Monday, April 12, 2010

Havemercy

Thanks to its elite Dragon Corps, the capital city of Volstov has all but won the hundred years' war with its neighboring enemy, the Ke-Han. The renegade airmen who fly the corps's mechanical, magic-fueled dragons are Volstov's greatest weapon. But now one of its more unruly members is at the center of the city's rumor mill, causing a distraction that may turn the tide of victory." "With Volstov immersed in a scandal that may have international repercussions, the Ke-Han devise an ingenious plan of attack. To counter the threat, four ill-assorted heroes must converge to save the kingdom they love: an exiled magician, a naive country boy, a young student - and the unpredictable ace airman who flies the city's fiercest dragon, Havemercy." But on the eve of battle, these courageous men will face something that could make the most formidable of warriors hesitate, the most powerful of magicians weak, and the most unlikely of men allies in their quest to rise against it.

The first sentences drew me into the book with an intensity I had not suspected. I thought this would be the book of the year, but it turned out rather plain, even if there are some quite good elements about it.

The four main characters were okay, I guess. They were quite lame at times, though they were very well characterized and acted as their character dictated. All four of them, sadly, lacked a background. The problem with having 4 different protagonist, and therefore 4 different points of view, that mingle in 2 completely different story arcs that take place in the same world, is that you inevitably prefer one story arc and one character. This happened to me, and all the switching around sometimes confused me, and always annoyed me. I’d be (almost) drooling over a page because it was so full of love and caring and beauty... and then I’d be brutally projected into the brutal Airman. More than once, this made me teary-eyed with frustration. Consequently, there were many, many cliff-hangers, though too often they fell at exactly the wrong time.

The premises themselves were rather classic, a century-old war between two countries over a strip of land. The way it progressed, though, was quite original. There were dragons (though they were only introduced rather late) and they were made of metal. The people who flew the dragons were pigs. The magic was tightly controlled, and the way it worked was original too. There was also a couple of interesting things that happened, but overall it was quite classic.

The authors wrote quite well. Each character had a very different way of thinking and speaking, and their individual parts were as different as can be. The vocabulary used, consequently, was relative to each of the man’s level of education.

Overall, this book was quite pleasing, though I have a very mixed opinion of it. At times I was in love with it, but at others I got so mad at it I wanted to throw it out the window. I suggest this book to everyone who likes dragons, fantasy and who don’t mind serious cussing or gay characters.

Seeing as I am trying to keep my posts a reasonable length, that will be it for this review. If you want to hear more, don’t hesitate to talk to me! I don’t bite, I promise!

-Aithen

Havemercy by Jaida Jones and Danielle Bennett
Rating: 8,4/10

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