Author: P.G. Thomas
Series: The Anti-Matter Chronicles 01
Read Type: ARC read
Stars:
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Tranquil Fury is the story of six high school students who witness a strange accident which transports them to a unique world that they soon find is filled with dwarves, elves, and magic. Unlike most epic novels, where one character has a foreboding sense of the underlying currents, in the Anti-Matter Chronicles, the unknown has already embraced the resident characters as they wait to welcome the six new cast members. And it is with their insight, that the truth is realized, and the real threats discovered.
I received a free copy of this book from the author in return for an unbiased review
Strong language: None
Drugs: None
Violence: Some, non-graphic
Sexual content: None
This novel starts slow, for the first chapter I wasn't
engaged. A school bus, presumably travelling a country route, describing each
of the kids as they are picked up. This left me
with an information overload, I was unable to remember all but the most
obvious things about characters, ie
Big kid = athlete
Kid in wheelchair = disabled
The kids soon find themselves on what is clearly another
world, just the six of them without the driver. Despite that they organise
themselves very fast, accept they are on another world and put past grudges
behind them. I liked that they didn't take the each man for himself, despite
some having bad injuries, but I felt they were far too polite in a stressful
situation. Every request was accompanied with a please, even time sensitive
ones, like a medical kit to stem bleeding, the backboard to get one of their
classmates free of the bus etc. I get that this is aimed at the YA category,
but I would have liked to see more them frustrated at each other, the more
able, or socially isolated, ones grumbling that they could be heading off to
find civilisation by that point. That's how my secondary school would have
worked anyway.
Soon came along a man from the world they were in, Mirtza. I
instantly took to him, his unusual style of magic, his knack of taking things
seriously, but most of all the way the POV, or point of view, was written.
Generally speaking it was written from one of the kids' eyes, seeing him and
his wagon as salvation, and the only man who knew what was going on, but then
it would switch to his internal monologue, going into how he was just as
confused as they were and didn’t know what to do next. "Three years ago, I
was a simple farmer's son, growing roots, feeding pigs, and chasing girls. […] So
now, I am heading towards an unfamiliar area, to meet strangers, elves of all
things." It is refreshing to see the leader, or rescuer of the party be as
clueless as the rest of them, as opposed to the Gandalf model.
Soon Elves and Dwarves are brought into the picture, along
with some of the kids starting to get unusual powers. The Elves and Dwarves
speak strangely, although in English, it is kind of like picking up an Olde
Worlde book with lots of statements such as thou hath, or words in a different
order to standard modern English. While this is understandable, and even
enjoyable as to how it established culture and history in the world. However,
when long speeches are given in it, particularly ones you need to understand to
understand the story I did get frustrated. It was like being back in English
class studying Shakespeare for the first time, trying to make sense of the
words so I'd understand the story. Eventually you do get used to it, but, to
paraphrase one character, you feel like you need to sit in front of a mirror
and talk normally for half an hour to get your brain back in twenty-first
century language. How the author managed to switch between the two so
seamlessly I don't know!
The first two thirds of this book largely take place in the
dwarves stronghold, yet despite that it never felt stagnant. There was always a
mystery, tantrum or story to be told to keep your attention. What initially
looked to be a fairly empty place with only a few dwarves named turned out to
have great depths. I'd have been content to learn more, especially about the
other dwarf clans, I hope that crops up in the future books.
Later on when a big group set out on a mission I felt it was
a bit repetitive.
Travel for a while
Hit dangerous situation
Guards plan to put lives on line to keep kids safe
Kids defeat danger behind guards back with powers they have
been developing
I felt the novel ended very suddenly, on a big cliff hanger,
but it could have used a couple more paragraphs to help me assess what the
situation was for each of the characters in the group. I felt out on a limb,
even after re-reading the last page.
I felt this entire novel in retrospect was largely just to
get the main characters into their final position. They could almost have just
been teleported into it as the first chapter. Nevertheless I found learning the
history and getting to see clues of how they change interesting. I feel the
next novel in the series is the real meat though.
Due to the complexity of understanding characters I give
this 3.5, but for the sake of reviewing sites I have to drop it to a 3
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