Review by njuuu -- Masters and Bastards

[njuuu]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Masters and Bastards" by Christopher J. Penington.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Masters and Bastards by Christopher J. Penington is a fiction book whose story line revolves majorly around Andreas Marset and the Imperial family at large. Caught in between the wax of two women whom he greatly loves, Andreas leads a resistance against the Vulgaric invasion.

The author has brought out the situation between the two social classes in Iberia very well. The Arpathians were mostly looked down upon by those of Iberian descent. The Arpathians were mostly poor and worked as servants while the Iberians were rich and royal. Intermarriage between them was also greatly shunned. This resembles in a great way the ballooning gap between the poor and rich of the modern-day society.

The destructive role that most parents play in their children’s lives has also been brought to light. Constantine admits to spoiling his three sons in that they never had to toil for anything they needed. This eventually makes them incompetent for stewardship of the kingdom and are as a result ruled out as heirs to the throne. This serves as a wake-up call to all parents, that they should abstain from spoiling their children.

The book’s title is also on point, a sign of great authorcraft and careful thinking during its selection. Andreas, Isabella and Constantine are all bastards and masters at the same time. They are all members of the Imperial family and were born out of wedlock.

I liked how the author has interwoven the various series of events and themes including romance, treachery and the art of warfare all of which have led to the wonderful fabric of the story. This not only left the reader’s mind engrossed but also craving for more.

The book also had a few errors here and there. For instance, on page 64 there seems to be the omission of a preposition in the following sentence, “…at the head the table…”. On page 114 the wrong tense has also been used in the following sentence, “…might one day became loomed…”. These errors serve as an impediment to the understanding of text by the reader. They also make the book boring since the reader has to keep on rereading certain texts in order to get the intended meaning.

There were also instances of profane language use and erotic content. Parental guidance and care should therefore be observed especially for the young readers in order to avoid the erosion of their morals.

I rate the book 3 out of 4 stars. It is a captivating read that would have deserved a 4-star rating were it not for the errors aforementioned. I recommend the book to fiction lovers and to those who find joy in reading romantic story lines.

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Masters and Bastards
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