A few more sites have reviewed the book.
- Two big thumbs up from Elitist Book Reviews.
- A big thumbs up from The Intelli-Gent Reviews.
Now, the fact of the matter is that not everyone will like every book. Some fantasy readers don’t think much of Tolkien. Others don’t like Brooks. Others don’t like Jordan. The list goes on. You can take the “best” writer in the world and the vast majority of the reading public will refuse to read them. These readers are not wrong. Nor are they, for the most part, meanies. They just didn’t have the kind of experience they hoped for. It could be the reader wasn’t totally in the audience for the book. It could have been the book didn’t execute well. Or a little of both. Or maybe neither–it was just not the right timing. Life can happen and affect a reading. Anyway, I found 2 more reviews. They’re positive, but they also point out issues they experienced while reading. I don’t have a hard time hearing such things (why I don’t is the subject for another post). In fact, sometimes I find them insightful. And if I begin to notice a pattern, I will often look at what they’re talking about to see if I can’t figure out what’s causing it. If it’s something in my control, then I will consider it with the next story. If not, then no harm done.
- Positive with issues from Fantasy Book Critic.
- Positive with issues from Grasping for the Wind: Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Reviews.
There’s no doubt about it, some people won’t like it. Nothing will be like by everyone. The majority of people who read our blog over at Elitist Book Reviews will enjoy this book. A lot of our readers (with ourselves included) like the fantasy styles of guys like Sanderson and Farland, but want it to be a tad darker. While I personally enjoy REALLY dark fantasy, SERVANT OF A DARK GOD delved deep enough into the grim to hit the right chords while not resorting to shock value like guys like Morgan often resort to.
The great thing here, is that the issues I’m seeing (and the issues I notice other people have) are easily correctable without hurting the style. The second book has a lot going for it, and I’m extremely excited to read it.
As for John looking at people’s issues with a sense of seriousness, this is something that more authors could do. Oftentimes I see authors make the same mistakes in every novel, and it makes me want to hate them. And kill them dead. And worse yet, compare them to Terry Goodkind. I have faith in you John! Keep up the good work!
The wonderful thing is the whole process. Book 2 went out to alpha readers who found some things I needed to tweak. Then Hartwell read it and, well, the man just has insight into story. He’s seen and done so much. This next draft of book 2 is going to be great. And then we do another round.