“My 10 year old wouldn’t put it down and even skipped meals. She finished it in a weekend, wants to reread it and jumped online to
look for the next one.” A father of three explained after stealing his Kindle back. ”Now they run around the house talking about it.”
look for the next one.” A father of three explained after stealing his Kindle back. ”Now they run around the house talking about it.”
Amanda, 30, wrote to her cousin,“…it really could be the next twilight or harry potter! It is so interesting and really holds my attention it’s a really good book and an awesome plot!!! I can’t wait to finish it! I think she should start writing the next one!!!”
By Shazparadise - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Hunted (The Phelidae Tales) (Paperback) I must say I haven't picked up & fully read a book since High School. I started reading this book and was amazed at all the excitement. I could not set the book down. I finished the book in 1 day. I am seating on the edge of my seat waiting for the next book. The story line & characters are truly inspiring. I recommend this book for everyone. The writer did an incredible job!
This review is from: The Hunted (The Phelidae Tales) (Paperback) I must say I haven't picked up & fully read a book since High School. I started reading this book and was amazed at all the excitement. I could not set the book down. I finished the book in 1 day. I am seating on the edge of my seat waiting for the next book. The story line & characters are truly inspiring. I recommend this book for everyone. The writer did an incredible job!
By VitaminJay - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Hunted (The Phelidae Tales) (Paperback) I read this book on a recommendation from a coworker. Given my preemptive (and unfair) distillation of the subject matter - a combination of tweenage angst and the
supernatural - I didn't expect to enjoy it nearly as much as I did. The first-time author is definitely a gifted storyteller, and producing such a quality work with no publisher, no editor, and no advance is an extraordinary achievement. I look forward to her next novel in this series and fully expect her to build on its auspicious beginnings.
Getting into the specific praises and criticisms, I'll break them out as follows (minor spoiler alert):
PROS:
* I really enjoyed the story's pacing. It seems like the modern style is to pump out 900-page biblical tomes that give every
speck of sand in the story universe its own multi-chapter backstory. This book, on the other hand, moves. It's an action-packed page-turner, the kind of thing you can (and I did) eagerly consume from cover to cover in a weekend.
* The protagonists are consistently distinct, well-developed, and, most importantly, likeable. There are no broken, confused anti-heroes here, just good-old-fashioned white-hat good guys that you want to root for and whose enemies you want to see punished. The female heroine, Thia, is an especially rich character. Supernaturally strong, pure of heart, loyal, self-sacrificing, yet still emotionally vulnerable and haunted, she's the kind of deep and powerful female lead you might find in the best Japanese anime. Disney's
cookie-cutter princesses can't hold a candle to her, and anyone looking for role models for their daughters should look no farther.
* The author has an extraordinary ability to describe movement and action in spectacular, visceral detail. A scene describing Thia's tribal dance and its rhythmic, subtly seductive motions was so captivating I read it three times. Another describing the serious wounds that same Thia had sustained and their physical and emotional effects on her made me wince with empathy. What's more, the author often accomplishes this amazing "imagination stimulation" feat with the perfect choice and economy of words. It's a real gift.
* The plot is packed with a lot of characters and subplots but never loses itself in any of them. I've read too many books where the main plotline becomes watered down and meandering because the author couldn't effectively prioritize and keep all of the elements in their proper proportion. That's not the case here. Even though I admit to cringing a bit when I found out that vampires and werewolves were in the mix (just what the world needs, more Twilight - ugh), I was pleasantly surprised at how effectively and believably they were incorporated into the storyline. The subplot involving Thia's love interest could have really bogged down the pacing (full disclosure: I'm on Team Jacob), but it instead served to further humanize the heroine and enhance my interest in and attachment to her. All in all, it's a solid, enjoyable story that leaves you looking forward to the next entry in the series.
CONS:
* The villains are not as menacing as they could be. For the most part they are also somewhat generic. The motivations of the primary antagonists are a combination of muddled and banal, though the peripheral villains fare better on this score. Hopefully the
bad guys will get the kind of thorough care and attention that the heroes did in the sequels.
* Given the skill with which action scenes are portrayed throughout the rest of the book, the climax is a bit of a letdown. All of the
stage pieces are well set for an epic-scale showdown involving all of the story's factions, but the scene is rushed and over-summarized in pursuit of the final interpersonal confrontation between hero and tormentor.
* A self-published work doesn't have the luxury of a professional editor, and this book could benefit from one. It's not realistic for one person to write 380+ pages of Oxford-pure English, and there are definitely spelling and especially grammatical issues that need to be ironed out. For the most part, these flaws are minor and don't detract from the overall experience. But the tendency of
the author to change tense from the more natural simple past ("Jane stood and waited at the door") to the awkward, romance-novel-style simple present ("Jane stands and waits at the door") was a bit jarring and occasionally affected my sense of immersion.
* One of the books strengths - its focused and aggressive pacing - is also in instances one of its weaknesses. The author obviously has a vivid imagination and an exceptional ability to translate it into the written word in precise sensory detail, but in a number of cases that skill is not brought to bear. Where I would have enjoyed a detailed description from her of the exterior of a hidden-away castle, I only got that the structure was "castle-like". I had the sense that the author was trying too hard to find one or two "perfect" words to describe something that in her mind could not possibly be described so cursorily and shackling herself to the thesaurus. She
would be better served by slowing down and giving these subjects the rich treatment she capably gives to others, even if it takes a paragraph or two to do it.
This review is from: The Hunted (The Phelidae Tales) (Paperback) I read this book on a recommendation from a coworker. Given my preemptive (and unfair) distillation of the subject matter - a combination of tweenage angst and the
supernatural - I didn't expect to enjoy it nearly as much as I did. The first-time author is definitely a gifted storyteller, and producing such a quality work with no publisher, no editor, and no advance is an extraordinary achievement. I look forward to her next novel in this series and fully expect her to build on its auspicious beginnings.
Getting into the specific praises and criticisms, I'll break them out as follows (minor spoiler alert):
PROS:
* I really enjoyed the story's pacing. It seems like the modern style is to pump out 900-page biblical tomes that give every
speck of sand in the story universe its own multi-chapter backstory. This book, on the other hand, moves. It's an action-packed page-turner, the kind of thing you can (and I did) eagerly consume from cover to cover in a weekend.
* The protagonists are consistently distinct, well-developed, and, most importantly, likeable. There are no broken, confused anti-heroes here, just good-old-fashioned white-hat good guys that you want to root for and whose enemies you want to see punished. The female heroine, Thia, is an especially rich character. Supernaturally strong, pure of heart, loyal, self-sacrificing, yet still emotionally vulnerable and haunted, she's the kind of deep and powerful female lead you might find in the best Japanese anime. Disney's
cookie-cutter princesses can't hold a candle to her, and anyone looking for role models for their daughters should look no farther.
* The author has an extraordinary ability to describe movement and action in spectacular, visceral detail. A scene describing Thia's tribal dance and its rhythmic, subtly seductive motions was so captivating I read it three times. Another describing the serious wounds that same Thia had sustained and their physical and emotional effects on her made me wince with empathy. What's more, the author often accomplishes this amazing "imagination stimulation" feat with the perfect choice and economy of words. It's a real gift.
* The plot is packed with a lot of characters and subplots but never loses itself in any of them. I've read too many books where the main plotline becomes watered down and meandering because the author couldn't effectively prioritize and keep all of the elements in their proper proportion. That's not the case here. Even though I admit to cringing a bit when I found out that vampires and werewolves were in the mix (just what the world needs, more Twilight - ugh), I was pleasantly surprised at how effectively and believably they were incorporated into the storyline. The subplot involving Thia's love interest could have really bogged down the pacing (full disclosure: I'm on Team Jacob), but it instead served to further humanize the heroine and enhance my interest in and attachment to her. All in all, it's a solid, enjoyable story that leaves you looking forward to the next entry in the series.
CONS:
* The villains are not as menacing as they could be. For the most part they are also somewhat generic. The motivations of the primary antagonists are a combination of muddled and banal, though the peripheral villains fare better on this score. Hopefully the
bad guys will get the kind of thorough care and attention that the heroes did in the sequels.
* Given the skill with which action scenes are portrayed throughout the rest of the book, the climax is a bit of a letdown. All of the
stage pieces are well set for an epic-scale showdown involving all of the story's factions, but the scene is rushed and over-summarized in pursuit of the final interpersonal confrontation between hero and tormentor.
* A self-published work doesn't have the luxury of a professional editor, and this book could benefit from one. It's not realistic for one person to write 380+ pages of Oxford-pure English, and there are definitely spelling and especially grammatical issues that need to be ironed out. For the most part, these flaws are minor and don't detract from the overall experience. But the tendency of
the author to change tense from the more natural simple past ("Jane stood and waited at the door") to the awkward, romance-novel-style simple present ("Jane stands and waits at the door") was a bit jarring and occasionally affected my sense of immersion.
* One of the books strengths - its focused and aggressive pacing - is also in instances one of its weaknesses. The author obviously has a vivid imagination and an exceptional ability to translate it into the written word in precise sensory detail, but in a number of cases that skill is not brought to bear. Where I would have enjoyed a detailed description from her of the exterior of a hidden-away castle, I only got that the structure was "castle-like". I had the sense that the author was trying too hard to find one or two "perfect" words to describe something that in her mind could not possibly be described so cursorily and shackling herself to the thesaurus. She
would be better served by slowing down and giving these subjects the rich treatment she capably gives to others, even if it takes a paragraph or two to do it.