Review of Zara Hanson & The Mystery of the Painted Symbol

[reviewinraven]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Zara Hanson & The Mystery of the Painted Symbol" by J.L. Haynes.]

---

3 out of 4 stars

---

Share This Review

---

Zara Hanson & The Mystery of the Painted Symbol by J.L. Haynes follows the exciting adventures of Zara Hanson, a skilled agent who is tasked with a life-changing mission. She partners with extraterrestrial beings and their artificially intelligent creations to save Terra, otherwise known as Earth, from the Celestial Witness. The fate of humanity rests on the shoulders of this team as they unlock the mysteries of the universe while simultaneously fending off against powerful men on Earth and dangerous otherworldly beings in space. Throughout her journey, she slowly begins to unveil her true identity, realizing the significant role she plays in this mission.

A positive aspect of the novel is the creative and realistic plotline. In terms of creativity, every chapter introduces an imaginative concept to explain the universe within the story. Throughout the book, there were unique elements and tools introduced, such as a small inconspicuous cube that could turn into a raging fire. The author also does well in ensuring that every character has a believable purpose in the mission. My two favorite characters are Fez-Pyan who is a mischievous troublemaker, and Sub-Rohza who is an intelligent spaceship with a sense of humor. There is a good dynamic between every character, which makes their interactions engaging to read.

Another positive element is the way the story is written in vivid detail. The words used paint a clear picture in my mind of how the scenes play out, almost as if I was watching a movie. This is especially commendable as there are a lot of scenes that are otherworldly which would have been challenging to describe, but the author still managed to bring this fictional world to life. Out of everything in this book, my favorite parts are when there is a fight scene because the outcomes of the match are always unpredictable. The book can be considered quite well-edited as there are only a few minor spelling and grammar errors that are not noticeable enough to disrupt the reading experience.

Despite my initial praises, there are a few glaring flaws within this book. The first negative aspect is that the protagonist can be considered a “Mary Sue”, which means an unrealistically perfect character. I find Zara Hanson to be a one-dimensional character because she does not have any flaws, and the story also did not explore any personal challenges that she may have faced as an orphan. To illustrate this, she is attractive with unique mismatched eyes, high intelligence, strong skills in martial arts, and is also deemed to be ‘the chosen one’. Although this is a plot-driven story instead of a character-driven story, I still expected the author to elaborate more on the protagonist’s internal conflict throughout her wild journey since her name is in the title of the book.

Additionally, I find that certain dialogs come out as unnatural. Even though the book is written with a narrator, this format is not used to explain the situation. Instead, every explanation to help readers understand the story is done through using dialogs which is unrealistic in many of the circumstances of the book. The way the characters talk is also inconsistent as the chapter progresses. At the beginning of the book, the extraterrestrials spoke English in a distinctive way, but at the end of the book, it becomes less distinctive. For some unknown reason, the alien characters tend to use proverbs with words that reference animals from Earth, which sounds unrealistic as these beings are supposed to be exposed to far more creatures from other planets.

With all these things considered, I would rate this book a 3 out of 4 stars. The reason behind this is that although the protagonist was not interesting, the unique side characters and the well-written plot make up for it. The flaws in the dialogs can also be overlooked as the story itself is engaging enough to keep me turning the pages. I would recommend this book to those 15 years old and above because the writing is quite complex but the plot structure is suitable for teenage audiences. It does not contain any sexual content but younger readers should be warned that it does contain some minor profanities. Those who enjoy action, sci-fi, and mystery should also check this book out.

******
Zara Hanson & The Mystery of the Painted Symbol
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes

[Kaushiki Parihar]

It seems a nice science fiction book, but it's awful that the main protagonist is not interesting. That obviously make it less thrilling for me. Thanks for the amazing review though.