2 out of 4 stars
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A Kingdom Forgotten is a debut epic fantasy novel by Charles W. McDonald Jr. and a first book in the A Throne of Souls series.
It is a highly complex narrative full of time jumps, location changes and a dazzling multitude of characters. My main issue with this book is that it is too much, too soon.
What the book attempts to do is very interesting. The author strives to blend high fantasy with science fiction and modern-day thriller. He clearly has a lot of ideas, but the execution was not what I was hoping for. I am no stranger to this genre, and I do expect an epic fantasy novel to be a little difficult to get into. However, A Kingdom Forgotten takes it to a whole new level of confusing. In fact, the name turned out to be prophetic in this case. The narrative jumps so much I have literally forgotten half the characters by the time I get to meet them again!
Some of the scene changes are so abrupt that I was finding it hard to really get into a character's head and learn about them as human beings (or elves), what they are like, what motivates them. Epic fantasy is one of my favourite genres, and I was attracted to this book by the author's mention of Robert Jordan (whose "Wheel of Time" series I generally enjoyed). However, I can only give this book 2 stars out of 4.
The characters come in quick succession and we don't stay with any one of them long enough to really get attached or care about what happens to them. The portrayal of women is incredibly sexist. The sex scenes made me cringe. Nobody needs to use the words "sexily" and "seductively" so much.
The flow of the narrative could have been vastly improved by the omission of unnecessary or repeated adjectives and adverbs. But the main issue is that it lacks proper character development and is at times trying too hard to get its point across and turns preachy.
I have not given the book 1 star purely because I feel that the author can probably do better with the subsequent books in the series. Putting your words on paper and out into the world is an act of courage, and I would not discount the possibility that the following books might be better written. Due to explicit violent and sexual content, this book will not be suitable for young children. It might form a good resource for a Dungeons and Dragons campaign.
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A Kingdom Forgotten
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