I had to read the ending twice, and then go back to the beginning as well to get to grips with the denouement. Well, I was a bit premature! I had worked some of it out right, but other developments were a total surprise. Towards the last third of the book I thought I had the plot mostly worked out. Also they change, grow in nobility, are swayed by decisions and circumstances, or shrink into their own incapability. The characters develop, take on colour and definition throughout the book. In some cases he draws, rather cunningly, on Yorkshire dialect and stereotypes to define a nation, reflective of the authors own heritage. The author takes time to make the characters individual, but also to emphasise the differences between the races portrayed. The plot is a slow cooker, and you should not expect this to be a book where you can instantly identify with the characters either. Soon you will begin to see how the verbiage sets up the fantstical tone of the book.

If you are that reader, slow down, re-read if necessary. Some readers may find the book too slow paced and struggle with word use that may seem exotic. I had to read it twice, and it still fascinates me how the beginning and ending can make so much sense of some of the content within the book. It wasn't until the end of the book that I actually found out how it all tied in. It was described to me before I started as a prefect book for a day when you just have time to sink and indulge your senses, and this is true.Īt the start of the book I was rather taken aback by the contemporary opening, quickly forgotten as I moved into the substance of the work. At times lyrical, the rich prose will steadily draw you into a totally fresh yet seemingly familiar place and time, one that will stay with you forever.įirstly, do not go into this book expecting a sword waving, all battle, beasties and knights type fantasy. It's also a compelling tale, one that builds to a most unexpected and thought-provoking conclusion. This is, however, a world wrought with mystery, a world of the unexpected, a world of vast vistas and intimate observations.

This is the first book of the Dica Series, a leisurely introduction to much of the weird and wonderful that marks this out as a unique 'created-world' story. Follow their journey as they travel the realm's vast and convoluted ways, as they eventually unearth a complex and strange past, and much about themselves. Even when stirred into some ineffectual action by the arrival of an unexpected army - amassed before its gates - the true meaning of what's really happening only comes slowly, and only to a small group of oddly assorted characters. At the end of a long, slow decline, the huge castle realm of Dica seems to be drawing close to its final days, but few of its remaining inhabitants are aware of this. An Awesome Indies Approved novel - your guarantee of quality writing.

Leiyatel's Embrace by Clive S. Johnson