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3.35 AVERAGE
3.35 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Personally I had a really hard time getting into this book, and for two reasons. The first is that it's set in a place called Albion. Albion of course is also the fictional world the very popular game series Fable is set in. So it was very hard to detach from that image of Albion, the place were I go chicken kickin' and such. The second was the Wardens. Which of course reminds me of another popular game series, Dragon Age. In Dragon Age the Wardens are Grey Wardens but nonetheless the connection was made and it became difficult to disassociate them.
It was an alright book. Perhaps I'll enjoy the next one more. It's hard to say. It's really difficult for me to see a different Albion than the one I know and am used to.
It was an alright book. Perhaps I'll enjoy the next one more. It's hard to say. It's really difficult for me to see a different Albion than the one I know and am used to.
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
*THIS REVIEW CONTAINS ONE SPOILER*
This book was amazing, it always had me wondering about what would come next! I'd definitely recommend this to anyone who likes a darker fantasy genre, but just to anyone who likes the fantasy genre in general.
The only part of this book I wasn't so keen on was when Mina was introduced, it almost felt like she was introduced and then just keeled over dead. Would've liked to see a little more in that part there, but overall it was a fantastic book!
This book was amazing, it always had me wondering about what would come next! I'd definitely recommend this to anyone who likes a darker fantasy genre, but just to anyone who likes the fantasy genre in general.
The only part of this book I wasn't so keen on was when Mina was introduced, it almost felt like she was introduced and then just keeled over dead. Would've liked to see a little more in that part there, but overall it was a fantastic book!
This was an interesting book, although at the end of it I still was not quite understanding the world. This is the first book in a series, so I imagine that I will understand better as the series goes on.
That said, I mostly liked the characters Kate and Silas, but was not very impressed with Edgar. I'm not sure if he's supposed to be some sort of romantic interest for Kate, but he seemed a little flat.
Uncle Artemis also felt a little flat.
I suppose that's a good analogy for the book. Just as Silas was living with only a fragment of his soul, this book seems to have just a fraction of its soul. It could have been more exciting, but just wasn't.
That said, I mostly liked the characters Kate and Silas, but was not very impressed with Edgar. I'm not sure if he's supposed to be some sort of romantic interest for Kate, but he seemed a little flat.
Uncle Artemis also felt a little flat.
I suppose that's a good analogy for the book. Just as Silas was living with only a fragment of his soul, this book seems to have just a fraction of its soul. It could have been more exciting, but just wasn't.
I remember being enthralled by this book when I read it back in 2011 and according to goodreads I reread it at some point as a teenager (though I have no memory of doing so). An old sense of intrigue made me decide to pick it up again.
Why did I fixate on this book so much as an adolescent? For some reason it’s always been at the back of my mind. My impression of it now is that it’s a passable debut novel with a lot of interesting ideas that don’t always hit the mark. The world building is fine. Most of the characters are fine. The writing is a bit clunky. It definitely feels like a first YA fantasy novel. Nothing wrong with that.
I think honestly I was just so fascinated with whatever was going on with Silas and Kate throughout the entire book (and subsequently whatever will happen to them in the sequels). They have a connection that I can’t explain in one word or even one sentence, and when I first read Shadowcry I’d never seen anything like it. Even now I’m really drawn towards stories involving undefinable bonds so perhaps this was just a juvenile starting point in that fascination.
In any case, I want to actually finish this series just for Silas and Kate because, well. If they’ve stuck in my mind for this long I think it’s deserved.
Why did I fixate on this book so much as an adolescent? For some reason it’s always been at the back of my mind. My impression of it now is that it’s a passable debut novel with a lot of interesting ideas that don’t always hit the mark. The world building is fine. Most of the characters are fine. The writing is a bit clunky. It definitely feels like a first YA fantasy novel. Nothing wrong with that.
I think honestly I was just so fascinated with whatever was going on with Silas and Kate throughout the entire book (and subsequently whatever will happen to them in the sequels). They have a connection that I can’t explain in one word or even one sentence, and when I first read Shadowcry I’d never seen anything like it. Even now I’m really drawn towards stories involving undefinable bonds so perhaps this was just a juvenile starting point in that fascination.
In any case, I want to actually finish this series just for Silas and Kate because, well. If they’ve stuck in my mind for this long I think it’s deserved.
Wintercraft is an engaging tale of a girl who has the ability to cross between two worlds, a coveted book & the skilled assassin after her.
Jenna Burtenshaw has penned a novel that pulls readers into a unique world where there are people, called the Skilled, who can see into the land of the dead. At the beginning of the book, the main character Kate, has no idea what kind of power she possesses. The discovery that she is one of the Skilled puts her in danger and leads her on a journey that ends with her facing a great evil. Ultimately, Kate has to believe in not only herself, but her power, in order to save her and those she cares about.
My favorite character in Wintercraft is Silas Dane. Silas is supposed to be the villain in this story. He has done some horrible things, including kill people. But as the story advances, I found myself sympathizing with his plight. Silas is bound by blood to serve an evil, manipulating woman named Da'ru who is only out to gain as much power as she can. While readers can see that Silas has committed terrible acts, they are ultimately overshadowed by the true cruelty that Da'ru possesses. I liked how though Silas never apologized for the things he did, he redeemed himself in the end of the book.
Wintercraft was a great read that was a nice change from the usual paranormal teen storylines of vampires, werewolves and angels. That is not to say that I don't like those books, just that I have been reading a lot of them lately and was happy to delve into a different type of story. Wintercraft is wonderful debut novel, set in a fascinating world and I hope that Burtenshaw writes a sequel (or more).
Jenna Burtenshaw has penned a novel that pulls readers into a unique world where there are people, called the Skilled, who can see into the land of the dead. At the beginning of the book, the main character Kate, has no idea what kind of power she possesses. The discovery that she is one of the Skilled puts her in danger and leads her on a journey that ends with her facing a great evil. Ultimately, Kate has to believe in not only herself, but her power, in order to save her and those she cares about.
My favorite character in Wintercraft is Silas Dane. Silas is supposed to be the villain in this story. He has done some horrible things, including kill people. But as the story advances, I found myself sympathizing with his plight. Silas is bound by blood to serve an evil, manipulating woman named Da'ru who is only out to gain as much power as she can. While readers can see that Silas has committed terrible acts, they are ultimately overshadowed by the true cruelty that Da'ru possesses. I liked how though Silas never apologized for the things he did, he redeemed himself in the end of the book.
Wintercraft was a great read that was a nice change from the usual paranormal teen storylines of vampires, werewolves and angels. That is not to say that I don't like those books, just that I have been reading a lot of them lately and was happy to delve into a different type of story. Wintercraft is wonderful debut novel, set in a fascinating world and I hope that Burtenshaw writes a sequel (or more).
I went into Shadowcry with no expectations whatsoever. Sure I’d seen a handful of reviews but I still didn’t really know what to expect from the author, the characters, or the setting. I was pleasantly surprised by Shadowcry and while I didn’t end up loving it, I will definitely be checking out the sequels.
The setting is what really made Shadowcry so awesome and gripping. The cities of Morvane and Fume (especially the underground city in Fume) are unlike any I have read about. They are not fantastical places full of castles and wonders but they are memorable places. Morvane is a small city with some awesome creepy underground tunnels. A lot of time isn’t spent in Morvane so a lot of details aren’t given but it’s any place to imagine. Fume is the real wonder. The magic of Fume starts with the Night Train and it doesn’t end there. The Night Train is one dark and scary train with a pretty awesome history. It’s where things in the story start to get really interesting and things only get more fascinating as the Night Train delivers it’s prisoners to Fume. Fume is a city built on thousands of graves but that’s not all it’s built upon. Underneath the towers of Fume is a whole other city. Instead of tearing down the city that was originally there, the council decided to build upon it, not thinking that anyone would continue to live underneath. Every part of the setting was wonderful and the writing was so descriptive that I was easily able to picture every last scene in my head.
Jenna Burtenshaw’s writing also makes the book so fun to read. Her writing is lush and descriptive and it was definitely one of the things that hooked me. Also, while it is descriptive, it is never weighty and there is never too much description. Even the bleakest of places were made beautiful by Jenna Burtenshaw’s writing.
The characters are where I found the book to be a bit lacking. Kate Winters is the heroine of this story. She seemed like the might be a strong character in the beginning but as the book went on I found her to be a bit whiny. She was definitely thrust into a crazy situation but I felt that she could have handled it a lot better. She was just a bit too immature for my tastes. As for the other characters, Silas, Edgar, and Da’ru were once again found to be a little lacking. Silas was supposed to be this villain but I felt sorry for him more than anything. Edgar is a good friend to Kate (maybe hoping for more?) but he was kind of a doof. He always managed to get both of them into tons of trouble and he was not good at getting them out of that trouble. Da’ru was the real villain in the story and I just wasn’t scared of her. I don’t think there was enough background on her to really make her the villain that I would have liked. I’m hoping for some development of all the characters in the next book.
As for the plot, it was a little weak but definitely gripping. I think the worst part about it was that Kate and Edgar kept getting into the same situations over and over again. One of them would be captured, the other would run away, the one not locked up would return to save the other, and they would then be captured while the other one got away. It was so freaking repetitive. I mean, really, how many times can you get captured without wising up? However the magic of Wintercraft and the search for the book as well as Kate’s burgeoning powers managed to keep things interesting enough for me to finish the book in a day. It’s definitely a fast read.
Overall, Shadowcry could have been a lot better, that’s for sure, but I still greatly enjoyed it and would definitely recommend it for a rainy day. The sequels are both high on my to-read list!
The setting is what really made Shadowcry so awesome and gripping. The cities of Morvane and Fume (especially the underground city in Fume) are unlike any I have read about. They are not fantastical places full of castles and wonders but they are memorable places. Morvane is a small city with some awesome creepy underground tunnels. A lot of time isn’t spent in Morvane so a lot of details aren’t given but it’s any place to imagine. Fume is the real wonder. The magic of Fume starts with the Night Train and it doesn’t end there. The Night Train is one dark and scary train with a pretty awesome history. It’s where things in the story start to get really interesting and things only get more fascinating as the Night Train delivers it’s prisoners to Fume. Fume is a city built on thousands of graves but that’s not all it’s built upon. Underneath the towers of Fume is a whole other city. Instead of tearing down the city that was originally there, the council decided to build upon it, not thinking that anyone would continue to live underneath. Every part of the setting was wonderful and the writing was so descriptive that I was easily able to picture every last scene in my head.
Jenna Burtenshaw’s writing also makes the book so fun to read. Her writing is lush and descriptive and it was definitely one of the things that hooked me. Also, while it is descriptive, it is never weighty and there is never too much description. Even the bleakest of places were made beautiful by Jenna Burtenshaw’s writing.
The characters are where I found the book to be a bit lacking. Kate Winters is the heroine of this story. She seemed like the might be a strong character in the beginning but as the book went on I found her to be a bit whiny. She was definitely thrust into a crazy situation but I felt that she could have handled it a lot better. She was just a bit too immature for my tastes. As for the other characters, Silas, Edgar, and Da’ru were once again found to be a little lacking. Silas was supposed to be this villain but I felt sorry for him more than anything. Edgar is a good friend to Kate (maybe hoping for more?) but he was kind of a doof. He always managed to get both of them into tons of trouble and he was not good at getting them out of that trouble. Da’ru was the real villain in the story and I just wasn’t scared of her. I don’t think there was enough background on her to really make her the villain that I would have liked. I’m hoping for some development of all the characters in the next book.
As for the plot, it was a little weak but definitely gripping. I think the worst part about it was that Kate and Edgar kept getting into the same situations over and over again. One of them would be captured, the other would run away, the one not locked up would return to save the other, and they would then be captured while the other one got away. It was so freaking repetitive. I mean, really, how many times can you get captured without wising up? However the magic of Wintercraft and the search for the book as well as Kate’s burgeoning powers managed to keep things interesting enough for me to finish the book in a day. It’s definitely a fast read.
Overall, Shadowcry could have been a lot better, that’s for sure, but I still greatly enjoyed it and would definitely recommend it for a rainy day. The sequels are both high on my to-read list!
***NOTE MY REVIEWS OFTEN CONTAIN SPOILERS***
Kate Winters is a fifteen year old orphan being raised by her Uncle Artemis in a small village where they run a book shop. When the wardens raid the town searching for Kate because of the powers that she doesn’t even know she possesses they’re taken captive and she is brought to the High Council of Albion. Her companion for the trip is a collector named Silas Dane, and man with zombie-like attributes who was returned from the dead by one of the skilled, a high councilwoman named Da’ru who with the help of a dangerous book called Wintercraft has taken control of powers no person should possess. Silas cannot die and he longs for death more than any other, when he discovers Kate who is not only skilled but a walker and descendent of the long ago bonemen he know she is his old hope for death. Kate must decide which is the lesser enemy Da’ru or Silas and how to use her newfound powers before everyone she loves is lost.
My main issue with this book is that I would like to have seen more world building into the world of Albion and the war with the Continent over possession of the skilled. While it’s an intriguing tale that draws you in, it almost feels like being pulled into the middle of the story, seeing the awful thing that happened through memories or conversations. I’d have rather began at the beginning experiencing each atrocity as it occurred. There are so many things we don’t fully understand in this tale because the time wasn’t taken to go into detail about them. Also I would have liked to see more personal interaction between Kate and Silas. Both characters were compelling, especially Silas and I would have liked to see more of a bond form between the misunderstood villain and his frightened but powerful captive. To be honest if there are future continuations in the world of Albion where Kate gets older I might actually enjoy seeing a relationship develop between her and Silas, though at the moment she’s a little young for that.
I truly enjoyed this book and was really drawn into the world of Albion, but I was left with more questions than answers at its conclusion which frustrated me as a reader. To enter a world where people are born with the ability to control the veil between the living and the dead, a world where the greatest threat facing them is all the knowledge they’ve lost because it’s the lack of that knowledge which allows them to controlled, threatened and abused.
Kate is a strong but also insecure heroine, she doesn’t really know what she can do and until she’s forced to see it herself she never believed powers like that truly existed. I’m not really sure if Silas can be considered a hero, villain or victim in this tale which is what makes him such an intriguing character. At first glance he appear a heartless villain, but as you continue to turn the pages of this tale you learn there’s a lot more to this character than what meets the eye.
The plot is wonderful with a decent pace, I guess I’d say more fast than slow, but not totally fast either. It’s intricate drawing you quickly into the tale and immersing you into Albion’s world and the struggles within it, but the real strong suit of this book is the intricacies of the main characters. I personally hope this is a series because as a reader I’m not ready to let these characters go. I want to know more, I want to understand them and their world. Overall it’s an excellent read that I would definitely recommend to readers who enjoy the fantasy genre.
Kate Winters is a fifteen year old orphan being raised by her Uncle Artemis in a small village where they run a book shop. When the wardens raid the town searching for Kate because of the powers that she doesn’t even know she possesses they’re taken captive and she is brought to the High Council of Albion. Her companion for the trip is a collector named Silas Dane, and man with zombie-like attributes who was returned from the dead by one of the skilled, a high councilwoman named Da’ru who with the help of a dangerous book called Wintercraft has taken control of powers no person should possess. Silas cannot die and he longs for death more than any other, when he discovers Kate who is not only skilled but a walker and descendent of the long ago bonemen he know she is his old hope for death. Kate must decide which is the lesser enemy Da’ru or Silas and how to use her newfound powers before everyone she loves is lost.
My main issue with this book is that I would like to have seen more world building into the world of Albion and the war with the Continent over possession of the skilled. While it’s an intriguing tale that draws you in, it almost feels like being pulled into the middle of the story, seeing the awful thing that happened through memories or conversations. I’d have rather began at the beginning experiencing each atrocity as it occurred. There are so many things we don’t fully understand in this tale because the time wasn’t taken to go into detail about them. Also I would have liked to see more personal interaction between Kate and Silas. Both characters were compelling, especially Silas and I would have liked to see more of a bond form between the misunderstood villain and his frightened but powerful captive. To be honest if there are future continuations in the world of Albion where Kate gets older I might actually enjoy seeing a relationship develop between her and Silas, though at the moment she’s a little young for that.
I truly enjoyed this book and was really drawn into the world of Albion, but I was left with more questions than answers at its conclusion which frustrated me as a reader. To enter a world where people are born with the ability to control the veil between the living and the dead, a world where the greatest threat facing them is all the knowledge they’ve lost because it’s the lack of that knowledge which allows them to controlled, threatened and abused.
Kate is a strong but also insecure heroine, she doesn’t really know what she can do and until she’s forced to see it herself she never believed powers like that truly existed. I’m not really sure if Silas can be considered a hero, villain or victim in this tale which is what makes him such an intriguing character. At first glance he appear a heartless villain, but as you continue to turn the pages of this tale you learn there’s a lot more to this character than what meets the eye.
The plot is wonderful with a decent pace, I guess I’d say more fast than slow, but not totally fast either. It’s intricate drawing you quickly into the tale and immersing you into Albion’s world and the struggles within it, but the real strong suit of this book is the intricacies of the main characters. I personally hope this is a series because as a reader I’m not ready to let these characters go. I want to know more, I want to understand them and their world. Overall it’s an excellent read that I would definitely recommend to readers who enjoy the fantasy genre.
I came across this on a buyers list from the shop and then had it sent as a proof. I really ike the sould of it and the blurb on the back made it sound really good.
I thought it stated of brill but then slowed in the middle, then got slower and a little slower. Maybe a re-read is in order to see if I misted something.
I thought it stated of brill but then slowed in the middle, then got slower and a little slower. Maybe a re-read is in order to see if I misted something.