'Writing for me is not about speeling, grammar or punctuation – that’s why we have editors.... No, writing for me is the ability to capture a story and put it in words.' - Fantasy Muse

Wednesday 27 February 2013

To kill a God


For the last few days I’ve been reading ‘To Kill A God (God Slayers Series)'by Darcy Dellaray.

The Blurb:


They call him the Wraith Dragon. He is the last scion of the Delandari clan. He was spared for one thing only: vengeance. Problem is, can one man kill a god?
They whisper he is the demon-eyed monster that hunts the land in search for its prey. Hunting is only the beginning.
Elite soldiers of Weston Kull, said to be the most powerful god of them all, have recently disappeared in Wyvenshore. Weston sends Lana, an ex-soldier of the Scorpion Elite, a legion of ruthlessly trained warriors, to hunt down the man responsible, Wraith Dragon.
Lana discovers that there is more to the demon-eyed monster than what the whispers have previously told her.
Entangled in a web of deceit and pain, and dragged into the heavily fortified strongholds of the most powerful and merciless gods on Earth, Drago and Lana unearth a dark secret, a secret that will shatter the very heart of their world.
Unlikely friendships and love, gods, magick, angels, dragons, death, and the deepest of betrayals await you.
Breathtakingly chilling, action-packed, fast-paced and thrilling, To Kill A God is a tale of vengeance but one that beautifully unfolds and leaves you wanting more.
He is Wraith Dragon. He is Vengeance.

Front Cover:



My opinion:


***May Contain Spoilers***

What drew me to the book was the front cover, it was eye catching and different. The title ‘To Kill a God’ only further cemented my interest – and it slightly reminded me of the epic game ‘God of War’ (Even the cover looks like the character).

The main protagonist is Wraith Dragon and the book begins with Drago hunting down a god named Weston, who he believes was responsible for massacring his clan. When I first started the book I had in my mind images of Kratos from ‘God of War’ and I was expecting some bad-ass character. Well, that picture soon crumbled upon itself when he got soundly beaten up by a woman within the first chapter. However, to be fair to him, she (Lana) was an ex-soldier of the Scorpion Elite, a legion of ruthlessly trained warriors. The story then follows their adventures as they go about killing gods – as the title implies.

As fantasy books go, the storyline is a change to the norm, the idea of characters taking down gods was something new, and off the top of my head I can’t recall having read a book that was similar to it. There is plenty of action to hook the reader’s interest from the get go and the fight scenes were well written and thought out.

The story is fast paced and moves from scene to scene without it dragging. The book is told in third person and it mainly follows Drago and Lana. The characters point of view switches regularly between paragraphs rather than it being cut into defined sections. The positives are that the story flows nicely and you get to see into other characters thoughts, at that particular moment, and not have to wait for their turn. However, it can be sometimes confusing to the reader, to ascertain which character the story is being told through.

From the blurb I was expecting some form of romance between the two main characters, and while they do develop a close relationship, it never materialised past friendship. Perhaps the author is holding back on that until later. So, if you’re hoping for a poignant love story then this isn’t it.

Although the book does contain some mature themes, I would say it’s safe for young readers. I enjoyed that the book didn't evolve into unnecessary violence just to make it controversial (as is the trend nowadays).

Some minor points of criticism:

  • At the beginning of the book, Lana is shown to be a somewhat psychotic character, as shown in her actions and mannerism but then her demeanour suddenly shifts to a caring compassionate woman, which left me confused, in trying to identify her.  

  • Fantasy books are littered with exotic names, and authors are given a free license to go out and have fun in naming their characters. I guess the point I’m trying to make is that if I was going to name a god - it wouldn’t be Weston. I had a hard time relating to that name, it just didn’t inspire the sense of awe from me that you’d expect to have from a god - but, hey, that could just be me.

Conclusion:


All in all, this is a promising, well written novel, and without any glaring mistakes in spelling or grammar. I’d recommend it to those who are looking for a fast paced action book.

While I admit, I wasn’t as engrossed in the book that I couldn't put it down - it certainly wasn’t to the extent that I had trouble picking it up again.

Will I read the next installment? Yes, but at a reasonable price.

My rating out of 10 stars:


6 Stars – Above average, but as I’ve mentioned before, I wasn’t completely hooked by it, and as a result, I’m not fervently waiting for book two – but, having said that, I do hold a passing curiosity for what will transpire in the next book.

If you're interested then check it out here.

No comments:

Post a Comment