SimplyMaggies

I can honestly say that I am a fan of Grisham’s, especially when he sticks to what he knows best, which is a suspense novel. I’ve read most of his books and enjoyed most of them (with the exception of “A Painted House” ad such). And “The Broker” follows in the steps of some his best work.

The nearly-former president grants a controversial pardon to a notorious Washington power broker, Joel Backman, who spent the last six year in a federal prison. However, nobody knows that the president did so under the pressure form the CIA director who wants Backman for himself. It seems that at the top of his game, the broker stumbled upon some secrets that, if revealed, may compromise the world’s most sophisticated satellite system. The system that nobody knows who it belongs to and the CIA is desperately trying to find it out.

So they smuggle Backman out of the county, give him a new identity and wait for the opportune moment to leak the information about Backman’s whereabouts to the countries supposedly involved in the scheme. Then they sit and wait for their move. The question, however, is not whether the broker will survive but who will be the one killing him.

It is a fast-paced novel that will keep you turning pages to the wee hours of the night trying to find out whether this small pawn in the big game will be able to outsmart them all… And it was particularly enjoyable for me since it partly takes place in Italy (the country I fell in love with a few year ago). So if you like suspense novels with thrilling action and dangers lurking at every corner, you will not be disappointed with Grisham’s “The Broker”.

“Master of Dragons” is and eighth book in a series of novels entitled “Mageverse”, which I only found out after I read this particular installment. I would never have guessed that “Master of Dragons” was a part of such a large saga. True, there were moments when I thought it must be a continuation of some earlier story but, to be honest, you really don’t have to know the whole saga to be able to enjoy this one.

The main character, Nineva Morrow is a fairy princess and the last avatar of the goddess Semira entrapped in a sword. Because her faith is to free the goddess, Nineva is sought after by the evil forces, which caused her father, the prince, to escape to Earth and hide their true identities. One day Nineva uses her magic and by doing so attract the attention of the evil knights who kill her parents. Thus, Nineva is left an orphan, incapable of trusting anyone and tormented by horrific nightmares, in which a blue dragon burns her alive…

Kel is a beautiful and powerful dragon, who by means of magic can transform into a human at will. When he is ordered by his dragon god to protect Semira’s last avatar, he takes this task seriously and is willing to do whatever it takes to keep the princess alive. But first Kel must gain her trust… However, they are both thrown into the battle with the evil forces and the survival of the Mageverse depends upon their resolve and willingness to put the differences aside, which taking the fact that one is a fire-spitting dragon and the other could well be on the receiving end of that fire, may not be such an easy task…

“Master of Dragons” is a fairly well written book with quite a number of passionate love scenes between the characters. However, it is quite lacking as far as the plot is concerned. If one was to take out all the hot and sizzling scenes, there would not be enough to hold the story together, which really is a shame because the fairy tale has a great potential. Kel is a well-developed character that catches your attention but his female counterpart left me wishing for more. 

However, if you like a story with hot sex and a wide variety of characters including witches, vampires, werewolves, shape shifters and what have you that use magic like there’s no tomorrow, you may actually enjoy it. AS for me, I know I am not going to read the other seven parts in the saga. It just didn’t catch my attention enough…

I seem to have this uncanny ability to find books that are a part of some saga or series of sorts. There would not be anything wrong with it if only the books that find their way into my hands were the first volume of said sagas. Instead, they usually fit somewhere in the middle…

One of such books is “Vinas Solmanus—Lost Legends, Volume I” written by Robert J. King. The ‘volume I’ part is quite misleading as it is a part of the “Dragonlance” saga, even though it begins a kind of sub series recounting a story of one of the greatest knights in the history of Ansalon, a land in the north inhabited by both humans and enchanted creatures. Following the footsteps of such great writers as J.R.R. Tolkien, Robert J. King creates a world of heroes and villains, humans and wizards, elves and griffons rife with magic and battles between good and evil, light and dark.

Vinas Solamnus is a nobleman turned soldier who first follows his emperor’s orders slaying any obstacle on his way. However, one day he realizes his true heart and rebels against the evils of the empire. Commanding an army of his loyal soldiers, he wins the hearts of the people of the outer banks of the empire; the very ones he was sent to slaughter. Vinas, thus, discovers a new scheme for conquering the people and sets off on a long and harsh journey to overthrow the evil rulers and bring light and freedom to the lands he loves. But will he succeed against the evil wizards and the army of the dead?

While the novel reads pretty well (and I’m sure many readers would be perfectly satisfied), having read the master of the genre (J.R.R. Tolkien, for those that aren’t quite sure who I’m referring to), it leaves me a bit discontented. Robert J. King never fully develops his characters, which is quite unfortunate. They seem sketched and without clear detail, coming into focus only here and there but then instantly fading into the background. Even the main protagonist lacks the depth of a three dimensional persona. And unlike the great Tolkien Trilogy that delivers a whole different and very complex world with its creatures, places and languages they speak, “Vinas Solmanus” only scratches the surface. It gives you an inkling of great potential but leaves you dissatisfied and wishing for more.