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sheddy 's review for:
Balam, Spring
by Travis M. Riddle
Disclaimer - I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for a fair review.
Balam, Spring - Travis M. Riddle
Balam is the type of town I grew up in, a small town where everyone knew everyone and their business and Travis M. Riddle took me straight back there. There's something homely, for lack of a better word, about his writing; it's familiar without being basic, comforting without being coddled. Sometimes I find it takes me a while to get into the groove with a new author's writing style but with BALAM, SPRING I slotted in straight away.
After reading so many epic, world traveling, a hundred books long fantasies, it's nice to scale down to a story with one setting and a definitive start, middle and end, in fact sometimes I forgot I was in a fantasy world, everything felt so normal. The story is sort of a Tolkien x Agatha Christie fantasy x murder mystery set in a world best described as pseudo-modern medieval time period (they don't seem to have modern technologies, but they have most modern-day luxuries).
We meet two out of the three main characters at the start of the story: Ryckert, a rocyan (sort of a dog-man) who has retired to Balam after working as a mercenary and Theo, a teacher working at the local school. The third is introduced a few chapters in, Aava, a white mage (a magic healer) sent to their town to replace the former white mage who died mysteriously. All three characters are incredibly three-dimensional, showing their attributes and shortcomings throughout the story with just enough back story on each without becoming infodump-y. Theo in particular is an interesting man, with an extremely tragic upbringing and the relationship he has with his wife Lyrra is one I think we should all aspire to. Ryckert was my favourite of the lot - seeing his growth from hermit to being able to develop meaningful relations does warm my heart.
Although the pace of the story can be quite slow at times it is never boring as the characterization and growth of the three main characters is well worth the time you spend reading, as well as being entertained by the quirky residents of Balam who pop in and out of the story. If you are worried about the story ending on a cliffhanger, don't be - the story is concluded but there is just enough scraps left of other information to allow for many more adventures in the world of BALAM, SPRING. I do hope to return to the town one day.
I give BALAM, SPRING 4 1/2 * out of 5.
Balam, Spring - Travis M. Riddle
Balam is the type of town I grew up in, a small town where everyone knew everyone and their business and Travis M. Riddle took me straight back there. There's something homely, for lack of a better word, about his writing; it's familiar without being basic, comforting without being coddled. Sometimes I find it takes me a while to get into the groove with a new author's writing style but with BALAM, SPRING I slotted in straight away.
After reading so many epic, world traveling, a hundred books long fantasies, it's nice to scale down to a story with one setting and a definitive start, middle and end, in fact sometimes I forgot I was in a fantasy world, everything felt so normal. The story is sort of a Tolkien x Agatha Christie fantasy x murder mystery set in a world best described as pseudo-modern medieval time period (they don't seem to have modern technologies, but they have most modern-day luxuries).
We meet two out of the three main characters at the start of the story: Ryckert, a rocyan (sort of a dog-man) who has retired to Balam after working as a mercenary and Theo, a teacher working at the local school. The third is introduced a few chapters in, Aava, a white mage (a magic healer) sent to their town to replace the former white mage who died mysteriously. All three characters are incredibly three-dimensional, showing their attributes and shortcomings throughout the story with just enough back story on each without becoming infodump-y. Theo in particular is an interesting man, with an extremely tragic upbringing and the relationship he has with his wife Lyrra is one I think we should all aspire to. Ryckert was my favourite of the lot - seeing his growth from hermit to being able to develop meaningful relations does warm my heart.
Although the pace of the story can be quite slow at times it is never boring as the characterization and growth of the three main characters is well worth the time you spend reading, as well as being entertained by the quirky residents of Balam who pop in and out of the story. If you are worried about the story ending on a cliffhanger, don't be - the story is concluded but there is just enough scraps left of other information to allow for many more adventures in the world of BALAM, SPRING. I do hope to return to the town one day.
I give BALAM, SPRING 4 1/2 * out of 5.