Helpful Score: 2
You know, whenever I pick up a book that's brand-new, I have an unreasonable expectation that it will live up to the standards of the day. Unfortunately, this book barely lives up to the standards of the 70's, when some of the elements found in this mediocre fantasy novel were still a bit fresh.
Not that it wouldn't be possible for me to enjoy a predictable romp about a good-hearted assassin with mysterious magic powers who finds himself rescuing a damsel in distress who is secretly an heiress from an evil sorcerer bent on revenge and a plot against the Rightful Royalty.... but it would have to be better written.
One of the things that really bugs me is when pseudo-historical settings are sprinkled with anachronistic and/or colloquial terms... people in some kind of 16th-century (?) type setting don't talk about "bad vibes" or when they were "just a kid." Add to that some cheezy descriptive passages and generally unconvincing characterization and motivations... blah.
If you are into this sort of book, and are tempted to get it... go read Sarah Monette intead.
Not that it wouldn't be possible for me to enjoy a predictable romp about a good-hearted assassin with mysterious magic powers who finds himself rescuing a damsel in distress who is secretly an heiress from an evil sorcerer bent on revenge and a plot against the Rightful Royalty.... but it would have to be better written.
One of the things that really bugs me is when pseudo-historical settings are sprinkled with anachronistic and/or colloquial terms... people in some kind of 16th-century (?) type setting don't talk about "bad vibes" or when they were "just a kid." Add to that some cheezy descriptive passages and generally unconvincing characterization and motivations... blah.
If you are into this sort of book, and are tempted to get it... go read Sarah Monette intead.
