still award the story good marks, as it was an intriguing and imaginative tale: 55/60.
Summary: I rate it a 91/100, and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a good fantasy adventure with a softer side to it, but not to the hack-n-slash dungeon masters out there. I also give kudos to Sandra for creating something different from the ordinary and inviting me into it. I read the preview pages of Book 2 to get a sneak peek into the continuing saga, and look forward to finding out what happens next.