Review by Prema-B -- Spirit of the Season by Brian Lamont
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- Latest Review: Spirit of the Season by Brian Lamont
Review by Prema-B -- Spirit of the Season by Brian Lamont
[Following is a volunteer review of "Spirit of the Season" by Brian Lamont.]
The candle maker’s son is very timid and has been kept in isolation. His future seems restricted to the trade of candle making, and loneliness seems to be his main path. What will he be able to achieve? Spirit of the Season by Brian Lamont creates an original backstory to the legend of Saint Nicholas. The story takes place in the outset of the First Industrial Revolution. Elements of the Christmas Story are laid out in the journey through the candle maker’s life.
The author brings the audience from the candle maker’s childhood to elder-hood. The familiar illustration of Santa Claus is given greater depth through the candle maker. The story starts with the candle maker accepting an opportunity: he learns to horseback ride and his life starts climbing upwards. However, events take a turn for the worse and he is once again left in isolation. The man becomes a recluse for a large amount of years, but moves to be motivated by the state of his village, past memories, and an encouraging run-in. He begins travelling far and wide with his fortuitous friend, the tailor.
What I liked about this novel is the innovative story line. There are a couple twists that brought you to feel for the characters. Additionally, a fear of people runs through the tailor and the candle maker-this characteristic gave them depth, and it was nice to see their growth despite it. Also, the time period is represented well throughout the story.
One of the problems with the novel is with the way the connections to the Christmas story are made. The connections do not appear very prominently through the first part of the book and feel very unnatural towards the end. There are also some events that are random and do not seem to add to the story. Moreover, the stylistic choices make the story feel endless. Although there are some beautifully written parts, there is not consistency in this. There is a vague chronological output of events and world-building is lacking along with depth to some characters. Because of these reasons, the novel was hard to get through.
I rate this novel a 2 out of 4 stars. The base of this story is very good and innovative, but it needed more cohesiveness and expansion of the setting and other characters. The author did a good job with editing, and a reader would have a hard time spotting errors. I would recommend this book to children that are interested in a simple Christmas novel.
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Spirit of the Season
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
The candle maker’s son is very timid and has been kept in isolation. His future seems restricted to the trade of candle making, and loneliness seems to be his main path. What will he be able to achieve? Spirit of the Season by Brian Lamont creates an original backstory to the legend of Saint Nicholas. The story takes place in the outset of the First Industrial Revolution. Elements of the Christmas Story are laid out in the journey through the candle maker’s life.
The author brings the audience from the candle maker’s childhood to elder-hood. The familiar illustration of Santa Claus is given greater depth through the candle maker. The story starts with the candle maker accepting an opportunity: he learns to horseback ride and his life starts climbing upwards. However, events take a turn for the worse and he is once again left in isolation. The man becomes a recluse for a large amount of years, but moves to be motivated by the state of his village, past memories, and an encouraging run-in. He begins travelling far and wide with his fortuitous friend, the tailor.
What I liked about this novel is the innovative story line. There are a couple twists that brought you to feel for the characters. Additionally, a fear of people runs through the tailor and the candle maker-this characteristic gave them depth, and it was nice to see their growth despite it. Also, the time period is represented well throughout the story.
One of the problems with the novel is with the way the connections to the Christmas story are made. The connections do not appear very prominently through the first part of the book and feel very unnatural towards the end. There are also some events that are random and do not seem to add to the story. Moreover, the stylistic choices make the story feel endless. Although there are some beautifully written parts, there is not consistency in this. There is a vague chronological output of events and world-building is lacking along with depth to some characters. Because of these reasons, the novel was hard to get through.
I rate this novel a 2 out of 4 stars. The base of this story is very good and innovative, but it needed more cohesiveness and expansion of the setting and other characters. The author did a good job with editing, and a reader would have a hard time spotting errors. I would recommend this book to children that are interested in a simple Christmas novel.
******
Spirit of the Season
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Spirit of the Season by Brian Lamont
