Review of Nirvatra
28 posts
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Nirvatra" by April Thomas.]
Nalah and her hunting party, who were Nirvatran, were attacked by a group of Navah hunters. The Navah people were coldhearted and selfish. Riches, power, lust, and beauty meant everything to them. They believed that love was a sickness that had to be overcome, and they enjoyed slaughtering the Nirvatran people. The Nirvatrans were more spiritual; when possible, they chose to live in love and peace.
Running for their lives, Nalah and her brother were chased by Kahlan, the prince of Navah, who was determined to slay both of them. They managed to overcome Kahlan together, and Nalah was about to kill him to protect themselves and their people from a possible future attack from him. However, she noticed that his chest glowed red, which was a sign in their tribe that he was intended by the “Creator” to be her mate. What should she do? Kahlan obviously despises them and, if given a chance, could make them regret any weaknesses on their part. On the other hand, according to their beliefs, Nalah would no longer have a soulmate and would live the rest of her life in loneliness if she eliminated him.
Nirvatra: The Hunter and the Hunted by April Thomas is a 224-page novel listed in the science fiction/fantasy genre. This is the first book in the Nirvatra Trilogy series. Although it doesn’t end on a cliffhanger, many questions are unanswered. Therefore, it shouldn’t be read as a standalone novel. The author’s imagination is revealed in this descriptive and plausible tale about the Navah and Nirvatran people, who are as different as night and day. The kingdoms they reside in represent the people who live there—Navah is bitterly cold and cloudy, whereas Nirvatra is sunny and warm. The action in the story begins immediately with Nalah and her brother trying to escape from the hunters. Just when you catch your breath from the previous suspenseful escapade, another one is revealed, leaving no room for boredom.
The character development is superb. One watches as Nalah and Kahlan fight their feelings for each other. They both feel love isn’t possible because of the differences in their people’s beliefs. For Kahlan, predominantly, it goes against everything he has been taught since his birth. For him, Nirvatrans are to be despised and killed. If it was known in Navah that he had fallen in love with a Nirvatran, he would be scorned and put to death if they could not “cure” him of his “infection.” For Nalah, the chance that she would be leading her family and tribe members to their deaths by revealing their whereabouts to him doesn’t seem worth her personal happiness. We see these beliefs change as the story progresses, and we witness the bravery in both of them as they fight for each other.
Although I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, many errors were encountered. First, a formatting issue was discovered. Nine pages were provided in the first chapter, each with the appropriate number at the bottom. Then, the page count started over again in the second chapter. Numerous grammatical and punctuation errors were discovered. I found over ten mistakes in the first ten pages. Some required rereading to understand. For example, “He looked around for anyone else who may have been hiding releasing a deafen roar he aim to provoke anyone who dare to cross him.” This should have been written as, “He looked around for anyone else who may have been hiding; releasing a deafening roar, he aimed to provoke anyone who dared to cross him.”
The errors were the only thing I disliked about the novel. However, they were too numerous and distracting to ignore. Therefore, it achieves a rating of two out of four stars. Some readers who enjoy fantasy books with lots of action can still appreciate the story. Occasional profanity and some violence are encountered in the novel, so if that is offensive to the reader, they might want to look elsewhere.
******
Nirvatra
View: on Bookshelves |
Nalah and her hunting party, who were Nirvatran, were attacked by a group of Navah hunters. The Navah people were coldhearted and selfish. Riches, power, lust, and beauty meant everything to them. They believed that love was a sickness that had to be overcome, and they enjoyed slaughtering the Nirvatran people. The Nirvatrans were more spiritual; when possible, they chose to live in love and peace.
Running for their lives, Nalah and her brother were chased by Kahlan, the prince of Navah, who was determined to slay both of them. They managed to overcome Kahlan together, and Nalah was about to kill him to protect themselves and their people from a possible future attack from him. However, she noticed that his chest glowed red, which was a sign in their tribe that he was intended by the “Creator” to be her mate. What should she do? Kahlan obviously despises them and, if given a chance, could make them regret any weaknesses on their part. On the other hand, according to their beliefs, Nalah would no longer have a soulmate and would live the rest of her life in loneliness if she eliminated him.
Nirvatra: The Hunter and the Hunted by April Thomas is a 224-page novel listed in the science fiction/fantasy genre. This is the first book in the Nirvatra Trilogy series. Although it doesn’t end on a cliffhanger, many questions are unanswered. Therefore, it shouldn’t be read as a standalone novel. The author’s imagination is revealed in this descriptive and plausible tale about the Navah and Nirvatran people, who are as different as night and day. The kingdoms they reside in represent the people who live there—Navah is bitterly cold and cloudy, whereas Nirvatra is sunny and warm. The action in the story begins immediately with Nalah and her brother trying to escape from the hunters. Just when you catch your breath from the previous suspenseful escapade, another one is revealed, leaving no room for boredom.
The character development is superb. One watches as Nalah and Kahlan fight their feelings for each other. They both feel love isn’t possible because of the differences in their people’s beliefs. For Kahlan, predominantly, it goes against everything he has been taught since his birth. For him, Nirvatrans are to be despised and killed. If it was known in Navah that he had fallen in love with a Nirvatran, he would be scorned and put to death if they could not “cure” him of his “infection.” For Nalah, the chance that she would be leading her family and tribe members to their deaths by revealing their whereabouts to him doesn’t seem worth her personal happiness. We see these beliefs change as the story progresses, and we witness the bravery in both of them as they fight for each other.
Although I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, many errors were encountered. First, a formatting issue was discovered. Nine pages were provided in the first chapter, each with the appropriate number at the bottom. Then, the page count started over again in the second chapter. Numerous grammatical and punctuation errors were discovered. I found over ten mistakes in the first ten pages. Some required rereading to understand. For example, “He looked around for anyone else who may have been hiding releasing a deafen roar he aim to provoke anyone who dare to cross him.” This should have been written as, “He looked around for anyone else who may have been hiding; releasing a deafening roar, he aimed to provoke anyone who dared to cross him.”
The errors were the only thing I disliked about the novel. However, they were too numerous and distracting to ignore. Therefore, it achieves a rating of two out of four stars. Some readers who enjoy fantasy books with lots of action can still appreciate the story. Occasional profanity and some violence are encountered in the novel, so if that is offensive to the reader, they might want to look elsewhere.
******
Nirvatra
View: on Bookshelves |
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