Scan barcode
weaselweader's review
2.0
Slowly but surely ... VERY slowly!
Dale is a man in trouble, stranded, lost and seriously out of place - transported through a galactic space warp and marooned on Earth by means and enemies unknown! He is worried to discover that his sophisticated, technologically advanced tools and weaponry, normally capable of modifying and controlling the people and the environment around him are now undependable, inconsistent and frequently out of commission entirely. But the tools that he does have and his charismatic force of personality are sufficient to gather around him a ragtag collection of misfits that seem to have also lost their place in the world - a thief bent on reform and self-improvement, an "animal-whisperer" who dropped out of the local wizard's college, the spoiled son of a baron, a demon held in thrall by a sorcerer's spell who can't seem to stay out of trouble and the runaway pacifist son of a cutthroat murderer.
As Dale and his strange fellowship fight for their lives against Gorgs that, time and again, materialize out of nowhere to attack them, (think really mean, really ugly and really powerful ogres - big brutes with a serious attitude problem) they come to the realization that the entire world is under attack by a magical force that survived the Wizard's War thought to have ended over fifty thousand years earlier. The world's only hope for survival against an impending all-out attack rests with Dale's technological know-how reaching the King of Yaybar. But his path is blocked by an impenetrable mountain range, a magical force field and some pretty powerful science and technology in the bargain!
In my review of WIZARDS AND WANDERERS, Book 3 of THE SOJOURN CHRONICLES, I criticized Crystalwizard for allowing the plot to become mired in the mud on the road to Yaybar where, presumably, Dale and his cohorts were still destined for (but no closer to) their encounter with the evil Gorg. Happily, Book 4 seemed to have resolved that issue but once again Book 5, THE LOST LANDS, slipped into a foggy mist of non-movement and non-direction except for the final couple of chapters. Throughout the story, the plot moves from one non-sequitur crisis to another and if our less than merry band of travelers is any closer to Yaybar than when the book started it's only because one of them seemed to have unknowingly stumbled into a method of teleporting himself across vast distances.
I'm also becoming a little confused by Crystalwizard's odd concatenation of styles and genres - one moment, THE LOST LANDS is pure fantasy, the next it mutates into solid sci-fi with references to technology, weaponry and gadgetry that are part and parcel of hard-core high tech modern novels. Finally, and most confusing of all, there was even an extended scene that resembled little more than a rootin', tootin' gunfight from an obscure spaghetti western.
Five novels into a six novel extended epic, I'm quite convinced of Crystalwizard's writing skills and thoroughly enjoy her simple home spun style which I've made reference to in previous reviews of the series. But I will suggest that the series could definitely stand the critical eye of a skilled editor who would likely see fit to pare the whole thing down to a three or four book series and move it along with far more direction and speed.
As a series, THE SOJOURN CHRONICLES has had its ups and downs. Given that it's the final book in the series, I'm quite looking forward to Book 6 since I know that Crystalwizard now has no options but to gather up the threads and tie them off in a conclusion. Given the skill that she has thus far demonstrated, I'm sure the ending will satisfy.
Paul Weiss
Dale is a man in trouble, stranded, lost and seriously out of place - transported through a galactic space warp and marooned on Earth by means and enemies unknown! He is worried to discover that his sophisticated, technologically advanced tools and weaponry, normally capable of modifying and controlling the people and the environment around him are now undependable, inconsistent and frequently out of commission entirely. But the tools that he does have and his charismatic force of personality are sufficient to gather around him a ragtag collection of misfits that seem to have also lost their place in the world - a thief bent on reform and self-improvement, an "animal-whisperer" who dropped out of the local wizard's college, the spoiled son of a baron, a demon held in thrall by a sorcerer's spell who can't seem to stay out of trouble and the runaway pacifist son of a cutthroat murderer.
As Dale and his strange fellowship fight for their lives against Gorgs that, time and again, materialize out of nowhere to attack them, (think really mean, really ugly and really powerful ogres - big brutes with a serious attitude problem) they come to the realization that the entire world is under attack by a magical force that survived the Wizard's War thought to have ended over fifty thousand years earlier. The world's only hope for survival against an impending all-out attack rests with Dale's technological know-how reaching the King of Yaybar. But his path is blocked by an impenetrable mountain range, a magical force field and some pretty powerful science and technology in the bargain!
In my review of WIZARDS AND WANDERERS, Book 3 of THE SOJOURN CHRONICLES, I criticized Crystalwizard for allowing the plot to become mired in the mud on the road to Yaybar where, presumably, Dale and his cohorts were still destined for (but no closer to) their encounter with the evil Gorg. Happily, Book 4 seemed to have resolved that issue but once again Book 5, THE LOST LANDS, slipped into a foggy mist of non-movement and non-direction except for the final couple of chapters. Throughout the story, the plot moves from one non-sequitur crisis to another and if our less than merry band of travelers is any closer to Yaybar than when the book started it's only because one of them seemed to have unknowingly stumbled into a method of teleporting himself across vast distances.
I'm also becoming a little confused by Crystalwizard's odd concatenation of styles and genres - one moment, THE LOST LANDS is pure fantasy, the next it mutates into solid sci-fi with references to technology, weaponry and gadgetry that are part and parcel of hard-core high tech modern novels. Finally, and most confusing of all, there was even an extended scene that resembled little more than a rootin', tootin' gunfight from an obscure spaghetti western.
Five novels into a six novel extended epic, I'm quite convinced of Crystalwizard's writing skills and thoroughly enjoy her simple home spun style which I've made reference to in previous reviews of the series. But I will suggest that the series could definitely stand the critical eye of a skilled editor who would likely see fit to pare the whole thing down to a three or four book series and move it along with far more direction and speed.
As a series, THE SOJOURN CHRONICLES has had its ups and downs. Given that it's the final book in the series, I'm quite looking forward to Book 6 since I know that Crystalwizard now has no options but to gather up the threads and tie them off in a conclusion. Given the skill that she has thus far demonstrated, I'm sure the ending will satisfy.
Paul Weiss
More...