Genre: Historical Fantasy
Overall Rating: Passably Pleasing
After over 24 hours of consideration, I am still not entirely sure what to make of this book. The Skrayling reincarnation plot is a stroke of genius, one with several allegorical points condemning organized religion and commentating on the history of the follies of White European Supremacy. I found the historical aspects of the novel intriguing and also refreshing. Often in the sci-fi/fantasy genre readers are presented with alternate dimensions that are reminiscent of historical settings from our world, but Lyle cut to the chase and did a fairly decent job of interweaving her own fantastical influence into what we know happened (or perhaps what we think we know happened). Surely this must have been a daunting task for her, and I understand that, however there seemed to be some clumsiness with main plots and sub plots stumbling into each other. Usually when an author undertakes the task of having multiple side-stories which inevitably come together, it is like a puppet master drawing strings closer and closer together, all slowly becoming one plot. There is beauty in literature which masters this. Sadly, The Alchemist of Souls is not one of them. As a reader that pays especially close attention to the details, I found that there seemed to be potential problems that should have realistically occurred that were glossed over (most likely for convenience, or worse, absentmindedness). Perhaps authors like Scott Lynch have spoiled me with their genius.
Regarding characterization, I would say that Lyle does a pretty good job. I feel that this is where she spent most of her attention for detail, for it is the detail that truly builds all nuances of a character’s personality. While I cannot say that I enjoyed the majority of the characters, I fear that I truly only read the book for Kiiren and Maliverny Catlyn, it is because of this attention to fine details that causes me to find other characters annoying. I found Coby in particular to be suitably annoying, and Ned quite a distasteful fellow, but I believe that Lyle wrote it that way on purpose.
Like I said earlier, I’m still not entirely sure what to make of this book. I found the main plot to be delightfully fraught with action and dramatic angst. Though I was disappointed in the conclusion; I was really hoping Maliverny and Kiiren would hook up, as Lyle illustrated with Ned and Gabriel that she does not oppose gay couplings. Which brings me to another positive point about the story, there is a surprisingly awesome amount of gay in this story, and it is incorporated in such a way that it’s not a big deal. Sure, socially it is frowned upon, but Lyle doesn’t go through a lot of trouble to understate homosexual love, yet also doesn’t have it flaming off the pages. There are few authors who know that balance. Overall, there are enough pros to outweigh the cons, making it a passably pleasing read. I appreciate the way that Lyle set up the ending for a series, and will most likely become a faithful reader of her stories.
Overall Rating: Passably Pleasing
After over 24 hours of consideration, I am still not entirely sure what to make of this book. The Skrayling reincarnation plot is a stroke of genius, one with several allegorical points condemning organized religion and commentating on the history of the follies of White European Supremacy. I found the historical aspects of the novel intriguing and also refreshing. Often in the sci-fi/fantasy genre readers are presented with alternate dimensions that are reminiscent of historical settings from our world, but Lyle cut to the chase and did a fairly decent job of interweaving her own fantastical influence into what we know happened (or perhaps what we think we know happened). Surely this must have been a daunting task for her, and I understand that, however there seemed to be some clumsiness with main plots and sub plots stumbling into each other. Usually when an author undertakes the task of having multiple side-stories which inevitably come together, it is like a puppet master drawing strings closer and closer together, all slowly becoming one plot. There is beauty in literature which masters this. Sadly, The Alchemist of Souls is not one of them. As a reader that pays especially close attention to the details, I found that there seemed to be potential problems that should have realistically occurred that were glossed over (most likely for convenience, or worse, absentmindedness). Perhaps authors like Scott Lynch have spoiled me with their genius.
Regarding characterization, I would say that Lyle does a pretty good job. I feel that this is where she spent most of her attention for detail, for it is the detail that truly builds all nuances of a character’s personality. While I cannot say that I enjoyed the majority of the characters, I fear that I truly only read the book for Kiiren and Maliverny Catlyn, it is because of this attention to fine details that causes me to find other characters annoying. I found Coby in particular to be suitably annoying, and Ned quite a distasteful fellow, but I believe that Lyle wrote it that way on purpose.
Like I said earlier, I’m still not entirely sure what to make of this book. I found the main plot to be delightfully fraught with action and dramatic angst. Though I was disappointed in the conclusion; I was really hoping Maliverny and Kiiren would hook up, as Lyle illustrated with Ned and Gabriel that she does not oppose gay couplings. Which brings me to another positive point about the story, there is a surprisingly awesome amount of gay in this story, and it is incorporated in such a way that it’s not a big deal. Sure, socially it is frowned upon, but Lyle doesn’t go through a lot of trouble to understate homosexual love, yet also doesn’t have it flaming off the pages. There are few authors who know that balance. Overall, there are enough pros to outweigh the cons, making it a passably pleasing read. I appreciate the way that Lyle set up the ending for a series, and will most likely become a faithful reader of her stories.
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