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A review by emmajaye
Raingun by John Blackport
3.0
I've read a lot of classic fantasy over the years, and this has the potential for being a really good book.
I loved the ‘gift’ concept, that everyone has five lives and you come back healed if you ‘lose a gift.’ It certainly adds a somewhat different perspective on death in battle and decisions people make about life and death.
The world John has created is complex, but some of his magic elements are irritating, such as having to repeat the verbal spells. I counted nine 'by the elements I blast you with wind' in one short section.
The story would have flowed better if it had been linear, if we had discovered why Rick behaved as he did, rather than being dumped into one battle/dangerous situation back and froth in time, after another. Yes, many fantasy books are spoilt by the 'long journey scenes' complete with what everyone had for dinner every night, but they are opportunities to let the characters bond, and for the reader to get to know them. Even though this is a typically long fantasy book, I felt that I was missing pages sometimes, as I was yanked from one place/time to another.
A slightly different style would make this a wonderful book, as it is, I found I couldn't really sink in and immerse myself into Rick's world.
I loved the ‘gift’ concept, that everyone has five lives and you come back healed if you ‘lose a gift.’ It certainly adds a somewhat different perspective on death in battle and decisions people make about life and death.
The world John has created is complex, but some of his magic elements are irritating, such as having to repeat the verbal spells. I counted nine 'by the elements I blast you with wind' in one short section.
The story would have flowed better if it had been linear, if we had discovered why Rick behaved as he did, rather than being dumped into one battle/dangerous situation back and froth in time, after another. Yes, many fantasy books are spoilt by the 'long journey scenes' complete with what everyone had for dinner every night, but they are opportunities to let the characters bond, and for the reader to get to know them. Even though this is a typically long fantasy book, I felt that I was missing pages sometimes, as I was yanked from one place/time to another.
A slightly different style would make this a wonderful book, as it is, I found I couldn't really sink in and immerse myself into Rick's world.