A review by magnafeana
A Tale of the Nine Lands by J. K. F. Sandham

adventurous lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

Middle of the Road 2.75 stars rounded up fantasy adventure novel.

<b>DISCLAIMER</b>: I received this ARC via VoraciousReadersOnly in exchange for an honest review. All my thoughts are my personal opinions.

“A Tale of Nine Lands” is an entryway to an eventual in-the-works series revolving around species and races of the Nine Lands in their struggles for power and hoarding magic, and the oppressed rising against the abuse and misinformation beaten into them. 

I consider this book an…allegedly interesting entry point into a WIP series. 

In the blurb, it speaks of three protagonists: <b>Theo</b>, <b>Ash</b>, and <b>Exiluk</b>. And, to the book’s credit, it steadily and consistently patterns their POVs, each one disconnected from the other. But the blurb also states, “Brought together by fate, an unlikely trio holds the key to release the Nine Lands from the shadows”.

By the end of the book, however, none of these three have met or have a relation to each other.

…

I think this book served not as an entry point but as a prologue book or a Book 0 novel. It gave backstory, but it didn’t do what the blurb set out to accomplish. Once the protagonists are all with each other, I’ll consider the main narrative has started.

I had a few other issues and compliments for the book.

<b>POSITIVES</b>

  • • I did enjoy this had multiple species and would be a globetrotting book, essentially.
  • • I enjoyed some of the platonic relationships in this book.
  • • Peeling back some of the storytelling devices, the bones of the characters showed good promise. 
  • • Nifty. Nuff said.
  • • Cover is gorgeous.


<b>NEGATIVES</b>

  • • <b>Stylistic choices. </b>Much of the writing is “He did this. And then she did that. And he could sense… And he could feel…”. Now, some authors get away with this. Rather than using more varying structures in their prose, they’re more repetitive and straight. This is a stylistic choice. But even then, there’s still something about the characters that makes the story worth listening to. This leads me to my next negative…
  • • <b>Characters</b>. I wasn’t really engaged in the characters or their motivations. By the end, I couldn’t comprehend why Ash went to great lengths for Serene. We’re told it, so I know t. But I couldn’t understand or comprehend. Theo is repeatedly a coward who is more entertained by a pretty girl than much else in life. And I  couldn’t really understand Exiluk nor his motivation.
  • • <b>The Nine Lands. </b>For all that was spoken, while the races/species had their charms, the lands we’re introduced to did not. I’m more of an enjoyer when places have more distinct features and cultures and everything is very homogenous. This could be because I didn’t invest highly in the writing, however.


<b>OVERALL</b>

This was more like a prologue, book 0, or prelude act rather than a Book 1 entry point into the world of ATONL. I would have removed “Brought together by fate”, as the protagonists don’t meet each other in the end. This isn’t the type of Book 1 to get me into a series, but it may very well work for others. The author has a vision, and I hope he can successfully translate it into the rest of the series.