Thursday, February 11, 2016

Review: Eyes of the Enemy by Kelly Hess




Eyes of the Enemy
BlackMyst Trilogy # 1
By Kelly Hess
Middle Grade Fantasy
Booktrope Publishing 




When a rogue band of the dreaded Sorak attacks his village, twelve-year-old Beynn Firehand escapes into the darkness of BlackMyst Forest to find help. During his quest, Beynn discovers his own powerful magic abilities. The price of his newfound powers, however, may be higher than he ever imagined.

 


MY TIDBITS


This is a book for true fantasy friends, which means a lot of world building, and the author tackles this nicely.

The main character is a twelve year old who can't wait to reach his manhood at thirteen. His frustration at having to wait for this event was so realistic that it had me smiling. Readers around this age will easily sympathize not only with this, but with Beynn in general. In other words, his character is very realistic and fits perfectly.

To help the reader dive into the world, there are descriptions on the first chapters which offer a little bit of background. I really appreciated this approach since it helped to keep the story itself from growing too heavy. I, personally, did find the first pages a bit slow but the descriptions did make the world and Beynn's situation clear. After this introduction, the story picks up pace and holds nicely the rest of the way through.

The writing and length is something I wouldn't recommend to the younger middle grade audience but is well suited to ages ten and up. The dialogue flows well, and I had no problem diving into the world surrounding Beynn. His struggle with accepting his powers and situation was believable and easy to understand. 

Summed up, this is a nice coming of age story set in a rich fantasy world. Although I wouldn't recommend it to more reluctant readers, I believe fantasy friends will enjoy following Beynn's adventures and will look forward to following him through the rest of the series.


About the Author-

Kelly Hess grew up with a love of reading science fiction and fantasy, which inspired him to write his BlackMyst trilogy. Kelly currently lives with his wife and son in Vacaville, California.



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