Surprisingly on the second or third attempt - courtesy of a trade-off with my better half - I have managed to get passed the first chapter.
This is part one of a trilogy, so I am told, and it actually looks to be a progenitor of multiple spin-offs as well.
I may be hooked.
I was surprised to be hooked.
It's not that I don't enjoy science fiction / fantasy novels - I do.
It's just that after attempting this book before it just didn't seem to have the "grab factor" that I need.
It turns out that a bit of patience is a good thing some times.
I got passed the first few chapters and found that it wasn't a tough read at all. It became a very easy read. It does smack of a DnD background, with magic armour, dwarven warriors and mysterious 'all-knowing' magicians. Still, it didn't detract much from the story and by the end of Easter weekend I had read the whole 600-odd pages, which is something of a record for me. Last time I did that was in my last year of school and the book was Jane Austen's - Mansfield Park (the edition with that really tiny print - which resulted in me getting glasses!).
So in a nutshell, we follow the fate of a family of nobles (two brothers and a sister), and two Keep boys. A nice piece of fantasy in the making.
Add to this the concept of a space/time rift between planets and you mix in a small amount of science fiction.
The story progresses along with sundry battles, an introduction to the politics of the new world at the other side of the rift, characters growing and taking on responsibilities and challenges. You know. The usual stuff of sagas.
Remarkably I didn't find it too twee or overly routine. BUT it also smacks of the ever-present influence of the master of all saga fantasy - J.R.R.Tolkien.
The best recommendation I can give it is:
"I'm planning on reading the next one in the series."
So a 3.5 out of 5 for this novel of daring-do.
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