Overall Rating and Opinion of Roan

Discuss the November 2016 Book of the Month, Roan: The Tales Of Conor Archer by E. R. Barr.
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Heidi M Simone
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Overall Rating and Opinion of Roan

Post by Heidi M Simone »

This is a discussion topic for the November 2016 Book of the Month, Roan: The Tales of Conor Archer

What is you overall opinion of Roan: The Tales of Conor Archer? What do you like most about it? What do you like least? Will your recommend the book to other people? Why or why not? Please remember to add your actual rating using the the book's page on Bookshelves.
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Post by Janetleighgreen »

I am Irish, or a big part Irish, so I loved the Irish lore in this book. I loved the fact that Conor was a hybrid resulting from the lore.

I thought the pace was slow and drug in places. I read that this was set up as a saga; I felt that the author put a lot of repetitive info in to make the book longer because he wanted it to be a saga. That may not be the case, but it felt that way to me. I think this book has the potential to be a great read; I just think the author's mindset should be series vs. saga. There was a lot of info that could have been left for the next book.

I also thought that Conor was a bit too naive and I felt that Aunt Emily should have told him more to help him.

Having been the recipient of constructive criticism for my book; and following all of the wonderful advise I received, I hope the author takes these comments in the manner in which they are given, which is from a place of encouragement and support.

II would rate this a 3.
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Post by ebeth »

I agree. I thought the place was slow and dragged. I said in my other comments, I felt I had to switch books once in awhile. The parts that I liked most about it of course, I said before, Troubles was my favorite character. For a dog, he was pretty cool and added some light into the story.

The other part I enjoyed was when Beth fell in love with Conor because it showed it didn't matter if he was different. Just because someone is different doesn't mean can't fall in love with them.

The part that I did not like about it is how much it dragged. Now just because I did not like it, I was thinking the other day how I know some people like books like that with a lot of detail. In this case, I felt it was very overdone.

I rated this book as a 2. I did not rate it as a 1 because I did not think it was that bad, that it did have some potential. However, I couldn't get myself to rate it a 3 because of how long the story dragged in some place. So I felt that 2 was a good rating.
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Post by Janetleighgreen »

I forgot to say whether I would recommend the book. Yes, but with a disclaimer regarding length and pace.
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Post by Jennifer Allsbrook »

hsimone wrote:This is a discussion topic for the November 2016 Book of the Month, Roan: The Tales of Conor Archer

What is you overall opinion of Roan: The Tales of Conor Archer? What do you like most about it? What do you like least? Will your recommend the book to other people? Why or why not? Please remember to add your actual rating using the the book's page on Bookshelves.
I really enjoyed Roan: The Tales of Conor Archer. The blend of myth, otherworldly powers, and science fiction made for an interesting tale of good versus evil. I enjoyed all the characters. The author did a fantastic job creating a unique reality in Tinker's Grove into which Conor is thrust at such a trying time in his life. The loss of a parent after a long illness is enough to upend the most stable of us emotionally. Add to that being attacked, becoming deathly ill, arriving in Tinker's Grove alone and knowing no one and you have a situation that would crush most teenagers. Oh, and then add - the "fate of two worlds" depends on your actions - to the mix. Against these odds, Conor rises to the challenges that he must face. His Second Sight, his interesting physical abilities, and his desire to retain his humanity make the reader pull for him in his ultimate quest to prevail over evil. There was nothing that I didn't like about this story. I will most definitely recommend it to others. I rate this story 4 out of 4 stars!
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Post by gali »

I finally finished the book. I liked the book, but cutting down some parts would have greatly improved the book. I enjoyed the mix of Irish folklore and Native American myths, though the religious theme was laid a bit too thick for my taste. I liked it that the story took place in our world and not in some far kingdom. The plot of the story was obviously very well thought out and the world-building was great. However, ss others said, it was too slow-paced and repetitive. I enjoyed the book overall, so rated it 3 stars out of 4.
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Post by Vermont Reviews »

For me this book scored a solid 4 stars.
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Post by MarisaRose »

I initially read this book immediately after reading the review for it when it was Book of the Day a few weeks back. After reading that the book was about Irish lore and included both strong male and female characters I was really excited to read this one! Unfortunately, the book wasn't everything I wanted it to be. Although I did find the story interesting and fun, and for the most part, I really liked Conor, I felt the book dragged in many places and the ending was extremely chaotic. I understand the author wants to create a saga stemming from this book, however, some closure towards the end would have been nice.
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Post by greenstripedgiraffe »

I really did enjoy this book, and enjoyed the pace overall. But, with so many saying that it was too slow, it would be good for the author to revise/edit and work specifically on the pace in order to reach a larger audience :) It was strange to me to have all of this taking place in the Wisconsin River =D I have spent much time in Wisconsin, so this was a bit of a shock - HAHA! This is not a bad thing, I just kept forgetting it was actually "local" (as in, not in a made-up world.)
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Post by Janetleighgreen »

greenstripedgiraffe wrote:I really did enjoy this book, and enjoyed the pace overall. But, with so many saying that it was too slow, it would be good for the author to revise/edit and work specifically on the pace in order to reach a larger audience :) It was strange to me to have all of this taking place in the Wisconsin River =D I have spent much time in Wisconsin, so this was a bit of a shock - HAHA! This is not a bad thing, I just kept forgetting it was actually "local" (as in, not in a made-up world.)
I thought that having all of that occur in a river was odd too. I kept wondering how they were going to get a huge war ship in a river. Then I remembered to suspend my belief; it was fantasy, and to the author's credit he did mention that the river was huge. Then, when the war ship made its appearance, there was a lot of wood creaking and land giving away, which led me to believe the river was making room for the ship. This helped my perception, but it did bother me at times.
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Post by greenstripedgiraffe »

The Wisconsin is pretty big. ? I guess for that I was thinking of a warship from centuries ago. Ships weren't as big back then.
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Post by Janetleighgreen »

greenstripedgiraffe wrote:The Wisconsin is pretty big. ? I guess for that I was thinking of a warship from centuries ago. Ships weren't as big back then.
That's true too. ?
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Post by Deee »

This book was pretty good. I liked the mixture of folklores, the worldbuilding, but the pace was a bit slow and the story too long and repetitive. I would still like to read the sequel and see where it goes. 3 out 4 stars from me.
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Post by rvenkat »

I feel the style is pretty flat, and I am not sure if the author makes the reader
turn pages in anticipation of what's going to happen next.

I am not too excited about the book, so I would give 1 out of 4.
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Post by Seamusberen1955 »

From the Author:: if you think the writing was TwoFlap or the book not exciting or the book repetitive please let me know what you mean. It would help me for my next book. I could go on anon, but keep...I digress ???
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