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chrstn 's review for:
Soulkeeper
by David Dalglish
DNF at page 509 (74%)
Hard to believe I went from loving this book to actively disliking it in so short a time.
First let me get the good things out of the way: the characters. The main character, Devin, is an empathetic character. A person can relate to him and his decisions. He visibly cares about the people and creatures around him. The adorable creatures (Puffy, the firekin and Tesmarie, the onyx faerie) are great. They don't do much, but that I can easily forgive.
The world building and religious organizations are very interesting. I would've liked to have seen more of the Soulkeepers, Mindkeepers, Ravencallers, and other groups that serve as healers, investigators, and priests in this world.
Now for the bad and/or uncomfortable. This is marketed as adult fantasy. As such, I went in expecting more "adult" content, and I got it in spades.
- way too many modern curse words
- sexual perversions/trauma described in detail without adequate resolution
- inappropriate jokes
- body horror to the extreme - in almost every chapter once we hit around 1/3 of the book - grisly acts of violence performed on humans leading to detailed descriptions of entrails, blood, and other body parts (It's taxing to read and I even tried skimming. There's really not even an adequate explanation for the actions taken on the part of the villain.)
Issues with the writing leading to logical missteps.
- modern writing, word choices, clothing, GUNS, etc. but a medieval (?) world
- The threat literally comes to the doors of the city, but no one leaves.
- People are being hunted/slaughtered in the streets yet it's business as usual. No mass exodus. Nothing.
- Religious persecution is mentioned as a possibility and characters are fearful of the populace's reactions to healing powers, but every person told believes them and/or thanks them.
- Did the author forget about the "starlight tear"? It's just forgotten.
Hard to believe I went from loving this book to actively disliking it in so short a time.
First let me get the good things out of the way: the characters. The main character, Devin, is an empathetic character. A person can relate to him and his decisions. He visibly cares about the people and creatures around him. The adorable creatures (Puffy, the firekin and Tesmarie, the onyx faerie) are great. They don't do much, but that I can easily forgive.
The world building and religious organizations are very interesting. I would've liked to have seen more of the Soulkeepers, Mindkeepers, Ravencallers, and other groups that serve as healers, investigators, and priests in this world.
Now for the bad and/or uncomfortable. This is marketed as adult fantasy. As such, I went in expecting more "adult" content, and I got it in spades.
- way too many modern curse words
- sexual perversions/trauma described in detail without adequate resolution
- inappropriate jokes
- body horror to the extreme - in almost every chapter once we hit around 1/3 of the book - grisly acts of violence performed on humans leading to detailed descriptions of entrails, blood, and other body parts (It's taxing to read and I even tried skimming. There's really not even an adequate explanation for the actions taken on the part of the villain.)
Issues with the writing leading to logical missteps.
- modern writing, word choices, clothing, GUNS, etc. but a medieval (?) world
- The threat literally comes to the doors of the city, but no one leaves.
- People are being hunted/slaughtered in the streets yet it's business as usual. No mass exodus. Nothing.
- Religious persecution is mentioned as a possibility and characters are fearful of the populace's reactions to healing powers, but every person told believes them and/or thanks them.
- Did the author forget about the "starlight tear"? It's just forgotten.