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| Book cover via Amazon.com |
Opinion
Dean Jones follows me on Twitter and I follow him back. Dean is a wonderful person and he asked me to review his book “Father of Storms”. Like all my reviews this is going to be very honest, but I have to admit right away folks, this one is so much fun. I had no idea how badly I needed to read a book that fit so many things into one and did it so well. This book is part “Highlander” part “Bourne Identity” part “Vikings” and part “Taken”, and the parts I’m talking about are all the good parts. This isn’t a film, but I think it’d make one amazing film someday.
Dean Jones did something with imagery and focus that is so rare in fiction. This book is just lovely to read, the action sequences are well done, the intrigue is well laid out, and it’s fun. My favorite thing about how this book is set is that there is no uncomfortable exposition, and no stupid info dumps. Instead, information is given in layers, and the layers are set like some delicious flaky crust on a pie.
There are no exposition potatoes at all, instead of the information that comes from just natural progression, and the character development is great. Pacing and tension are also fun and though some stuff is explained in one way and later has a payoff, the tension isn’t lessened at all.
We have a story about a man named Seth, and his very long life. Seth is an amazing man with amazing abilities, he clings to his faith, and he finds he’s gained a very nasty enemy. The enemy is a pain in the butt. Let me go on record to say that Dean Jones wrote a villain who is both disgusting and also very appealing. The charisma of this madman is incredible, and I love how he uses his gifts, and for an antagonist, he’s painted as such a wonderful contrast for our protagonist.
I do not want to spoil this book for any of you, but I want to point out what I enjoyed. Ah, but herein lies the question, did I find anything to critique about the story or how it was structured? Well yes, I did, and I will break down all of my critiques.
Regarding the pacing, and thus the tension there was a snag. While I love the exposition and everything, there is one issue I had with transitions between scenes and thoughts. The transitions from previous to current are jarring. I think that this is on purpose to make a disoriented kind of feeling to the reader and get them out of their comfort zone, but sometimes it’s very abrupt. It’s so abrupt in fact, that I had a kind of reader’s version of motion sickness at parts, but that was resolved as the next section of the book came into replacing the first. But with that in mind, I don’t know that it could have been avoided. Unlike some abrupt tension shifters in literature, these are met with definitive chapter endings, or with the end of a thought into a new action. That said, if you find you do not like abrupt shifts, be aware they happen here. I don’t necessarily mind them, as long as it services the plot and the story, and to me, they did most of the time in “Father of Storms”.
Another warning, and one I brought up in an earlier review regarding the layout of stories, this does not follow the chronological progression. If you as a reader are someone who loves a book that is strictly linear in progression I must warn you that will not happen in this one. You will get progression and it will go up, but before it goes up the progression goes sideways, and down, and sometimes in loops. It’s worth it though. I do recommend hanging on as tight as you can and reading because this roller coaster of a layout has some fun loops. This book by some could be considered lengthy at 353 pages, but there wasn’t anything dry or tedious about it. I didn’t think it was too long either, it was on the edge of too much but it didn’t cross the line.
Grammatically, and spelling wise, this is very in vogue for what normally may be considered errors. I have seen plenty of authors doing the same things I saw in this book, even if it is by strict grammatical conventions incorrect. I have no problems with what was chosen for dialogue and everything, but if you have issues with capitalization for narrative dialogue you may want to be aware of it.
The last critique I have is the argument can be made that Seth is a Gary Stu (Male Mary Sue). I think he’s fine with the balance he has, and how he deals with his abilities and what he does to quash it. But, if anyone were to say the opposite, they would have plenty to make their case. The character is proficient in two styles of combat and proficient at healing. If this was World of Warcraft, Seth would be a Paladin with the highest Tier Gear and all his add-ons so he could switch specs with ease. Since this isn’t a video game, rather this is a book, he could fit into that Gary Stu category. That said, my case for why I don’t believe Seth is too much has to do with the way the ending works. I feel that what was put into the character’s core and foundation explains all of these issues, and the puzzle pieces are completed with the ending. Therefore I will allow you the reader to make up your own mind on his “Gary Stu” ness.
Let’s go into a couple last positives. This has an incredible beginning, middle, and end. “Father of Storms” has a lot of action, but also there are moments of drama and political intrigue. Overall the main story revolves around the protagonist and antagonist, which is refreshing and wonderful. Unlike other stories, I’ve covered with similar character compositions, “Father of Storms” is a complete story and a full one at that. It’s not too much, not too light either, the structure is just right. The ending is a tad abrupt and had a kind of “Marvel” feel to it, but I don’t think it needed any fanfare or anything extra. I love Marvel Comics, I’m not going to complain about how the antagonist was resolved, or how the climax worked. “Father of Storms” ended just where it should end, and it began just as it should begin; I cannot say that about every single book I read, but I can about this one.
With that in mind, my last positive has to do with the beauty of the book and the written words on the page. “Father of Storms” for me was beautiful in the look of the words on the page, even if one is not reading them. Stylistically, the chapter markers were given some affection, the paragraphs are spaced gloriously, indenting is beautiful and margins are magnificent. I don’t normally go into the beauty of clean margins, but this book should be applauded for it, because on an e-reader that’s not always consistent. Whoever did edit this book, deserves a big bottle of wine and a thank you note.
Score
Thus to score “Father of Storms” earned its a score of 92% from me which is a 5-star rating from both Goodreads and Amazon. I do recommend checking it out, and I’m sliding this on my recommended list. If you are into Vikings or Thor, or you love spy and intrigue plots, you should enjoy this one. It’s a mix of many things, but it’s mixed right and it’s unique in the freshness of it.
