Completely unimpressed. I had a promotion to get books 1-3 as a bundle so this review is for all three. I don't know where one began and one ended. Problem 1 - Morgan Rice is not a good writer. At one point, she's describing a character's since of purpose in a dream sequence and out of 6 sentences, 3 said the same thing "this is where he was supposed to be." Amazingly, the first and second sentence were nearly identical with only 2-3 words differing. It's like her publisher said, "We need another 1000 words" and instead of adding to the plot, she just decided to add repetitive sentences throughout the existing story. Also, she occasionally uses words she thinks she knows what mean, but she really doesn't. Problem 2 - She has a primary character that is obviously intended to be a strong female character, but she undermines that strength constantly. Every time she acts or speaks with authority, she feels "the power of her father" rising up in her. So really, she's not strong, she's just channeling her dead dad. Also, her world is still horribly sexist and treats women as property and prizes. Problem 3 - Inconsistency. She has a dragon that is large enough its footprints leave "canyons" that are "hundreds of feet deep," but its claws are only as big as trees. She did not indicate ancient redwoods so I'm assuming she intended an typical, large tree. So really its claws are super tiny finger nails? And say they are the size of trees - when a human gets swiped by something that much bigger than him, he doesn't get shred to ribbons. At the right angle he might be cut in half, but not shred. Also, the dragon's legs are only as big as 50 men. 50 six foot men would be only 150 feet tall laid end to end. But the footprints are hundreds of feet deep? This animal also lives on a island. The characters traverse this island for half a day without seeing it. A creature that leaves canyons in the earth when it walks. Really? The "island" would have to be more like a continent. Problem 4 - Just not interesting. Rice wants to be a little George R. R. Martin and have an epic series with a dozens of characters with interweaving plot threads. However, much of it seems completely unconnected, only one or two of the characters is even remotely interesting or written with any depth, and there is no sense of an overarching plot. Remember - I read THREE books in the series and only at the very end of the third book is there any hint of a greater epic plot to accompany this hodge podge of mostly boring stories played out by fairly boring characters. Needless to say, I'll not be picking up another book by this writer and do not recommend them. Each book could be cut in half by a half-way decent editor (and should be). And Rice should have more respect for her readers. You don't have to beat anyone over the head with the same point fifteen times. Once on a page and maybe a reminder or two later in the story sure, but not literally an entire page of "Oh I love him and I hope we can be together." While I know I am repeating myself, this is another masterpiece from this author. In this third episode, our hero Thor goes for his training in a distant island, together with other members of his group. But that is not a regular trip. His training will last one hundred days, in an island full of dangerous places, with cyclops, dragons, and warriors from all over the places. And the trip to the island is an adventure on its own. But while he is at the island, things in the Ring deteriorate quickly and an invasion from the McCloud clan is imminent. Gwendolyn is joining forces with her brother Godfrey to find the real murderer of her father. They do not believe in the accusations their brother Gareth is planting against their other brother Kendrick. And Erec is trying to find a spouse far away from the kingdom, unaware of everything that is going on.This episode brings a lot of action, but I strongly recommend you read the series from the beginning, so you fully understand the dynamic among the characters.I recommend this book to the permanent library of all readers who love a well written story with a fascinating plot, that will keep you entertained for hours.
Do You like book A Feast Of Dragons (2000)?
I have forgiven the vast grammatical errors, since the story line is so good.
—Georgia
I'm being to be very attached to several of the characters in this series.
—marybeth
