Review - The Abomination Vault
Aug. 29th, 2012 09:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rainwatersparkSigh. It's the end of the summer again. I had a great summer, and I wish it could have lasted longer--if only so that I could've finished all my writing projects.
Well, here's a book review (spoiler-free, for once!) for Ari Marmell's The Abomination Vault, a tie-in novel with the Darksiders franchise.
The Abomination Vault by Ari Marmell
It's been way, way too long since I finished a book. The evidence? I basically devoured this entire novel in a few hours.
I was a big fan of Ari Marmell's The Conqueror's Shadow, but not so much the sequel, and I had a hard time getting into his Widdershins book. So far, I've found him to be a bit of a hit-or-miss author: when he's good, he's really good, and when he's not so great, he's hard to read.
I've never played Darksiders, though I know the general plot and some of the mythos. Darksiders has some fascinating lore, which Marmell really used to the utmost, making the world vivid and alive. As usual, Marmell includes his trademark wit and snark in the dialogue, and I honestly laughed out loud during certain parts of the story--something usually only Rick Riordan's books get me to do. The characters were quite interesting, and I thought Death and War were done particularly well. Death was a surprisingly nuanced character, which I very much enjoyed. The plot was surprising and highly entertaining.
The only downside, I would say, is a weakness that Marmell has in general: over-description. Some descriptions were so long that I ended up skimming them, and battle scenes were written in such a way that they felt like they were happening in slow motion. Still, it's been so long since I've read a book that managed to entertain me this much, and I can happily say that The Abomination Vault has joined The Conqueror's Shados as among Marmell's works that hit the mark.
Hmm...I'm starting to realize that my positive reviews tend to be spoiler-free, while my negative reviews have spoilers all over the place...probably because it's hard to critique a book without being specific about what worked and what didn't.
Well, here's a book review (spoiler-free, for once!) for Ari Marmell's The Abomination Vault, a tie-in novel with the Darksiders franchise.
The Abomination Vault by Ari Marmell
It's been way, way too long since I finished a book. The evidence? I basically devoured this entire novel in a few hours.
I was a big fan of Ari Marmell's The Conqueror's Shadow, but not so much the sequel, and I had a hard time getting into his Widdershins book. So far, I've found him to be a bit of a hit-or-miss author: when he's good, he's really good, and when he's not so great, he's hard to read.
I've never played Darksiders, though I know the general plot and some of the mythos. Darksiders has some fascinating lore, which Marmell really used to the utmost, making the world vivid and alive. As usual, Marmell includes his trademark wit and snark in the dialogue, and I honestly laughed out loud during certain parts of the story--something usually only Rick Riordan's books get me to do. The characters were quite interesting, and I thought Death and War were done particularly well. Death was a surprisingly nuanced character, which I very much enjoyed. The plot was surprising and highly entertaining.
The only downside, I would say, is a weakness that Marmell has in general: over-description. Some descriptions were so long that I ended up skimming them, and battle scenes were written in such a way that they felt like they were happening in slow motion. Still, it's been so long since I've read a book that managed to entertain me this much, and I can happily say that The Abomination Vault has joined The Conqueror's Shados as among Marmell's works that hit the mark.
Hmm...I'm starting to realize that my positive reviews tend to be spoiler-free, while my negative reviews have spoilers all over the place...probably because it's hard to critique a book without being specific about what worked and what didn't.
