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illyria18's review against another edition
5.0
Rating: 5
I won a copy of this book for an honest review. This will never effect how I like or rate a book.
This book was awesome!
Plain and simple.
It felt like everything that I could want and everything I didn't even know I wanted wrapped up in one book.
Great characters, a new and interesting story that felt like a breath of fresh air, and just overall a fun new world to immerse myself into.
A few things were predictable but then there were other things that I don't think anyone could of seen coming with just how crazy and surprising they were.
If I had any true gripes about the book it would only be that I would of liked to spend more time on the Bosch. I really would of liked more time on the airship with the lovable crew.
There was also a part around the middle where there just seemed to be constant running around that seemed a bit pointless. The only thing I can think is that it was given so we could spend more time with Ariana and her mother, but I felt it could of been handled a little better.
Other than that I'm very proud of the author for not trying to shoe horn in a romance. With everything else that was going on it just would of felt forced so I'm glad that in the end while there might have been a bit of attraction going between Ariana and Andrew it stayed as just that. If it develops more in later books I wont mind, if not I'll be just as happy since truthfully Andrew was the only character that I felt was a little bland. I was just glad that there was no instant romance and that things felt natural between the two of them.
I had a hard time putting this book down and I definitely can't wait till the sequel comes out. Loved it.
I'd recommend it to those that have a love of fiction, Fantasy, and definitely Steampunk.
I won a copy of this book for an honest review. This will never effect how I like or rate a book.
This book was awesome!
Plain and simple.
It felt like everything that I could want and everything I didn't even know I wanted wrapped up in one book.
Great characters, a new and interesting story that felt like a breath of fresh air, and just overall a fun new world to immerse myself into.
A few things were predictable but then there were other things that I don't think anyone could of seen coming with just how crazy and surprising they were.
If I had any true gripes about the book it would only be that I would of liked to spend more time on the Bosch. I really would of liked more time on the airship with the lovable crew.
There was also a part around the middle where there just seemed to be constant running around that seemed a bit pointless. The only thing I can think is that it was given so we could spend more time with Ariana and her mother, but I felt it could of been handled a little better.
Other than that I'm very proud of the author for not trying to shoe horn in a romance. With everything else that was going on it just would of felt forced so I'm glad that in the end while there might have been a bit of attraction going between Ariana and Andrew it stayed as just that. If it develops more in later books I wont mind, if not I'll be just as happy since truthfully Andrew was the only character that I felt was a little bland. I was just glad that there was no instant romance and that things felt natural between the two of them.
I had a hard time putting this book down and I definitely can't wait till the sequel comes out. Loved it.
I'd recommend it to those that have a love of fiction, Fantasy, and definitely Steampunk.
erat's review
4.0
Full disclosure: I got a free copy of this book through Goodreads Giveaways in exchange for an honest review. Yep.
I admit it: I'm in a reading rut. The books I read span quite a few genres and I'm not as married to one set of authors as I used to be. Still, there are books that I simply don't read, not for any disdain for the genre or author but just because it never crosses my mind to read them.
Fantasy books rank high on this haven't-read-much list. I have read some, but they're few and far between and most were read many years ago. My memories of each are so dusty and old that I can't say they're useful when reviewing/comparing new fantasy books.
With that in mind, feel free to take what I'm about to say with a few teaspoons of salt.
Simply put, The Odin Inheritance was amazing. It's possible I read it with lower-than-usual expectations because there were very few reviews on GR when I entered its contest and--if I'm being honest--I probably expect indie authors to put out work that is not quite as polished as their more famous brethren. That last bit is completely undeserved. Ms. Scott has proven to me that the indies can put out work that rivals the celebs.
The story's pacing was great, the twists and turns well-timed, the setting and action inventive...even the length of the book (just under 500 pages) felt right. Everything with the story just seemed to work, even the parts near the end which I won't talk about because SPOILERS. I will say I found the smoky, steamy setting to be handled in a refreshing, unique manner that may or may not have been pulled more from Norse mythology than Ms. Scott's cortex. I can't say which, but I welcomed the "new" spin on things. Nice job.
I especially liked the steampunk setting. I've never followed steampunk closely but from afar everything I've seen has interested me. Stephen King's Dark Tower books are about as close to steampunk as I've gotten, and they're more cowboypunk than steampunk. Still, I like it, and I look forward to getting more of it as the Odin * books that follow this one are published. (More airships! Bring em!)
All that said, I have to explain the missing star in my review. This star is missing with many books from indie authors, and it's one that saddens me because it's so easy to get back.
First up: the obligatory typos and misspellings. I'm guessing a mistaken find/replace caused all instances of "ms." to be changed to "Ms." so words at the ends of sentences that conclude with "ms" would look funky. Example (not pulled from the book, just an example from my head): "They needed to hash out the terMs." That "Ms." typo popped up a number of times, and each time it was distracting. Also, "toot sweet" is actually French and spelled "tout suite." This could have been a visual gag, but it popped up in dialog so I'm guessing it's a misspelling.
The most distracting bit about the book's interior, though, was its interior design. Three things in particular need to be pointed out, and I sincerely hope Ms. Scott considers changing these in future editions and in the two volumes that follow this one:
1) Sans-serif typefaces should not be used for body copy. Those little serifs in letters actually help guide the eye from letter to letter, so even if serif typefaces seem boring, they're essential for long-distance reading. Garamond, Caslon, Baskerville...many classic typefaces exist that were made for body copy, and any would be better than the sans-serif typeface in this book. This change should be made even if only to make the typeface match the steampunk setting, which is more closely aligned to the Victorian era than the modern/post-modern era of sans-serif typefaces.
2) Single blank lines between paragraphs generally signal a change in scene within a chapter. If the scene isn't changing, paragraphs should be made distinct by their first-line indentation only.
3) Generous margins give peoples' fat thumbs a place to hold the book open and they keep type from getting too close to the gutter (where the pages curve into the binding). With large trade-paperback and hardcover books, there's a lot of page real estate to make this possible so it should be doable.
Note that none of these things killed the story for me. One star was docked because it took a while to see past these distractions (I have a graphic design background so it's possible I notice these things more than the average reader). Still, all are worth considering. Robert Bringhurst's Elements of Typographic Style is a good book to review to learn about book design and typeface selection. If one is serious about producing a high-quality book, I think it's essential to at least skim it.
Okay, nobody's read this far so I'll stop here. I loved this book, people, seriously. Overlook the design if design bugs you and read this.
I admit it: I'm in a reading rut. The books I read span quite a few genres and I'm not as married to one set of authors as I used to be. Still, there are books that I simply don't read, not for any disdain for the genre or author but just because it never crosses my mind to read them.
Fantasy books rank high on this haven't-read-much list. I have read some, but they're few and far between and most were read many years ago. My memories of each are so dusty and old that I can't say they're useful when reviewing/comparing new fantasy books.
With that in mind, feel free to take what I'm about to say with a few teaspoons of salt.
Simply put, The Odin Inheritance was amazing. It's possible I read it with lower-than-usual expectations because there were very few reviews on GR when I entered its contest and--if I'm being honest--I probably expect indie authors to put out work that is not quite as polished as their more famous brethren. That last bit is completely undeserved. Ms. Scott has proven to me that the indies can put out work that rivals the celebs.
The story's pacing was great, the twists and turns well-timed, the setting and action inventive...even the length of the book (just under 500 pages) felt right. Everything with the story just seemed to work, even the parts near the end which I won't talk about because SPOILERS. I will say I found the smoky, steamy setting to be handled in a refreshing, unique manner that may or may not have been pulled more from Norse mythology than Ms. Scott's cortex. I can't say which, but I welcomed the "new" spin on things. Nice job.
I especially liked the steampunk setting. I've never followed steampunk closely but from afar everything I've seen has interested me. Stephen King's Dark Tower books are about as close to steampunk as I've gotten, and they're more cowboypunk than steampunk. Still, I like it, and I look forward to getting more of it as the Odin * books that follow this one are published. (More airships! Bring em!)
All that said, I have to explain the missing star in my review. This star is missing with many books from indie authors, and it's one that saddens me because it's so easy to get back.
First up: the obligatory typos and misspellings. I'm guessing a mistaken find/replace caused all instances of "ms." to be changed to "Ms." so words at the ends of sentences that conclude with "ms" would look funky. Example (not pulled from the book, just an example from my head): "They needed to hash out the terMs." That "Ms." typo popped up a number of times, and each time it was distracting. Also, "toot sweet" is actually French and spelled "tout suite." This could have been a visual gag, but it popped up in dialog so I'm guessing it's a misspelling.
The most distracting bit about the book's interior, though, was its interior design. Three things in particular need to be pointed out, and I sincerely hope Ms. Scott considers changing these in future editions and in the two volumes that follow this one:
1) Sans-serif typefaces should not be used for body copy. Those little serifs in letters actually help guide the eye from letter to letter, so even if serif typefaces seem boring, they're essential for long-distance reading. Garamond, Caslon, Baskerville...many classic typefaces exist that were made for body copy, and any would be better than the sans-serif typeface in this book. This change should be made even if only to make the typeface match the steampunk setting, which is more closely aligned to the Victorian era than the modern/post-modern era of sans-serif typefaces.
2) Single blank lines between paragraphs generally signal a change in scene within a chapter. If the scene isn't changing, paragraphs should be made distinct by their first-line indentation only.
3) Generous margins give peoples' fat thumbs a place to hold the book open and they keep type from getting too close to the gutter (where the pages curve into the binding). With large trade-paperback and hardcover books, there's a lot of page real estate to make this possible so it should be doable.
Note that none of these things killed the story for me. One star was docked because it took a while to see past these distractions (I have a graphic design background so it's possible I notice these things more than the average reader). Still, all are worth considering. Robert Bringhurst's Elements of Typographic Style is a good book to review to learn about book design and typeface selection. If one is serious about producing a high-quality book, I think it's essential to at least skim it.
Okay, nobody's read this far so I'll stop here. I loved this book, people, seriously. Overlook the design if design bugs you and read this.
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