3 out of 4 stars
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Harvest is the debut fictional novel of Australian author Beth Martinu. It is the first installment of a proposed trilogy, and belongs to the supernatural genre. It is an original, engrossing and well-written story, and a must read for fans of paranormal fantasy writings.
The protagonist of the novel is a girl named Frankie Harlow-a smart, reclusive teenager living with her father, who is still coming to terms with past sorrows. Frankie’s time is divided between household chores, school and hanging out with her two best friends, and she is more or less satisfied with the state of affairs.
However, things change when one seemingly normal day, she chances upon an antique locket. As her repeated attempts to retrieve it to the original owner fail, Frankie starts doing her own research on the locket to trace its origins, increasingly becoming obsessed with it. Soon things take a sinister turn, and she realizes she is dealing with forces beyond her ken, as her fate now appears to be intertwined with that of the locket. Whether she would be able to accept this destiny that has been thrust upon her or not, is what the story is all about.
To be clear from the start, this is not a horror story; but an intriguing, mystery-ridden tale of the supernatural. The plot is original and the story unfolds beautifully around the core theme, rarely digressing. The characters are well conceived, keeping in mind their relevance to the storyline.
Beth Martinu has a natural flair for writing, so much so, that even though you might guess where the story is headed half way through the novel, you will be compelled to continue reading. She refrains from using clichéd expressions or superfluous words and makes a smooth transition between different scenes, situations and sub-plots. As a consequence, the narrative is refreshingly uncomplicated, picturesque and realistic.
The author has done a fair bit of research, which is revealed in the meticulous detailing of a clear and well-defined plot, and the rich, descriptive style of writing.
There are some loose ends, necessary to hold the reader’s attention, in stories that continue as a series. These if tied up neatly in the sequels, should make a compelling reading with backward and forward linkages.
The ending too, gives a definite glimpse of how the reader can expect the next book to start, and the same is sufficient to pique one’s interest in the trilogy.
Nonetheless, there are some flaws, due to which the novel falls a little short of being perfect. While in general the romantic sub-plots are nicely etched out, there are some scenes, which are unnecessarily long drawn. For instance, the amount of time spent on one particular party scene, is disproportionately large, when compared to the minor contribution it makes to the storyline. It is akin to a long drawn teenage drama and is incongruent with the rest of the story. Had such scenes been trimmed down, it would have resulted in a more uniformly paced plot.
Furthermore, the undercurrent of clarity, which otherwise runs through the novel, is somewhat absent towards the end. The protagonist’s move seems a bit hurried and lacks the realistic worldly approach, as well as logical flow, of the rest of the novel. There are a few grammatical errors as well, but they are minor and rare, and do not really disrupt the reading.
To conclude, Harvest is an interesting book, with a clearly thought out plot, and a refreshingly original writing style where the author refrains from using clichéd plots, dialogues or characters, and for that I am giving it 3 out of 4 stars. I am not giving it a 4 star rating as some scenes could have been better edited, and another round of proof reading could have eliminated the grammatical errors. All in all, it’s a fresh, crisp and interesting first novel of a trilogy, and I recommend it as a fascinating read for fans of supernatural fiction.
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Harvest
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