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dawn_marie's review against another edition
1.0
DNF - I got about 100 pages in Sasha by Joel Shephard and had to stop. The story did not grab my attention; I found the world dull and the characters boring. I also had issues with Mr. Shepherd's narrative choices. I found there was entirely too much "tell" and not enough "show" - while I will grant that the "telling" may be setting up future plot points . . . I just found these passages extremely tedious and disrupted what little flow the plot had. I've enjoyed Mr. Shepherd's other works, this one is just not for me.
bookgirl4ever's review against another edition
4.0
Sasha is a princess who leaves her place in the kingdom to train in combat with a highly respected war hero and talented warrior. When the unity of the land is threatened by hot-headed nobles, Sasha finds herself leading the pagan minority--a job she never envisioned nor asked for. She also finds that living the principles of her training first hand is completely different from learning them and thinking she knew how the world worked.
A glossary and a map would have been a nice addition. Luckily there is a list of characters and short description of each. This a very detailed book with many people, lands, cultures, and beliefs that pulls together nicely.
A glossary and a map would have been a nice addition. Luckily there is a list of characters and short description of each. This a very detailed book with many people, lands, cultures, and beliefs that pulls together nicely.
literallykalasin's review against another edition
4.0
As other reviewers note, there is a lot of world-building in the first half of the book, making the initial section of the book a bit of a slog, but it is an investment! The second half is action packed, full of strong, realistic characters and plot twists. I have a strong suspicion that the following three books in this quartet will be even stronger, as Joel Shepherd will already have his readers versed in his medieval-esque world.
vagaybond's review against another edition
3.0
Really lore-heavy in the start and it's kind of hard to get into, but I did come to like the main characters in the end and want to see what came of them.
Honestly I would have liked if we had a bit more of a hero's journey for Sasha. This would have benefited from a prequel, in my opinion, to ease into the world and get to know Sasha a bit better. Telling the story of her coming to be who she was just through memories as well as trying to digest what the world is like was a bit much.
Honestly I would have liked if we had a bit more of a hero's journey for Sasha. This would have benefited from a prequel, in my opinion, to ease into the world and get to know Sasha a bit better. Telling the story of her coming to be who she was just through memories as well as trying to digest what the world is like was a bit much.
theladygonzalez's review against another edition
3.0
Sasha is a bit of an oddity, it is hard to place it in a specific genre. It is almost a young adult coming of age story, but not quite. it has the feel, setting and sound of a fantasy story, but there are no elements of magic and no fantastic creatures in sight.
Sasha is the apprentice of great swordsman Kessligh, daughter of the King and a woman of her own making. She simply does not care what others thing, she follows her own heart and mind and thinks little of the consequences her actions bring. I thought Sasha was an exceptional character. She isn’t perfect; she certainly has her faults, but that only makes her more intriguing. She does a great deal of growing up over the course of the story, mostly because she is forced to.
I loved all of the characters, mainly Sasha and Jayrd; a young heir to the lordship of Tyree. I was a particular fan of their relationship; theirs was a great friendship to watch unfold. At the start of the book they are both weary of one another, but as time progresses, they begin to understand, respect and enjoy one another.
I always struggle with high fantasy novels, trying to keep the names of different things straight. Now, like I said I always struggle a bit with these novels, but I thought my brain might explode while reading Sasha. There are an absolute plethora of characters and many of the names look and sound a lot of like. For example there is Terjellyn, Teriyan, Tarynt, Captain Tyrun, Lord Tymeth Pelyn, Tarryn, Lord Rashyd, Lord Rydysh, Lord Krayliss and Kessligh. I could keep going, but I think you get the idea. Do you see why I got a bit confused? To help with this, there is a series of maps and a complete list of characters with their nationality and brief description – a sort of cheat-sheet chart in the beginning of the book. I found myself flipping back to this a lot during the first half of the book, while I was still putting things together in my head. It got to be a bit distracting, but at least it helped me piece together exactly what was happening. I am not going to lie to you, I began to just keep reading through it, in hopes that I got the general idea. There are still parts, mainly dealing with the politics that I know went over my head. The characters and their relationships, on the other hand, are easy to follow and I wanted to understand them. But when the book went on a rampage about the intricate details of each territories' political standings and ambitions, I began to fog over. I understand that the author wanted to develop a complete world, but I think he went a bit overboard with the heavy things. For me, it definitely took away from the book – I enjoyed the characters enough to trudge through all the political mumbo-jumbo, but that might not be the case with every reader. This was a long book, I have no idea what the word count is, but there are 421 large pages (this is a huge paperback book) with tiny writing.
Although I had a few issues with the book I did enjoy it. Honestly, the characters were fascinating, entertaining and well-developed. The overall storyline was also remarkably well done. A great deal happens throughout the first book, but a lot of plot line is also setup for the sequel. Most of the characters go through a game changing event – so I am eager to see how they all deal with their new circumstances and outlooks on the world.
Sasha is the apprentice of great swordsman Kessligh, daughter of the King and a woman of her own making. She simply does not care what others thing, she follows her own heart and mind and thinks little of the consequences her actions bring. I thought Sasha was an exceptional character. She isn’t perfect; she certainly has her faults, but that only makes her more intriguing. She does a great deal of growing up over the course of the story, mostly because she is forced to.
I loved all of the characters, mainly Sasha and Jayrd; a young heir to the lordship of Tyree. I was a particular fan of their relationship; theirs was a great friendship to watch unfold. At the start of the book they are both weary of one another, but as time progresses, they begin to understand, respect and enjoy one another.
I always struggle with high fantasy novels, trying to keep the names of different things straight. Now, like I said I always struggle a bit with these novels, but I thought my brain might explode while reading Sasha. There are an absolute plethora of characters and many of the names look and sound a lot of like. For example there is Terjellyn, Teriyan, Tarynt, Captain Tyrun, Lord Tymeth Pelyn, Tarryn, Lord Rashyd, Lord Rydysh, Lord Krayliss and Kessligh. I could keep going, but I think you get the idea. Do you see why I got a bit confused? To help with this, there is a series of maps and a complete list of characters with their nationality and brief description – a sort of cheat-sheet chart in the beginning of the book. I found myself flipping back to this a lot during the first half of the book, while I was still putting things together in my head. It got to be a bit distracting, but at least it helped me piece together exactly what was happening. I am not going to lie to you, I began to just keep reading through it, in hopes that I got the general idea. There are still parts, mainly dealing with the politics that I know went over my head. The characters and their relationships, on the other hand, are easy to follow and I wanted to understand them. But when the book went on a rampage about the intricate details of each territories' political standings and ambitions, I began to fog over. I understand that the author wanted to develop a complete world, but I think he went a bit overboard with the heavy things. For me, it definitely took away from the book – I enjoyed the characters enough to trudge through all the political mumbo-jumbo, but that might not be the case with every reader. This was a long book, I have no idea what the word count is, but there are 421 large pages (this is a huge paperback book) with tiny writing.
Although I had a few issues with the book I did enjoy it. Honestly, the characters were fascinating, entertaining and well-developed. The overall storyline was also remarkably well done. A great deal happens throughout the first book, but a lot of plot line is also setup for the sequel. Most of the characters go through a game changing event – so I am eager to see how they all deal with their new circumstances and outlooks on the world.
sling's review against another edition
4.0
This book started out a five, went to a three, and finished at a four. Barely.
I really liked the main character; she was headstrong and stubborn and had her faults but the author showed by the actions of those around her that she deserved the starring role in the novel even when she was full of self-doubt. There was evidence of change and real character development as well.
For once, you didn't get the boring backstory that in a movie becomes a training montage. But in a sense this is also the book's downfall. The reader gets dumped into a world of political intrigue with no guide. I found the characters too similar to easily distinguish and the author had the bad habit of spelling names with a y, when an i would just as easily do.
But some of the scenes were really very good. The battles moved along with great description; our protagonist's skills were introduced in an inspirational way; the politics were finally explained and with just enough intrigue to make the second in the series a soon-to-pick-up for me.
I really liked the main character; she was headstrong and stubborn and had her faults but the author showed by the actions of those around her that she deserved the starring role in the novel even when she was full of self-doubt. There was evidence of change and real character development as well.
For once, you didn't get the boring backstory that in a movie becomes a training montage. But in a sense this is also the book's downfall. The reader gets dumped into a world of political intrigue with no guide. I found the characters too similar to easily distinguish and the author had the bad habit of spelling names with a y, when an i would just as easily do.
But some of the scenes were really very good. The battles moved along with great description; our protagonist's skills were introduced in an inspirational way; the politics were finally explained and with just enough intrigue to make the second in the series a soon-to-pick-up for me.
felinity's review
4.0
Heroic fantasy, definitely moving towards a saga. It took me longer than I'd like to really get into this, mainly because there existed a plethora of tribes, languages and similar names. Despite that, I loved the characters - their struggles and character flaws were realistic, as were there relationships. They kept me reading, though I found it hard to keep some of the outliers straight, and will get me into book 2. (And I'll reread this one at some point, to fill in the gaps from the links I missed before.)
rainbow_grace's review against another edition
3.0
Sasha made me grin like an idiot, laugh, and cry. However, there were also parts that made me yawn in boredom, or rage at the grammar. Mostly, though, it was a very enjoyable read.
The main character, Sashandra Lenayin, is the daughter of the Varenthane king, but she has renounced that life, and is living in a small town with the "uncivilized" Goeren-yai, practicing swordwork. She doesn't know it, but she is destined to become a hero, a saviour, of both peoples. Yes, it is that cliched. But I didn't really mind.
The characters are well-drawn for the most part. My favourites are Jaryd Nyvar, the pampered nobleman's son; and Sasha's sister Sofy, the spoiled princess. Both surprised and impressed me with their growth over the course of the story. Sasha herself is unfortunately not as interesting; I've seen this character before.
There is one race of nonhumans in this world: the serrin. Unfortunately, we aren't told much about them, except that many Varenthanes think they are demons. The only serrinim who appear as characters show up very near the end, are described as incredibly beautiful, and are deadly fighters. They are nearly perfect in every way. I found myself imagining Tolkien's Elves.
It seems that [a:Joel Shepherd|215710|Joel Shepherd|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1309637582p2/215710.jpg] has no idea that comma splices are incorrect grammar. Or he doesn't care. The text is riddled with them. I would probably not be exaggerating if I said that every single page has at least one. There were very few grammar issues besides. In one place, Sasha muses that "her plan trap worked." This jarred me since I've never seen that phrase used before. Another time, Sasha sees a friend and instead of "saying" his name, "'Andreyis?' she recognized." As far as I am aware, "recognized" is not a dialogue tag.
I found that the plot took a long time to get moving for me. It took me over a week to read the first half, then a day or two to finish. I prefer books that I can read faster than that. I used to read everything, no matter what, but I no longer have the time or the energy to do that.
The main character, Sashandra Lenayin, is the daughter of the Varenthane king, but she has renounced that life, and is living in a small town with the "uncivilized" Goeren-yai, practicing swordwork. She doesn't know it, but she is destined to become a hero, a saviour, of both peoples. Yes, it is that cliched. But I didn't really mind.
The characters are well-drawn for the most part. My favourites are Jaryd Nyvar, the pampered nobleman's son; and Sasha's sister Sofy, the spoiled princess. Both surprised and impressed me with their growth over the course of the story. Sasha herself is unfortunately not as interesting; I've seen this character before.
There is one race of nonhumans in this world: the serrin. Unfortunately, we aren't told much about them, except that many Varenthanes think they are demons. The only serrinim who appear as characters show up very near the end, are described as incredibly beautiful, and are deadly fighters. They are nearly perfect in every way. I found myself imagining Tolkien's Elves.
It seems that [a:Joel Shepherd|215710|Joel Shepherd|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1309637582p2/215710.jpg] has no idea that comma splices are incorrect grammar. Or he doesn't care. The text is riddled with them. I would probably not be exaggerating if I said that every single page has at least one. There were very few grammar issues besides. In one place, Sasha muses that "her plan trap worked." This jarred me since I've never seen that phrase used before. Another time, Sasha sees a friend and instead of "saying" his name, "'Andreyis?' she recognized." As far as I am aware, "recognized" is not a dialogue tag.
I found that the plot took a long time to get moving for me. It took me over a week to read the first half, then a day or two to finish. I prefer books that I can read faster than that. I used to read everything, no matter what, but I no longer have the time or the energy to do that.
phire's review against another edition
4.0
Very satisfying ending. Most of the lore paid off, neat set-up for the next book without being pandering, and while I still find the character development of the heroine to be a little bit too neatly tied up, it wasn't unearned.
ceridwyn's review against another edition
3.0
This has great characters and really interesting politics. Sasha feel quite unique in her role and personality and I got very involved with her.
I did have a great deal of difficulty, however, in following the religious and local politics in the book. Shepherd does a lot of showing rather than telling and I had to work extremely hard to figure out who was who and what the different religions vs different regions were - I nearly gave up several times but kept being dragged back in by the characters. It's clear that the author has the world utterly sorted in his head, but I had problems with the linguistic elements, as they didn't seem to support the political differences.
I will definitely be mooching the second book when it comes out however.
I did have a great deal of difficulty, however, in following the religious and local politics in the book. Shepherd does a lot of showing rather than telling and I had to work extremely hard to figure out who was who and what the different religions vs different regions were - I nearly gave up several times but kept being dragged back in by the characters. It's clear that the author has the world utterly sorted in his head, but I had problems with the linguistic elements, as they didn't seem to support the political differences.
I will definitely be mooching the second book when it comes out however.