Sharon Shinn, Dark Moon Defender
Aug. 16th, 2009 02:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
varjohaltiaSharon Shinn's Twelve Houses series, as well as her Samaria series have been pretty consistently among my favoritesd. Dark Moon Defender is the third installment in the Twelve Houses fantasy world. It stands on its own plot-wise, although I would recommend reading the books in order to get familiar with the characters and their history as well as the world.
Much as the previous two books, Mystic and Rider and The Thirteenth House, Darm Moon Defender isn't a literary masterwork to make its mark in history. It hovers on the border between fantasy romance and just fantasy, and certainly has a somewhat soft feel to it. It also falls victim to some mary-sue traits, and perhaps doesn't have the raw emotional energy that truly memorable fantasy works have.
That being said, the chemistry among the band of adventurers is excellent. If anything, it reminds me of an "X-Men in the age of sword and sorcery" setting. The writing is excellent, and well finished, and the world and setting are welcoming and fundamentally pleasant. I remained up until the wee hours on a few nights to finish a plot twist, which to me indicates that the story and pacing are really well done and I actually care for the protagonists.
This is an wonderful book in a series of feel-good fantasy, hours of great escapism into a better place with nice people where good prevails.
Much as the previous two books, Mystic and Rider and The Thirteenth House, Darm Moon Defender isn't a literary masterwork to make its mark in history. It hovers on the border between fantasy romance and just fantasy, and certainly has a somewhat soft feel to it. It also falls victim to some mary-sue traits, and perhaps doesn't have the raw emotional energy that truly memorable fantasy works have.
That being said, the chemistry among the band of adventurers is excellent. If anything, it reminds me of an "X-Men in the age of sword and sorcery" setting. The writing is excellent, and well finished, and the world and setting are welcoming and fundamentally pleasant. I remained up until the wee hours on a few nights to finish a plot twist, which to me indicates that the story and pacing are really well done and I actually care for the protagonists.
This is an wonderful book in a series of feel-good fantasy, hours of great escapism into a better place with nice people where good prevails.
