I don’t usually seek out sci-fi or fantasy, but learned of this book in a mutual writing group on Facebook. Upon reading at the author’s website, Dr. Shay West aka Dr. Shay Fabbro aka Dr. Fab!, I found I like what Dr. Fab! has to say and decided to try one of her books. I’ve also held my hand up to be included in the launch team for the sequel of “The Chosen (Portals of Destiny)”. Even the three star ratings at Amazon speak well of the writing and the potential of this story and the sequel books in the series.
I found the book a little slow starting, but that has been my experience with fantasy sci-fi books in the past, so I kept on reading till it all began to gel. (Pardon a pun, because the Masters and Guardians come from a planet with an underwater population that resemble jellyfish with large, gentle eyes, four arms and body colors that respond to mood — the little graphic is my perception of the characters in this state.)
The story has descriptive detail that helped me get into it and the characters. I would have gone for even more, but understand that this was most likely an introduction and the following books may get more detailed regarding the different planets, civilizations and populations (not all of the characters are human and some don’t resemble humans)
The drama involved in the story is the angst of youth and while not labeled for younger readers,this book would be ‘safe’ for your kids to read. As one other reviewer mentioned, there is some violence, but it is handled well and is not gory. The character mix is spread across age groups or at least ‘maturity’ groups. I found enough complication to keep me attentive and not bored. I thought I caught the editors out, then realized that I had been making assumptions on the number of characters associated with each of the different planets. The author doesn’t copy and paste a set number of characters or type of character into every scenario. They are all individuals who will have to learn to work together to achieve the goal. Coincidentally, Dr. Fab! does write books that are specifically aimed at the young adult reader.
Other planets and other life forms are more pleasant for me to read fantasy about than vampires. Fantasy is not a genre that I typically seek out. I like the writing and the story and will be looking for the next book in the series. No profanity, a little violence, tolerance and difference encouraged.
I purchased a copy of this book at Amazon for my Kindle Fire.
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