Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Paradox

 This was one of the books I took with me when I went down to visit my friends. Written by Brian McBride, it has a very Narnia feel to it. (I don't mean this as a comparison, or that I think he stole the idea from The Chronicles of Narnia. Just, you know how when you read certain books you sometimes come away reminded of other books? And not always in a bad way? That is kind of what this book did to me.)


 Paradox is the first book in the Starcrafters series. Four troubled teens are taken out of their world into Paragon - a world of Dragons, Elves, and really, really bad guys. (I know, I shouldn't use really, but he was really bad.) Oh yes, and there are battles. 
 Jake, David, Alicia, and Hannah - the four teens - realize they are suppose to help save Paragon. But they can only do so with the help of the one true God.

 I've taken a long time to write a review on this book. Mostly because - while I liked certain parts of it - I didn't love it. I felt bad writing a review where I couldn't say, "It was amazing! Go and read it!" But then I realized, just because I didn't love it didn't mean it was bad. Not everyone is going to love every book they read. So I am going to give a list of what I did like and what I wasn't as crazy about and leave it up to you to decide. A lot of people apparently like the book, it just wasn't really my thing. But don't take an instant dislike to it because of what I say, I would suggest you read it for yourself and form your own opinions.

 Now, to the what I liked.
 The plot. There was a lot of exciting twists and battles. I like the whole Paragon world and the people Brain created for it. 
 The bad guy was actually bad. I know there are all kinds of things a writer can do with a bad guy, but sometimes it is nice to have a villain who you just KNOW is a villain. 
 The lines between good and evil were clear. There was no blending or, "Well, this seems bad but is it really?" I like a good bad vs. good story. 
 Prince Valar was amazing. I really liked him. 

 What I didn't like
 I didn't really, connect, with the four main characters. Though, I've never really liked the troubled teen stories. Don't ask me why because I have no idea. There is probably some deep, hidden meaning behind that but I don't know what it is so I never read too much into it. Those kinds of stories just aren't my thing.
 In fact, this kind of sums up why I didn't love the story. I like good plots, but the only reason I really read is for characters. If I don't love the main characters then the book isn't memorable to me.

 Would I recommend it?
 Sure! If you like this kind of story then read it! It is not a horrible book and the only warning I would give is that it does mention drug use in the beginning. 

 Will I read more books by Brian?
 Oh yes. There is one book he has on that online reading thingy that I plan on reading. I will probably even read the rest in this series, though I don't know if I will get them in paperback. (I am curious to see what happens next in the series.)

 So there. My thoughts.

 You can find Brian's blog HERE

1 comment: