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Elemental Rancor: A Chronicle of Consequence
A far away star supernovas and sends waves of force and change rippling through the cosmos. The waves crash into Sarnen Karnea's world and thrust him into a deadly struggle to keep his loved ones from harm and to keep a secret about his son from the Zangava Empire.
The waves awaken new and old forms of consciousness, and stir ancient primordial resentments, that threaten to destabilize the Empire’s dominance in the world. Challengers from across the ocean, and from under it, seek to capitalize on newly developing Imperial problems.
Like the Empire, Sarnen must adapt to survive, and must ask himself which of his virtues he is willing to deny in order to reach his goals.
The waves awaken new and old forms of consciousness, and stir ancient primordial resentments, that threaten to destabilize the Empire’s dominance in the world. Challengers from across the ocean, and from under it, seek to capitalize on newly developing Imperial problems.
Like the Empire, Sarnen must adapt to survive, and must ask himself which of his virtues he is willing to deny in order to reach his goals.
- GenresFantasyScience Fiction
417 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 19, 2014
2 people are currently reading
12 people want to read
About the author
Charles Lominec
2 books6 followersMy five-year-old daughter asked me to attach a small knit blanket to her shirt so she could have a cape. Once the cape was secure, she turned on me and began an epic battle. Her little fists punched with imaginary yet primordial force as she proclaimed, “I’m going to take you to jail bad guy!”
It was a concentrated dose of joy to see my daughter love the same stories that I love. Super-heroes, science-fiction, modern and historic fantasy have all held special places in my heart and have inspired my imagination for a world better than the one we have.
While studying Philosophy and History at Florida State University, I spent a lot of my free time writing stories for numerous role-playing games with which I was involved. Eventually, I took my love for Philosophy, story-telling, and writing; and wrote my debut novel.
I think we’re living in a fantastic time where the predictions of our sci-fi fore fathers are coming true or close to coming true. Continuing exponential advances in technology, medicine, and our understanding of our cosmos stands ready to propel our species forward to an exciting future. Our potential for greatness is tempered by our equal potential for self-destruction. The same advances promising to send us forward could hurl us drastically backwards.
In order to tip the balance toward greatness, we need to reawaken humanity’s imagination and love of learning. We also need to encourage empathy and compassion for not only other humans, but all the lifeforms that share existence with us.
It was a concentrated dose of joy to see my daughter love the same stories that I love. Super-heroes, science-fiction, modern and historic fantasy have all held special places in my heart and have inspired my imagination for a world better than the one we have.
While studying Philosophy and History at Florida State University, I spent a lot of my free time writing stories for numerous role-playing games with which I was involved. Eventually, I took my love for Philosophy, story-telling, and writing; and wrote my debut novel.
I think we’re living in a fantastic time where the predictions of our sci-fi fore fathers are coming true or close to coming true. Continuing exponential advances in technology, medicine, and our understanding of our cosmos stands ready to propel our species forward to an exciting future. Our potential for greatness is tempered by our equal potential for self-destruction. The same advances promising to send us forward could hurl us drastically backwards.
In order to tip the balance toward greatness, we need to reawaken humanity’s imagination and love of learning. We also need to encourage empathy and compassion for not only other humans, but all the lifeforms that share existence with us.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
July 5, 2015
Finished reading: October 28th 2014
“The changes are on a more subtle level, a change of consciousness which most humans cannot perceive. I do not believe it to be an unnatural change; change is part of reality.”
*** A copy of this book was kindly given to me by the author in exchange for an honest review. Thank you Charles Lominec! ***
P.S. Find more of my reviews here.
February 28, 2015
Disclaimer: I received a free ebook copy in exchange for an honest review.
This was one of those books that took me a little bit to get into, but that was due more to the different nature of the world setting than I’m accustomed to. I thought it was a cool contrast to usual fantasy novels with the Empire using dinosaurs as weapons for land and air. It gave the story an extra depth as we’re exposed to the different Elementals such as Flesh, Air, Fire, and Earth.
The characters were well written and enjoyable, except for a couple that I really wanted to see have an incident, but that’s part of what made the story so enjoyable. My personal favorite was the Lanx as a whole, so needless to say I’m curious what they’ll be up to in the next book.
The story moved along at a good pace and kept me turning the pages to see how the various storylines worked out. Unfortunately, that means waiting for the next book, but it’s a wait I don’t mind.
This was one of those books that took me a little bit to get into, but that was due more to the different nature of the world setting than I’m accustomed to. I thought it was a cool contrast to usual fantasy novels with the Empire using dinosaurs as weapons for land and air. It gave the story an extra depth as we’re exposed to the different Elementals such as Flesh, Air, Fire, and Earth.
The characters were well written and enjoyable, except for a couple that I really wanted to see have an incident, but that’s part of what made the story so enjoyable. My personal favorite was the Lanx as a whole, so needless to say I’m curious what they’ll be up to in the next book.
The story moved along at a good pace and kept me turning the pages to see how the various storylines worked out. Unfortunately, that means waiting for the next book, but it’s a wait I don’t mind.
March 3, 2017
Point of View: Third Distant (Major: Sarnen, Lorgen, Grenot, Disa, Magmanoid, Lanon, Timorn, Yonele. Minor: Sheila, Marasina, Jorsana, Sukaro, Byron, Kerome.)
Predictability: 2 out of 5 (Where 1 is George RR Martin (If the characters make a plan or think about the future I know it isn’t going to go that way.) And 5 is Cinder (where I guessed what was going to happen long before it did, but it was still a great book.)
Source: The author contacted me and asked if I would review this book.
My Rating: 6/10 Stars
Warning: Adult rating for violence and gore.
I’m glad the author contacted about this book, because I never would’ve chosen it for myself. I know I’m terrible, but I judge a book by it’s cover and I don’t like this cover. It also doesn’t depict the book very well, because that really doesn’t look like a man riding a pteradon (pterodactyl). (And now everyone is squinting at it, because I made it so small. I just didn’t want to keep looking at it. Sorry!)
My Summary:
In a world where the elements have a consciousness, the mighty Empire has learned to communicate with them. These people are called Tutors, but the Tutors have a problem. After a star disappears from the sky the elements start acting strangely. Air is more demanding, and fire has disappeared. What does it all mean?
Two children find out when they develop strange new abilities, abilities that no one has had before.
Lanon, a pteradon squad leader, winds up being forced into helping a disgraced Tutor discover what’s wrong with the element Earth.
The Empire has declared war on Marapor, but Grenot knows if the Empire goes to war they will lose, so he decides to take matters into his own hands.
My Review:
These are only the main three story lines, but there are quite a few more. The author certainly has a vivid imagination, but I think he tried to put too many ideas into one book. (At least too many characters. Molly was confused. Though it probably didn’t help that I kept referring to them as S person and L person. And then there were two L persons!)
The Good:
Elemental Rancor has a very interesting world with all kinds of cool creatures; bird people, fish people, dinosaurs, not to mention monkey vultures. (The monkey vultures aren’t important, they just creeped me out!)
I liked that the elements had a consciousness and the magic is really just people communicating with them. (I wish we’d gotten to see someone arguing with their magic, that would’ve been funny.) The ways magic was changing was well done too and it made sense. I liked the kids’ abilities the most! (That was the story line I kept reading for.)
Except for the beginning it was all fast paced. It was a good thing the chapters changed points of view or I never could’ve put it down. (Even though they all ended to be continued, not knowing when that character would come back helped me to stop.)
It took me a while to figure out who was who, but I liked most of the characters, and even the ones I didn’t care for were well developed. (A bit too much development if you as me. I didn’t really need flashbacks about a character’s mom who was barely in the book.)
The Bad:
I’ve read plenty of books with multiple points of view. Usually the books where people are complaining about too many characters, I’m fine with, but this one had too many in the beginning even for me. (It didn’t help that all of the grunts had names too, so I didn’t know who was important.)
A couple of things that happened I thought were a bit silly. There were also some very violent and gross parts. (Only one gross thing actually bothered me. I also considered this one of the silly things. I was tempted to google if it was actually possible, but I decided I didn’t want to know.)
The story was well told, but there were some tell tale signs that this was the author’s first book; unnecessary words, things repeated when they didn’t need to be, everyday conversations that could’ve been cut, that sort of thing. It was a bit distracting but the story was good enough that I kept reading. (I told myself going in that I’d give up if it wasn’t for me, but I couldn’t, he had me hooked.)
Verdict:
It’s not a perfect story, but I was entertained, which in the end is all that matters to me. Even when I was confused I couldn’t put it down. I found myself staying up too late, because I was just going to read one more chapter.
Will I read the next one? Yes.
Predictability: 2 out of 5 (Where 1 is George RR Martin (If the characters make a plan or think about the future I know it isn’t going to go that way.) And 5 is Cinder (where I guessed what was going to happen long before it did, but it was still a great book.)
Source: The author contacted me and asked if I would review this book.
My Rating: 6/10 Stars
Warning: Adult rating for violence and gore.
I’m glad the author contacted about this book, because I never would’ve chosen it for myself. I know I’m terrible, but I judge a book by it’s cover and I don’t like this cover. It also doesn’t depict the book very well, because that really doesn’t look like a man riding a pteradon (pterodactyl). (And now everyone is squinting at it, because I made it so small. I just didn’t want to keep looking at it. Sorry!)
My Summary:
In a world where the elements have a consciousness, the mighty Empire has learned to communicate with them. These people are called Tutors, but the Tutors have a problem. After a star disappears from the sky the elements start acting strangely. Air is more demanding, and fire has disappeared. What does it all mean?
Two children find out when they develop strange new abilities, abilities that no one has had before.
Lanon, a pteradon squad leader, winds up being forced into helping a disgraced Tutor discover what’s wrong with the element Earth.
The Empire has declared war on Marapor, but Grenot knows if the Empire goes to war they will lose, so he decides to take matters into his own hands.
My Review:
These are only the main three story lines, but there are quite a few more. The author certainly has a vivid imagination, but I think he tried to put too many ideas into one book. (At least too many characters. Molly was confused. Though it probably didn’t help that I kept referring to them as S person and L person. And then there were two L persons!)
The Good:
Elemental Rancor has a very interesting world with all kinds of cool creatures; bird people, fish people, dinosaurs, not to mention monkey vultures. (The monkey vultures aren’t important, they just creeped me out!)
I liked that the elements had a consciousness and the magic is really just people communicating with them. (I wish we’d gotten to see someone arguing with their magic, that would’ve been funny.) The ways magic was changing was well done too and it made sense. I liked the kids’ abilities the most! (That was the story line I kept reading for.)
Except for the beginning it was all fast paced. It was a good thing the chapters changed points of view or I never could’ve put it down. (Even though they all ended to be continued, not knowing when that character would come back helped me to stop.)
It took me a while to figure out who was who, but I liked most of the characters, and even the ones I didn’t care for were well developed. (A bit too much development if you as me. I didn’t really need flashbacks about a character’s mom who was barely in the book.)
The Bad:
I’ve read plenty of books with multiple points of view. Usually the books where people are complaining about too many characters, I’m fine with, but this one had too many in the beginning even for me. (It didn’t help that all of the grunts had names too, so I didn’t know who was important.)
A couple of things that happened I thought were a bit silly. There were also some very violent and gross parts. (Only one gross thing actually bothered me. I also considered this one of the silly things. I was tempted to google if it was actually possible, but I decided I didn’t want to know.)
The story was well told, but there were some tell tale signs that this was the author’s first book; unnecessary words, things repeated when they didn’t need to be, everyday conversations that could’ve been cut, that sort of thing. It was a bit distracting but the story was good enough that I kept reading. (I told myself going in that I’d give up if it wasn’t for me, but I couldn’t, he had me hooked.)
Verdict:
It’s not a perfect story, but I was entertained, which in the end is all that matters to me. Even when I was confused I couldn’t put it down. I found myself staying up too late, because I was just going to read one more chapter.
Will I read the next one? Yes.
February 27, 2015
I was skeptical about downloading this book as it didn’t sound like something I’d enjoy. In fact I’d venture to say that initially nothing about this book really grabbed me. The cover did not excite me at all (lucky I don’t put much stock in covers) and the blurb was only mildly intriguing. But, I have a thing about finding good books by unknown authors so, true to my usual ritual, I downloaded a sample first, and gave it a go. I am happy I did.
The crux of the tale is about a world dominated by a tyrannical empire who controls their citizens by fear and force. In the world of Elemental Rancor, strange hybrid creatures abound, and the Elements have a consciousness of their own. The disappearance of a star brings unexpected changes to the way the world works, in particular with regards to communication with the Elements.
What I liked about the book
I loved the richness of the story. There are many layers and many stories, but they all come back to the changes caused by the vanishing star and how this affects the characters. I especially enjoyed the many different creatures. Half shark, half humans. Hawk creatures. A strange octopus-type being called a Ponmoray. Dinosaurs. Even a human modified to breath under water. The author’s imagination knows no bounds.
I found the concept of communicating with the elements fascinating. My favourite was the new born magmanoid, the child of fire and earth. He struggles with good and evil and I really enjoyed his inner dialogue.
What I didn’t enjoy that much
As much as I enjoyed this book there was one niggle for me. The book contained too much detail. Almost every character, even the minor ones you meet only once, had a name. Sarnen Karnea, Jorsana, Torgal, Lorgen, Vai, Fianna, Tallabas, Kafshad, Ainheim, Mallory Lanon, Lt Halsan, Lt Refan, Lorence Treagan – these are only a few of the characters we meet in the first couple of chapters. Some of them you never hear from again. The sheer amount of characters made the story confusing and I found myself having to go back a few times to remember where characters fitted into the big scheme of things.
Final thoughts
The niggle above aside, this was an awesome story. I was continually astounded by the wonderful imagination of Charles Lominec. This is the first book in this series and I look forward to reading the rest of the story.
STAR RATING: 4 Stars
Will also be posted on my blog:
https://jackiegmills.wordpress.com/
The crux of the tale is about a world dominated by a tyrannical empire who controls their citizens by fear and force. In the world of Elemental Rancor, strange hybrid creatures abound, and the Elements have a consciousness of their own. The disappearance of a star brings unexpected changes to the way the world works, in particular with regards to communication with the Elements.
What I liked about the book
I loved the richness of the story. There are many layers and many stories, but they all come back to the changes caused by the vanishing star and how this affects the characters. I especially enjoyed the many different creatures. Half shark, half humans. Hawk creatures. A strange octopus-type being called a Ponmoray. Dinosaurs. Even a human modified to breath under water. The author’s imagination knows no bounds.
I found the concept of communicating with the elements fascinating. My favourite was the new born magmanoid, the child of fire and earth. He struggles with good and evil and I really enjoyed his inner dialogue.
What I didn’t enjoy that much
As much as I enjoyed this book there was one niggle for me. The book contained too much detail. Almost every character, even the minor ones you meet only once, had a name. Sarnen Karnea, Jorsana, Torgal, Lorgen, Vai, Fianna, Tallabas, Kafshad, Ainheim, Mallory Lanon, Lt Halsan, Lt Refan, Lorence Treagan – these are only a few of the characters we meet in the first couple of chapters. Some of them you never hear from again. The sheer amount of characters made the story confusing and I found myself having to go back a few times to remember where characters fitted into the big scheme of things.
Final thoughts
The niggle above aside, this was an awesome story. I was continually astounded by the wonderful imagination of Charles Lominec. This is the first book in this series and I look forward to reading the rest of the story.
STAR RATING: 4 Stars
Will also be posted on my blog:
https://jackiegmills.wordpress.com/
January 31, 2015
I was very surprised by how much I enjoyed this book, not because the story lacks pace but because this book has a Sci-Fi vibe to it and Sci-Fi is not a genre I usually enjoy that much. However, this book is well-written as it pulls you right into the story and so I found myself gripped and unable to put it down because I just wanted to know what would happen next straight away!
The synopsis mentions Sarnen, who I thought was going to be the main character, and he was a large part of the story, but the book was actually told from multiple perspectives and so I do not think that there is just one main character; I felt all the narrators in the book were the main characters. This book was action-packed and I was hooked right from the start as Charles develops a unique and interesting world. Within the first few chapters, the book gets right into the story with an attack from shark-like creatures on Sarnen’s boat. The reason for this is because Sarnen is ferrying some eggs as cargo. The story progresses from here, and I do not want to say too much because I do not want to give the story away.
The characters in this book were well developed, but I wish I got to see more of Sarnen’s interaction with his family. They had some scenes together but I was left wanting. I could see the love that Sarnen had for his family, it was clear in the writing, and so I wanted to know more. For me, a sign of a good book is whether it makes me cry, because this shows an emotional investment in the characters and story. There was one point in this story which nearly made me cry.
My only issue with the book was there were a lot of characters and so sometimes I had a hard time remembering who was who when they were speaking or the book was being told from their perspective, but this may be because I am new to Sci-Fi. I also found it hard to keep track of all the different ‘species’ in the book, but because the writing was good and the plot interesting, this is easy to overlook.
I would recommend this book because it is a good read. I hope that there is another book in this series and personally I am looking forward to reading it as I need to know what happens next…!
The synopsis mentions Sarnen, who I thought was going to be the main character, and he was a large part of the story, but the book was actually told from multiple perspectives and so I do not think that there is just one main character; I felt all the narrators in the book were the main characters. This book was action-packed and I was hooked right from the start as Charles develops a unique and interesting world. Within the first few chapters, the book gets right into the story with an attack from shark-like creatures on Sarnen’s boat. The reason for this is because Sarnen is ferrying some eggs as cargo. The story progresses from here, and I do not want to say too much because I do not want to give the story away.
The characters in this book were well developed, but I wish I got to see more of Sarnen’s interaction with his family. They had some scenes together but I was left wanting. I could see the love that Sarnen had for his family, it was clear in the writing, and so I wanted to know more. For me, a sign of a good book is whether it makes me cry, because this shows an emotional investment in the characters and story. There was one point in this story which nearly made me cry.
My only issue with the book was there were a lot of characters and so sometimes I had a hard time remembering who was who when they were speaking or the book was being told from their perspective, but this may be because I am new to Sci-Fi. I also found it hard to keep track of all the different ‘species’ in the book, but because the writing was good and the plot interesting, this is easy to overlook.
I would recommend this book because it is a good read. I hope that there is another book in this series and personally I am looking forward to reading it as I need to know what happens next…!
May 31, 2014
This book contains a viewpoint that is unique and original in the world of high fantasy.
The setting is the Zangava Empire, which has been powerful and stable for many years. This is in part due to the mystical Elemental Tutors, people highly-trained in the magical arts of communicating with and influencing the classical elements. But, when a star disappears from the sky, the Tutors' powers become diminished and unpredictable. New magical forces appear, and the enemies of the Empire begin massing aggressively on the borders.
Elemental Rancor has a couple of strong points. First, it doesn't read like yet another Tolkien clone. So many high fantasy settings are just rewarmed servings of leftover Middle Earth. This one isn't. The world in which it is set does have a medieval European flavor, but the overused tropes that are too often seen in fantasy — dwarves; elves; wizards with long white-beards; dragons — are all mercifully absent. Instead, the reader gets a setting reminiscent of the glory of the Roman Empire. Plus dinosaurs. As the cover suggests, one of the strengths of the Zangava Empire is the host of trained war-dinosaurs that accompany the imperial army.
The other big draw of this book is the fact that it aspires to work on more than one level. While most fantasy novels are content to tell stories of magic and heroism, this one also asks its reader to consider issues of virtue, priorities, and values. The author's bio reveals that he studied philosophy before writing this novel. It's refreshing to see a high fantasy novel that addresses topics deeper than mere escapism.
This is an original perspective on the high fantasy genre, and I look forward to more from this author.
The setting is the Zangava Empire, which has been powerful and stable for many years. This is in part due to the mystical Elemental Tutors, people highly-trained in the magical arts of communicating with and influencing the classical elements. But, when a star disappears from the sky, the Tutors' powers become diminished and unpredictable. New magical forces appear, and the enemies of the Empire begin massing aggressively on the borders.
Elemental Rancor has a couple of strong points. First, it doesn't read like yet another Tolkien clone. So many high fantasy settings are just rewarmed servings of leftover Middle Earth. This one isn't. The world in which it is set does have a medieval European flavor, but the overused tropes that are too often seen in fantasy — dwarves; elves; wizards with long white-beards; dragons — are all mercifully absent. Instead, the reader gets a setting reminiscent of the glory of the Roman Empire. Plus dinosaurs. As the cover suggests, one of the strengths of the Zangava Empire is the host of trained war-dinosaurs that accompany the imperial army.
The other big draw of this book is the fact that it aspires to work on more than one level. While most fantasy novels are content to tell stories of magic and heroism, this one also asks its reader to consider issues of virtue, priorities, and values. The author's bio reveals that he studied philosophy before writing this novel. It's refreshing to see a high fantasy novel that addresses topics deeper than mere escapism.
This is an original perspective on the high fantasy genre, and I look forward to more from this author.
April 8, 2015
Elemental Rancor: A Chronicle of Consequence is a fantasy tale. The Zangava Empire is about to be turned into turmoil after a far away star explodes and disappears. The shock waves from the explosion send ripples to the Empire and unbalance the equilibrium which exists.
The Empire is currently held together by the elements air, fire, water, earth and many sub-elements like flesh all having a consciousness which the special tutors tap into to maintain the balance. However with the ripples from the star changes occur and new people seek to control the elemental powers.
The book opens with us meeting Sarnen, a sea captain who is transporting valuable Reptadon eggs. Sarnen and his family have their own storyline within the book. The Empire uses many different dinosaurs to help protect the empire. There is also a mix of other interesting fantasy creatures and peoples as the storm seers attempt to take over control of the elements.
There is a huge cast of characters, one worthy of an epic film and for my own enjoyment this detracted from the storyline, as I was unsure which were to be main characters and worthy of remembering and which could be passed by. I felt like I was watching this book from afar rather than being there with the action. The book is also packed with a vast adventure and I struggled to keep in touch with all the storylines. I think the book would benefit from a slim down with a focus on the main characters, I knew their names but I lacked the pictures of them in my head. More vivid descriptions of characters and their characteristics would really make this book pop.
Overall lots of new ideas for the fantasy market, perhaps a bit of slimming would help give the story a chance in this popular genre.
The Empire is currently held together by the elements air, fire, water, earth and many sub-elements like flesh all having a consciousness which the special tutors tap into to maintain the balance. However with the ripples from the star changes occur and new people seek to control the elemental powers.
The book opens with us meeting Sarnen, a sea captain who is transporting valuable Reptadon eggs. Sarnen and his family have their own storyline within the book. The Empire uses many different dinosaurs to help protect the empire. There is also a mix of other interesting fantasy creatures and peoples as the storm seers attempt to take over control of the elements.
There is a huge cast of characters, one worthy of an epic film and for my own enjoyment this detracted from the storyline, as I was unsure which were to be main characters and worthy of remembering and which could be passed by. I felt like I was watching this book from afar rather than being there with the action. The book is also packed with a vast adventure and I struggled to keep in touch with all the storylines. I think the book would benefit from a slim down with a focus on the main characters, I knew their names but I lacked the pictures of them in my head. More vivid descriptions of characters and their characteristics would really make this book pop.
Overall lots of new ideas for the fantasy market, perhaps a bit of slimming would help give the story a chance in this popular genre.
March 10, 2015
Elemental Rancor is a blend of classic science fiction with futuristic fantasy along with some incredible philosophy undertones. When I first started reading it, I must admit I wasn't immediately drawn in. The first chapter read more like a scene from Pirates of the Caribbean. But once I got past the first chapter, I was drawn in. The plot was complex, the characters were realistic and the battle scenes were exciting. The author did a magnificent job of world-building. The more I delved into the story, the more I could envision what was going on. It almost read like a movie.
I must admit there were times while reading where I got lost in all the action. There was so much going on and I had to go back and re-read some scenes.
The best part of the whole book was the elements. Charles Lominec created a world where every action was weighed by the potential reaction by the six elements: Water, Air, Earth, Fire, Flesh and Ether. If you offended an element and you were in need of an element, say Water or Air, you needed to adjust your behavior. Fascinating concept!
If you love Science Fiction, you'll love this book!
My Rating: 4.5
I must admit there were times while reading where I got lost in all the action. There was so much going on and I had to go back and re-read some scenes.
The best part of the whole book was the elements. Charles Lominec created a world where every action was weighed by the potential reaction by the six elements: Water, Air, Earth, Fire, Flesh and Ether. If you offended an element and you were in need of an element, say Water or Air, you needed to adjust your behavior. Fascinating concept!
If you love Science Fiction, you'll love this book!
My Rating: 4.5
May 12, 2014
A great new addition to this genre. Elemental Rancor tells the story from different points of view which allows us to see the different changes happening in the world. Some blame these changes on a star that has disappeared. One story is a father battles to keep his family safe from forces out of his control. Some threats are the living in the sea, the four elements, betrayal, and the changes.
Don't want to go to much into the book because I don't want to give any spoilers. If you like fantasy and don't want to be bored I encourage you to read Elemental Rancor
Don't want to go to much into the book because I don't want to give any spoilers. If you like fantasy and don't want to be bored I encourage you to read Elemental Rancor
February 8, 2015
*I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.
Charles Lominec's debut novel offers a truly unique fantasy world, in which all of the world's elements (earth, fire and so on) are conscious god-like entities. The Zangava Empire communicates with these elements through its Elemental Tutors, and consequently has emerged as the dominant force in the land. But when the elements stop cooperating, the resulting upheaval threatens to to reduce the entire empire to rubble - and sets a number of individual quests into motion.
What follows is a number of simultaneous storylines, each of which touch upon different aspects of the book's setting, and all of them are intriguing individually. In one plot thread, we have a boat captain protecting his family from shark-man pirates; in another, a young girl finds herself taken from home and forged into the perfect fighting machine; in another, the offspring of two elements is forced to find its place in the world. I soon found myself wanting to know how all of this would end up, and I was always excited to see what the book would come up with next.
The above is also arguably the book's greatest flaw, with many plot threads only coming together in the loosest possible way. The resulting overall plot is more than a little unfocussed, with little sign of a single overarching objective or goal, and would probably have benefited from a little streamlining.
There are also some parts which simply needed more editing. A few scenes, for instance, contain parts where fantastical species are compared to Earth animals - without first establishing that said animals even exist in the setting. Said instances are few and far between, thankfully, but seriously detract from what could have been an excellent product.
Elemental Rancor is certainly not perfect, but there's a solid centre here. I enjoyed this book overall and I very much looking forward to reading the sequel. As such, it gets a solid three stars.
Charles Lominec's debut novel offers a truly unique fantasy world, in which all of the world's elements (earth, fire and so on) are conscious god-like entities. The Zangava Empire communicates with these elements through its Elemental Tutors, and consequently has emerged as the dominant force in the land. But when the elements stop cooperating, the resulting upheaval threatens to to reduce the entire empire to rubble - and sets a number of individual quests into motion.
What follows is a number of simultaneous storylines, each of which touch upon different aspects of the book's setting, and all of them are intriguing individually. In one plot thread, we have a boat captain protecting his family from shark-man pirates; in another, a young girl finds herself taken from home and forged into the perfect fighting machine; in another, the offspring of two elements is forced to find its place in the world. I soon found myself wanting to know how all of this would end up, and I was always excited to see what the book would come up with next.
The above is also arguably the book's greatest flaw, with many plot threads only coming together in the loosest possible way. The resulting overall plot is more than a little unfocussed, with little sign of a single overarching objective or goal, and would probably have benefited from a little streamlining.
There are also some parts which simply needed more editing. A few scenes, for instance, contain parts where fantastical species are compared to Earth animals - without first establishing that said animals even exist in the setting. Said instances are few and far between, thankfully, but seriously detract from what could have been an excellent product.
Elemental Rancor is certainly not perfect, but there's a solid centre here. I enjoyed this book overall and I very much looking forward to reading the sequel. As such, it gets a solid three stars.
January 18, 2015
This book had some really great ideas. The world feels unique and interesting. The magic is elemental, but this time, the elements are conscious. And that really hooked me from the start. The Zangava Empire has mastered the use of these elements with their Elemental Tutors, and is pretty dominant. Things soon go awry though, as the elements begin to go out of control and even feud among themselves. There's also a variety of interesting creatures, from flying pteradons to deep sea civlisations.
The problem though, was the writing. This is the author's first book, and it shows. The writing feels rough around the edges. And that really held me back from enjoying the great aspects of the story and worldbuilding. There's too much description in some places, too little in others. Some sentences like "I think the Hawkins, those are the Afians that resemble hawks" just made me cringe a little. The viewpoints jump around awkwardly - sometimes in the middle of a scene. And there just seems to be too much going on. Not in the sense that it was hard to keep track of it, but the story seemed to go - this happened, then this happened, then that happened - like it was in a hurry to get somewhere.
And it's a shame, because the book really had a lot of potential. I haven't written Lominec off though - because he does seem to have a nice knack for fantasy that feels fresh and different. It's just his prose that's the trouble, and I'm hopeful that future books will be better. I mean, even Sanderson, who's all the rage now, debuted with Elantris, which was the sixth book he'd written, and it wasn't even all that great.
The problem though, was the writing. This is the author's first book, and it shows. The writing feels rough around the edges. And that really held me back from enjoying the great aspects of the story and worldbuilding. There's too much description in some places, too little in others. Some sentences like "I think the Hawkins, those are the Afians that resemble hawks" just made me cringe a little. The viewpoints jump around awkwardly - sometimes in the middle of a scene. And there just seems to be too much going on. Not in the sense that it was hard to keep track of it, but the story seemed to go - this happened, then this happened, then that happened - like it was in a hurry to get somewhere.
And it's a shame, because the book really had a lot of potential. I haven't written Lominec off though - because he does seem to have a nice knack for fantasy that feels fresh and different. It's just his prose that's the trouble, and I'm hopeful that future books will be better. I mean, even Sanderson, who's all the rage now, debuted with Elantris, which was the sixth book he'd written, and it wasn't even all that great.
December 31, 2014
It took a long time for this book to pick up or feel cohesive. I struggled to focus on the story when reading. I think this was largely due to the narration and conversation balance. I also was constantly struggling to figure out what kind of a world I was in. There were dinosaur-like creatures, magic, elementals, and asteroids. It was a bit confusing to place.
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