This is a smash hit right out of the gate! I won this book in a "bracket" contest through the author's fb page. It was sent asap. Great service. I was antsy to start reading but finished another that I was working on first. Well,....
by page 16 I was HOOKED on this story. It starts out with a teen, Nevin, who has memory loss but has enough wits about him to know he is being chased for some unknown reason. With no idea what is going on, he runs. I am not going to reveal the plot of this story as it is certainly outlined elsewhere. Suffice it to say that this is an "on the edge of your seat" and "fly by the seat of your pants" book. It keeps you on the run right along with Nevin.
The book is written in short chapters that I found helpful for my reading style. Since I read slowly, I was not forced to complete any long chapters in order to pause at convenient points in the story line.
The author is a master at simile and metaphor. His turns of phrases have a freshness that is needed in fantasy writing. I look forward to reading more about a "present absence", how grass can shun something, and the sound "bloorp". Make sure you have ready access to a dictionary before you start reading so you can look up terms like "effulgent" and "twain."
I am looking forward to the second book in this series, which the author is currently writing. If it is as good as, or better than, the first then not only are we all winners, but we have a series for the ages here.
Love the review! Thanks for taking the time to write it up. It's always interesting to read about the things that jump out at individual readers. Very cool.