Review of Blockhead

[Miguel Wilson]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Blockhead" by Kyle J.S. Bardell.]

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3 out of 5 stars

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Blockhead by author Kyle J.S. Bardell is a fantasy/Sci-Fi novel that focuses on young woman named Bronco, who was raised on a mechanized horse ranch. Bronco lives without knowledge as to what goes on beyond the borders of her ranch in the outside world. And when she receives visitors that tell her of her heritage and of the capital city, Bronco feels inclined to go on a journey of self-discovery. She meets a boy by the name Wolfrum who fulfills the role of a guide to the Capital city where she hopes to find a life more befitting than the one experienced on her small ranch provided by her parents Jericho and especially Rue, with whom she does not get along.
Of the things I did not like about this book are, I was not able to strongly visualize the characters and their surroundings, which left me feeling detached from their world. I was not able to ground myself properly in their reality, as even the plot seemed obscure, which I found myself searching for at times.
However, what I did like about the book is its overall story structure. The book is divided into four parts: “Bronco Ranch,” “Ultreu,” “City of Light,” and “Prestina.” I liked the fact that I was able to easily follow Bronco’s journey with these reference points. Also, although the story had pacing issues in the earlier chapters, it did improve later as the story took an insidious turn which I really enjoyed.
Much of this book, well past the first half, leaves much to be desired. The plot is indefinable at times, the pacing drags, and the characters did not come to life. The latter chapters, however, display much intrigue and you could tell the writer was in his element at this point. I wanted more of this, but I did not get it. Therefore, I cannot give this book a rating of more than 3 out of 5 stars.
I believe it suitable for audiences 18 years and above due to the small doses of adult language and gore. I would especially recommend this book to lovers of fantasy and sci-fi. This book was not professionally edited, as I found six grammatical, punctuation and spelling errors.

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Blockhead
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