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A review by itadakinasu
Fatemarked by David Estes
Did not finish book.
Back in the 1990s, my dad used to drive this rusty POS Monte Carlo. It was beat-up, the seats were discolored, and the interior smelled of cigarettes. The leather steering wheel was ripped, and the dash had footprints all over the passenger side from kids resting their grubby shoes there. It struggled to start, puttered to a stop, and was generally a rickety pile of junk.
But my dad loved it, and he sunk money into saving it until he almost went broke. Now it's probably sitting in a dump somewhere, stripped for parts.
Fatemarked reminds me a lot of that Monte Carlo.
Estes compares himself to the likes of GRRM and Tolkien, and that's a very high bar to set for anyone, much less his amateur self. When you market yourself and your writing as worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as such talented, beloved authors, you're either setting yourself up for groundbreaking success or abysmal failure. This was abysmal failure.
As someone who writes as a hobby, I know that writing takes a lot of time and energy. It takes passion, work, and research to create an interesting, multifaceted world. I don't like to give low ratings, but I think it's my responsibility as a reader to provide my uncensored opinion. I also think it's a writer's responsibility to consider both criticism and praise with equal weight.
Ignoring the fact that Estes is not an established writer, I had high hopes for Fatemarked. Surely, such a bold statement was supported by at least a shred of evidence. Plenty of self-published authors are capable of writing decent or even great books, so why not David Estes, I thought.
Although readers are introduced to several of the main characters immediately, it's hard to feel anything for them. The two characters whose chapters I was able to read before giving up (Roan and Annise) were not interesting to me in the least.
Roan, despite living a good deal of his life on the streets, is clueless about the world. His behavior doesn't befit his background, and his only motivation to continue living is that "his mother sacrificed her life to save him." And he gets fixated on an elf girl for no reason other than that she's hot. He comes across as an annoying kid who is incapable of in-depth thought.
Annise, we are told, is pretty badass. But all she does is feel sorry for herself, cry, and eat. I wouldn't care about any of that if her "martial prowess" and toughness wasn't mentioned so much.
And for the writing itself, much of it is just plodding from one plot point to another. The organic metals and their relationships with elves sound cool, but the details of it are still hazy from not being described. The cities and world lack character, substance, and feeling. I can hardly remember any of the details of any of the cities because it was all hastily described and then put aside to make room for stilted banter.
Estes seems to play it safe with his writing and, as a result, has yet to develop his own style. That's a shame because I think if he had done so, it might have drawn more out of the characters and world that he has prepared.
My advice: don't compare yourself to other writers. If you're really playing in the same field as an established and respected author, you won't have to say so. Let your writing speak for itself.
But my dad loved it, and he sunk money into saving it until he almost went broke. Now it's probably sitting in a dump somewhere, stripped for parts.
Fatemarked reminds me a lot of that Monte Carlo.
Estes compares himself to the likes of GRRM and Tolkien, and that's a very high bar to set for anyone, much less his amateur self. When you market yourself and your writing as worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as such talented, beloved authors, you're either setting yourself up for groundbreaking success or abysmal failure. This was abysmal failure.
As someone who writes as a hobby, I know that writing takes a lot of time and energy. It takes passion, work, and research to create an interesting, multifaceted world. I don't like to give low ratings, but I think it's my responsibility as a reader to provide my uncensored opinion. I also think it's a writer's responsibility to consider both criticism and praise with equal weight.
Ignoring the fact that Estes is not an established writer, I had high hopes for Fatemarked. Surely, such a bold statement was supported by at least a shred of evidence. Plenty of self-published authors are capable of writing decent or even great books, so why not David Estes, I thought.
Although readers are introduced to several of the main characters immediately, it's hard to feel anything for them. The two characters whose chapters I was able to read before giving up (Roan and Annise) were not interesting to me in the least.
Roan, despite living a good deal of his life on the streets, is clueless about the world. His behavior doesn't befit his background, and his only motivation to continue living is that "his mother sacrificed her life to save him." And he gets fixated on an elf girl for no reason other than that she's hot. He comes across as an annoying kid who is incapable of in-depth thought.
Annise, we are told, is pretty badass. But all she does is feel sorry for herself, cry, and eat. I wouldn't care about any of that if her "martial prowess" and toughness wasn't mentioned so much.
And for the writing itself, much of it is just plodding from one plot point to another. The organic metals and their relationships with elves sound cool, but the details of it are still hazy from not being described. The cities and world lack character, substance, and feeling. I can hardly remember any of the details of any of the cities because it was all hastily described and then put aside to make room for stilted banter.
Estes seems to play it safe with his writing and, as a result, has yet to develop his own style. That's a shame because I think if he had done so, it might have drawn more out of the characters and world that he has prepared.
My advice: don't compare yourself to other writers. If you're really playing in the same field as an established and respected author, you won't have to say so. Let your writing speak for itself.