This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot.wordpress.leafmarks.com & Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road Facebook Group by Bookstooge's Exalted Permission. Title: The Seven Towers Series: ----- Author: Patricia Wrede Rating: of 5 Battle Axes Genre: SFF Pages: 340 Format: Kindle Synopsis: The Seven Kingdoms are about to be invaded by the horde of barbarians from the South. Politics, romance and magic both new and very old, come into play. Nothing is quite as it seems and the barbarians aren't invading, but fleeing. Can a rag tag group of people work together to prevent a massacre, stop a rogue dark wizard and put an end to a virulent magical plague, all at the same time. My Thoughts: I don't have a middle grade shelf/tag and tend to use either young adult or children. But this book would definitely fall into that category. Characters are given just enough of a brush to make them unique without actual characterization, the plot is "vast" if you are new to this kind of thing and things just happen. Now all of that can be a problem sometimes.But for this book, none of that bothered me at all. Just goes to show, sometimes you really do have to be in the right mood. I enjoyed my time reading this. I do wonder, however, how much of that is because I already like Wrede's writing and hence let my foreknowledge affect things. An interesting conundrum if you're into that kind of thing. " ( )

2.5 stars. An OK book that could have been much better if the author had slowed the pace and developed the characters more. Some of them are likable characters, but we never get to know them very well. We're told their emotions, rather than shown: a reconciliation that should have been particularly moving, towards the end of the book, is bland and emotionless, as are the deaths of two major characters. Much of the action, too, is told rather than shown; important events are skimmed over so quickly that you might miss them if you blink. I was disappointed by the ending, which was predictable and cheap.

A bit more on the characters... I found Amberglas teeth-grindingly annoying, not endearing; Vandaris' habit of spewing silly insults (especially at Eltiron) got on my nerves after about the twentieth time; Eltiron and Crystalorn acted much too young for their respective ages (19 and 17 respectively) and Eltiron was much too wishy-washy and wimpy for my liking. Jermain and Carachel are definitely the highlights in this otherwise mundane fantasy plot, but even they suffer from the shallowness of the narrative. I'd have liked to see more inner conflict from Jermain, particularly--he gets betrayed by two close friends, tragically loses a third, but none of this ever really registers.

This could have been so much better. ( )

The back and forth narrative, swapping between the two main characters was very effective, each chapter ending on a cliff hanger of sorts. I enjoyed the characters, although I found the romantic relationship a little suspect - was it real, or magically induced? And hurrah for mercenary warrior aunts! ( )

This one feels more...polished, I guess, than most of my recent reads. The language still varies, as it did in Shadow Magic, but here it varies in patterns. So people speaking in a language not native to them, and people in formal situations, speak very formally and carefully; in casual situations and to friends, people speak casually. It isn't the scramble of formal phrasing in casual speech and vice versa that was bothering me in Shadow Magic and At The Queen's Command. The story arc is smooth and clear - though the cliffhanger chapters switching between the two groups were a pain! I hate the beginning, when Terrell has it all his own way - it's great when Eltiron finally stands up for himself. And I love Vandi. Jermain is good too, and so are Crystalorn, Ranlyn and Amberglas - though her verbal tics are a pain even when I can read them and don't have to hope I catch them as they go by in speech. She reminds me of someone, but I can't remember who - not quite Miss Seeton, not quite Gurki...odd. Anyway. The story is, like Shadow Magic, largely a coming-of-age story, with some quest elements but not so much travel. Even the one who does all the traveling ends up right back where he started for the climax. Also like Shadow Magic, the first major character isn't the hero, though a lot of the action is his - as the story progresses, the coming-of-age aspects begin to dominate and the Prince ends up as the protagonist. Good story - I've only read it a dozen times or so, and I still find new things or things I've forgotten every time. ( )

A fun early novel by Pat Wrede. Pretty typical fantasy, but well-written and amusing, and I enjoyed noticing some ideas and characters that were later developed in her better books. I was also struck by the evil force (the Matholych), which felt almost as though it could have been an inspiration for Lois Bujold's malices in the Sharing Knife series.