Dragons and a Complex and Nuanced Tale of Frenemies
Author: C. Esther
YA Fantasy, 248 pages. $9.99 paperback, $2.99 Kindle
Disclosure: I received this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.
When I finish a book, I close my eyes for a moment and ask myself, “What stands out? What do I first think of or feel having met this story and these characters and this world?” In the case of YA fantasy author C. Esther’s “Oasis in the Clouds,” the first book in her “When Worlds Collide” series, the answer came fast and strong.
Dragons.
Esther portrays for her readers the most fully realized dragons I’ve ever had the privilege of meeting in literature, with distinct personalities and a well-developed role and history in the world. Close on the heels of the several dragons Esther introduces to readers would be her gift for showing us the reality, a moment-by-moment gritty reality, of riding those dragons, and learning to control one’s magical powers and other joyful duties of being a fantasy heroine. Thanks to Esther, I now know what it is to ride a dragon, to see magic particles take shape and learn how to shape them myself. For this, I thank her with my whole heart, for she has gloriously captured the essence of fantasy in making these experiences so real for readers.
The story itself is a classic fantasy journey quest, of an heir who must recover her birthright and claim the destiny intended for her. Various skills must be discovered and mastered, allies befriended, enemies sought and overcome, and the world restored to its rightful order. All very well and good, and having read and forgotten more stories of this type than I can now remember, I can attest that this part of the journey is straightforward and solidly done if predictable enough.
More unexpected and special, though, is the unique relationship between heroine and villain in this story. Using the devices of the need to recover stolen memories from the villain, and the heroine’s inborn ability to retrieve selected memories of her forebears, the story is structured to give us an uncommonly deep understanding of the villain and the villain’s motivations, an understanding made richer by the friendship the two once shared. I often had an odd but distinct sense that the author’s personal experience may be closer to that of the villain than of the pampered princess heroine Niri, for Wicca Melody’s anguish over her terrible choices was so sympathetically and believably portrayed and the reasons, twisted though they may be, behind her choices deeply rooted in the villain’s own vividly portrayed personal suffering. Out of sympathy for the Wicca Melody, I found myself rooting for some kind of rapprochement between Niri and her former friend, knowing all the while that in the realpolitik of a proper fantasy world, where villains must be overcome, my hope was a foolish and vain one. Major kudos for creating a sympathetic villain along with a likable enough heroine and a complex and nuanced relationship between the two frenemies.
I also found myself thinking long and hard about the ending. I don’t want to write a review with spoilers, so I’ll have to speak around things a bit. The predictable punishment of the villain at the end of such a fantasy story occurred, yes, but in a fresh and, I must say, somewhat disturbing way. I found myself pondering how I felt about the heroine after she executed such a punishment on her rival. Without sharing where I came down on the matter, I will say the author’s decision on this matter was neither obvious nor expected, and certainly falls in far more interesting and morally ambiguous territory than one usually finds in more typical black and white YA fantasy. As for the outcome for the heroine at the end of this book’s quest, I have both hands clapped over my mouth lest I spill any beans regarding the wholly unexpected and magnificent choice the author made for Crown Princess Niri. Well done, brava!
The book itself is obviously lovingly written and carefully edited, although the honest part of the review compels mention of a few nits on writing style and craft. While punctuation and spelling are otherwise flawless throughout, the writer or editor occasionally mangles homonyms (taught/taut, phased/fazed) or tosses in modern business memo jargon, e.g. “process the information.” The nit that caused this grumpy old curmudgeon the most distress was the use of “Crowned Princess” in place of “Crown Princess.” As citizen of a loud democratic republic that long ago overthrew our monarchical chains, perhaps I am mistaken in believing “Crown Princess” to be the correct term for an heir to the throne whose royal parents are still alive and ruling, for if she were crowned, then she would be Queen Regnant and no longer Royal Princess. But these are the difficulties of a pedant and not those of most readers.
On more of a style and personal preference side, I found the writing style to tend toward over-explaining at times, whether on dialogue tags, emotions or facts that we already knew or could easily guess. Perhaps that extra attention to explaining the whys and wherefores of a story is necessary in fantasy for young readers, but the tendency occasionally slowed the flow and pacing of the story for this reader. However, I forgot all my complaints every time the dragons took flight or Niri learned a new skill, so in the grand scheme of things these nits are unimportant and will not harm the reading experience for most readers.
Recommendation: wholeheartedly recommended for young readers of fantasy, especially those who have longed to meet a dragon. I can still taste the wind blowing in my face as my dragon dives and I desperately hang on lest I fall. Thank you to the author for sharing this experience with me.
It’s awesome for me to have a web page, which is helpful in favor
of my knowledge. thanks adminI’m extremely pleased
to discover this web site. I want to to thank you for ones time just
for this fantastic read!! I definitely liked every bit of it and I have you
saved to fav to look at new stuff on your website.
May I just say what a comfort to discover somebody that actually understands what
they are discussing on the web. You actually know how to bring
a problem to light and make it important. A lot
more people need to look at this and understand this
side of the story. It’s surprising you are not more popular given that you definitely possess the gift.
Excellent article. I definitely love this site. Keep writing!
It’s difficult to find educated people on this topic, but you sound like you know what you’re talking about!
Thanks
You should be a part of a contest for one of the most useful
sites on the internet. I’m going to highly recommend this site!
An interesting discussion is worth comment. I believe that you ought to publish
more about this topic, it may not be a taboo subject but generally people do not talk about these
topics. To the next! Cheers!!
Hey there! I just would like to offer you a big thumbs up for the excellent information you
have got right here on this post. I’ll be returning to your site for more soon.
When I initially commented I seem to have clicked the -Notify me when new
comments are added- checkbox and from now on whenever a comment is added I
recieve 4 emails with the exact same comment. Perhaps there is an easy
method you can remove me from that service?
Cheers!
The next time I read a blog, I hope that it doesn’t fail
me just as much as this one. After all, I know it was my choice to read through, however I
really thought you would probably have something helpful to say.
All I hear is a bunch of complaining about something that you can fix if you weren’t too busy seeking attention.
Spot on with this write-up, I honestly believe that this website needs much more attention.
I’ll probably be back again to see more, thanks for the info!
You are so awesome! I don’t believe I have read through anything like
that before. So wonderful to discover somebody with a few original thoughts on this subject.
Really.. thank you for starting this up. This web site is one thing that’s needed on the internet, someone with
some originality!
I really like reading through an article that can make people think.
Also, thank you for allowing for me to comment!
This is the right webpage for anyone who hopes to find out about this topic.
You understand a whole lot its almost tough to argue with you (not that I actually would want to…HaHa).
You definitely put a new spin on a subject that has been discussed for years.
Wonderful stuff, just great!
Aw, this was a very good post. Taking a few minutes and actual effort to create a
really good article… but what can I say… I put things off a lot and
never seem to get anything done.
I’m impressed, I have to admit. Seldom do I
come across a blog that’s both educative and engaging, and without a doubt,
you’ve hit the nail on the head. The issue is something that
not enough folks are speaking intelligently about. I am
very happy that I came across this in my hunt for something regarding this.
Oh my goodness! Amazing article dude! Thank you so much, However I am encountering problems with your RSS.
I don’t understand the reason why I am unable to join it.
Is there anybody having similar RSS problems?
Anyone that knows the solution can you kindly respond?
Thanx!!
An outstanding share! I’ve just forwarded this onto a coworker who had been conducting a little homework on this.
And he actually ordered me dinner simply because I discovered it for him…
lol. So let me reword this…. Thank YOU for the meal!!
But yeah, thanx for spending the time to discuss this
matter here on your web page.
After going over a few of the blog posts on your blog, I honestly like your way of writing
a blog. I book-marked it to my bookmark webpage
list and will be checking back in the near future. Take a look at my web site too and let me know how you feel.
This excellent website really has all the information and facts I needed
concerning this subject and didn’t know who to ask.
There’s certainly a great deal to learn about this topic.
I really like all the points you have made.
You’ve made some really good points there. I looked on the internet for additional information about
the issue and found most people will go along with your views on this site.
Good post. I learn something totally new and challenging on sites I stumbleupon every
day. It’s always exciting to read articles from other writers and use
a little something from other web sites.
I blog frequently and I really appreciate your
content. Your article has really peaked my interest.
I will bookmark your blog and keep checking for new details
about once per week. I subscribed to your Feed too.
Pretty! This has been an incredibly wonderful post. Many thanks for supplying this info.
Greetings! Very helpful advice in this particular article!
It is the little changes which will make the most important changes.
Thanks a lot for sharing!
Hi there! This blog post couldn’t be written much better!
Reading through this post reminds me of my
previous roommate! He continually kept talking about this.
I am going to send this information to him.
Pretty sure he will have a great read. Many thanks for sharing!
Howdy, There’s no doubt that your web site may be having web browser compatibility problems.
Whenever I take a look at your web site in Safari,
it looks fine but when opening in I.E., it’s got some overlapping issues.
I simply wanted to give you a quick heads up! Aside from that, excellent blog!
Having read this I thought it was rather informative.
I appreciate you spending some time and effort to
put this short article together. I once again find myself personally spending a significant amount of time both reading
and posting comments. But so what, it was still worthwhile!
Hi there! I could have sworn I’ve been to this blog before but after looking at many of the articles I
realized it’s new to me. Anyhow, I’m certainly happy I came across it and I’ll be book-marking it and checking back often!
I want to to thank you for this very good read!!
I absolutely enjoyed every little bit of it. I’ve got you bookmarked to check out new things you post…
Hi, I do think this is an excellent site. I stumbledupon it 😉 I will come
back once again since i have saved as a favorite it.
Money and freedom is the greatest way to change, may you be rich and continue to guide other
people.
Your style is very unique in comparison to other folks I have read stuff from.
Thanks for posting when you’ve got the opportunity,
Guess I’ll just bookmark this blog.
I was able to find good info from your content.
Wonderful post! We are linking to this particularly great post on our site.
Keep up the good writing.
That is a good tip especially to those fresh to the blogosphere.
Short but very precise information… Thanks for sharing this one.
A must read article!
I couldn’t resist commenting. Well written!
bookmarked!!, I really like your web site!
Very good post. I’m going through some of these issues as well..
Way cool! Some very valid points! I appreciate you penning this article plus the rest of the site is very good.
Excellent blog you have here.. It’s difficult to find quality
writing like yours nowadays. I truly appreciate people like you!
Take care!!
This is a topic which is near to my heart… Take care!
Where are your contact details though?
I absolutely love your website.. Very nice colors & theme.
Did you create this amazing site yourself?
Please reply back as I’m trying to create my very own blog and would like to know where you got this
from or exactly what the theme is called. Kudos!
I love it when folks come together and share views. Great website,
continue the good work!
Very good information. Lucky me I recently found your website
by chance (stumbleupon). I have saved it for later!
This site was… how do you say it? Relevant!! Finally I’ve found something that helped me.
Kudos!
Everything is very open with a clear clarification of the challenges.
It was really informative. Your website is extremely helpful.
Thanks for sharing!
I would like to thank you for the efforts you’ve put in writing
this blog. I really hope to check out the same high-grade blog posts by you later on as well.
In truth, your creative writing abilities has inspired me to get my own website now 😉
Also visit my site :: Best Top Perfumes
seo paketleri, seo hizmeti, seo satın al
seo paketleri, seo hizmeti, seo satın al
seo paketleri, seo hizmeti, seo satın al
Merhabalar ben Esma uluslararası ilişkiler bölümünden menzunum.
Şuan da bir kuyumcuda çalışmaktayım. Altına ilgilim küçüklükten beri hiç bitmedi.
Takı ve kolye manyağıyım diyebiliriz.
Yay burcu olduğum için kapalı ortamlarda uzun süre durmayı hiç
sevmiyorum. Sürekli kendimi dışarıda bir café yada bara atma ihtiyacı
duyuyorum. özgürlük düşkünüyüm.
özgürlüğüne ve sekse düşkün kişiler lütfen escort Kurtköy sitesindeki bu porfilin altına yorum bıraksınlar.
Onlarla birlikte yeni dünyaları keşfedelim. Birlikte geçireceğimiz dakikaları
ömrünüzün sonuna dek asla unutamayacaksınız.
Diğer Kurtköy escort bayanlardan en büyük farkım ise birlikte olacağım erkekler
konusunda birazda olsa seçici olmamdır. özellikle nazik ve
kaslı beylerden çok hoşlanıyorum. Gelin ve doyumsuz bir gecenin dibine vuralım.
Maltepe escort arayan beylere selamlar. Ben İstanbbul Maltepe escort bayan Ayşe.
24 yaşındayım. İstanbul Maltepe’de iki kız arkadaşımla birlikte yapamaktayım.
Boş zamanlarımda seksi çok sevdiğim için partner hizmeti veriyorum erkeklere.
Ataşehir’de oturuyorum. Siz de güzel bir gün geçirmek
için bana en kısa sürede ulaşabilirsiniz. Anal yapmıyorum, kondomsuz kalmıyorum.
Ama ön sevişme ve sakso konusunda uzmanım diyebilirim.
Arayın tanışalım canlarım.
Pendik escort arayan beyler merhaba ben Ayşe.
Aslen Kurtköy doğumluyum. İstanbul Anadolu yakası Pendik escort bayan olarak partner
hizmeti veriyorum. Elit erkekleri tercih ediyorum.
Pendik’teki kendi evim dışında otel görüşmeleri de yapmaktayım.
24 yaşındayım. 160 boyunda ve 50 kilodayım. Aradığınız bayanı bu zamana kadar bulamadıysanız merak etmeyin artık ben varım.
Görüşelim ve sevişelim diyorum. Sevgilerimle canlarım.
Mükemmel bir gecenin sabahına birlikte uyanmak dileğiyle.