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pianoman5000's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
pemdas97's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
sydneet's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Fatemarked (1st book of the series) was the very first fantasy book I ever read and I absolutely loved it. I went from not being much of a reader to reading 100 pages in one sitting. I feel I need to reread this entire book - and series for that matter - because I was only a sixth grader when I read this and this series has so many details and elements that I probably missed due to how young I was when I read it. Love this book! Such interesting characters.
mnyberg's review against another edition
4.0
This is a character and land building first book in the series. The author demonstrates some very good writing and dialog. An interesting premise develops and the story has some grit to it.
samara59's review
4.0
Characters: 4/5
Story: 4/5
Personal Enjoyment: 5/5
Average Rating: 4.33, rounds down to four stars.
Story: 4/5
Personal Enjoyment: 5/5
Average Rating: 4.33, rounds down to four stars.
gvegavega's review
4.0
There were soooo many things going on Even from the beginning I had a lot of trouble getting adjusted to multiple points of view. Half way through I got used to it and figured I was roped in and that it was too late to back out now because a battle was coming up (between the north and east) I liked it because it had a lot of things to explore - Estes created such a creative world that I don’t even mind that there are five books because I know that five books is probably what it’ll take to explain the stuff that’s going on all over this world. I wouldn’t however read the second one unless I found myself wondering what happens next. It didn’t end on a cliffhanger or anything but it also didn’t make me want to keep reading. I love that Roan is bi though I’ve never read from the point of view of an openly bi character it’s very interesting.
cheloboo's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Overall this book was a decent start to the series, the book definitely has a young adult feel to it like almost a younger take on Game of Thrones, it's definitely an interesting story and I'm interested to see where it goes. The postludes at the end of the book or something I wasn't expecting and found myself not overly enjoying all of the story lines, I definitely didn't read all of them but for the most part read most of them, I will definitely be continuing the series as I'm not the kind of person that gives up on a series after the first book, it definitely has my attention but I find the first book definitely needs to be taken with a grain of salt and can truly judge a series on the second or even the third book
oswallt's review against another edition
Too dark and not very good. Definitely not good enough to make up for the tone and themes.
itadakinasu's review
Back in the 1990s, my dad used to drive this rusty POS Monte Carlo. It was beat-up, the seats were discolored, and the interior smelled of cigarettes. The leather steering wheel was ripped, and the dash had footprints all over the passenger side from kids resting their grubby shoes there. It struggled to start, puttered to a stop, and was generally a rickety pile of junk.
But my dad loved it, and he sunk money into saving it until he almost went broke. Now it's probably sitting in a dump somewhere, stripped for parts.
Fatemarked reminds me a lot of that Monte Carlo.
Estes compares himself to the likes of GRRM and Tolkien, and that's a very high bar to set for anyone, much less his amateur self. When you market yourself and your writing as worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as such talented, beloved authors, you're either setting yourself up for groundbreaking success or abysmal failure. This was abysmal failure.
As someone who writes as a hobby, I know that writing takes a lot of time and energy. It takes passion, work, and research to create an interesting, multifaceted world. I don't like to give low ratings, but I think it's my responsibility as a reader to provide my uncensored opinion. I also think it's a writer's responsibility to consider both criticism and praise with equal weight.
Ignoring the fact that Estes is not an established writer, I had high hopes for Fatemarked. Surely, such a bold statement was supported by at least a shred of evidence. Plenty of self-published authors are capable of writing decent or even great books, so why not David Estes, I thought.
Although readers are introduced to several of the main characters immediately, it's hard to feel anything for them. The two characters whose chapters I was able to read before giving up (Roan and Annise) were not interesting to me in the least.
Roan, despite living a good deal of his life on the streets, is clueless about the world. His behavior doesn't befit his background, and his only motivation to continue living is that "his mother sacrificed her life to save him." And he gets fixated on an elf girl for no reason other than that she's hot. He comes across as an annoying kid who is incapable of in-depth thought.
Annise, we are told, is pretty badass. But all she does is feel sorry for herself, cry, and eat. I wouldn't care about any of that if her "martial prowess" and toughness wasn't mentioned so much.
And for the writing itself, much of it is just plodding from one plot point to another. The organic metals and their relationships with elves sound cool, but the details of it are still hazy from not being described. The cities and world lack character, substance, and feeling. I can hardly remember any of the details of any of the cities because it was all hastily described and then put aside to make room for stilted banter.
Estes seems to play it safe with his writing and, as a result, has yet to develop his own style. That's a shame because I think if he had done so, it might have drawn more out of the characters and world that he has prepared.
My advice: don't compare yourself to other writers. If you're really playing in the same field as an established and respected author, you won't have to say so. Let your writing speak for itself.
But my dad loved it, and he sunk money into saving it until he almost went broke. Now it's probably sitting in a dump somewhere, stripped for parts.
Fatemarked reminds me a lot of that Monte Carlo.
Estes compares himself to the likes of GRRM and Tolkien, and that's a very high bar to set for anyone, much less his amateur self. When you market yourself and your writing as worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as such talented, beloved authors, you're either setting yourself up for groundbreaking success or abysmal failure. This was abysmal failure.
As someone who writes as a hobby, I know that writing takes a lot of time and energy. It takes passion, work, and research to create an interesting, multifaceted world. I don't like to give low ratings, but I think it's my responsibility as a reader to provide my uncensored opinion. I also think it's a writer's responsibility to consider both criticism and praise with equal weight.
Ignoring the fact that Estes is not an established writer, I had high hopes for Fatemarked. Surely, such a bold statement was supported by at least a shred of evidence. Plenty of self-published authors are capable of writing decent or even great books, so why not David Estes, I thought.
Although readers are introduced to several of the main characters immediately, it's hard to feel anything for them. The two characters whose chapters I was able to read before giving up (Roan and Annise) were not interesting to me in the least.
Roan, despite living a good deal of his life on the streets, is clueless about the world. His behavior doesn't befit his background, and his only motivation to continue living is that "his mother sacrificed her life to save him." And he gets fixated on an elf girl for no reason other than that she's hot. He comes across as an annoying kid who is incapable of in-depth thought.
Annise, we are told, is pretty badass. But all she does is feel sorry for herself, cry, and eat. I wouldn't care about any of that if her "martial prowess" and toughness wasn't mentioned so much.
And for the writing itself, much of it is just plodding from one plot point to another. The organic metals and their relationships with elves sound cool, but the details of it are still hazy from not being described. The cities and world lack character, substance, and feeling. I can hardly remember any of the details of any of the cities because it was all hastily described and then put aside to make room for stilted banter.
Estes seems to play it safe with his writing and, as a result, has yet to develop his own style. That's a shame because I think if he had done so, it might have drawn more out of the characters and world that he has prepared.
My advice: don't compare yourself to other writers. If you're really playing in the same field as an established and respected author, you won't have to say so. Let your writing speak for itself.
bluesilverwind's review against another edition
3.0
I had a really hard time getting through this. It’s clearly the setup for an EPIC story, but there’s so much jumping around it’s very much like the middle of the lord of the rings trilogy except you don’t really have a chance super attached to characters. I’ll definitely have to read the next bulk to see how it goes, but it was a lot to take in.