Official Review: The Memoirs of Elikai by D. Alexander

[unamilagra]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Memoirs of Elikai" by D. Alexander.]

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2 out of 4 stars

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For as long as he can remember, Danny Elikai has battled the darkness. His dreams have been haunted, causing him to deal with depression and doubt that he is destined to make it to the Realm of Light. When his parents and brother are killed in a car accident one summer, leaving him as the lone survivor, it becomes even more difficult for him to want to continue living. Then he moves to Grenoff, Wisconsin to live with his aunt and uncle, where he meets many people who make him feel like he might belong somewhere after all.

But a great war is coming that will determine the future of all of Creation. Phantonix, the Emperor of Destiny, is rising to challenge the King of Light and his philosophy of Free Will. And it appears that Danny is somehow right in the middle of it. He can heal himself and others and see into people’s hearts. He keeps having visions and vivid dreams of his dead brother and the realms of Light and Darkness. As Phantonix’s Crusaders begin to attack him and his loved ones, Danny will have to discover his role in the coming battle and rise to meet his responsibilities. The fate of Creation depends on it.

The Memoirs of Elikai: The Children of the Solstice by D. Alexander is the first in a trilogy. This young adult fantasy novel deals with the themes of good versus evil and free will versus destiny. The story has some parallels to the Christian ideas of Heaven and Hell, but I would not consider this Christian literature, and it can be enjoyed by people of any religion. The characters are mainly teenagers, and they struggle with many relatable feelings for this age group: inadequacy, loneliness, and fear of failure.

My favorite part of this book was the cleverly constructed plotline. The story was fast-paced and full of action. As Danny was meeting new people and learning about the coming war between Light and Darkness, there were so many little occurrences and clues sprinkled throughout the text that I didn’t realize the significance of until they came together at the end. I can tell the author put so much thought into the details of the story. The worldbuilding was also fantastic. Descriptions of Danny’s physical surroundings and his visions of the realms of Darkness and Light really conjured up beauty, horror, joy, and suffering.

Unfortunately, there were some issues with the writing style that dragged the book down. For one thing, I was often confused about what was going on. I felt like the author withheld too many details for big reveals later in the book. On one hand, it was appropriate because Danny also spent most of the book in the dark about what was going on, but it made the first half of the book difficult to slog through. There were also several confusing point of view changes. The book was mostly told from the first-person point of view of Danny, but there were times when the narration switched to another character. These changes were not announced and were also from the first-person perspective. I found myself having to read for a while to find out whose point of view I was getting and then having to reread the sections for clarity.

The other main complaint I had with the book is that the writing style lacked a certain sophistication. The book was filled with repetitive phrases and what felt like a continuous recitation of the characters’ emotions. Danny was constantly seeing and feeling others’ emotions in their eyes and faces. These issues were very distracting and interrupted the flow of the action. The book also contained several typographical errors that led me to believe the book wasn’t professionally edited.

Overall, I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars. I think the premise is creative and the book has a lot of promise. I would encourage the author to enlist the help of a professional editor to get the errors corrected and some of the writing polished up. Since this is a young adult novel, teens may not be as bothered by the writing style as I was, and I would recommend the book to lovers of young adult action stories. I will caution that the violence in this book is much more graphic than I would expect from a young adult book, so readers should be cognizant of that.

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The Memoirs of Elikai
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[Splendour0606]

This book would have been perfect if not for the errors. I admire Danny's gift, and I hope he plays his role in the upcoming war.You have a great review but I think I will skip this one because of the errors.Thanks.

[Frannie Annie]

This sounds like it would be up my alley but the writing style is critical to me so if it's not polished I won't enjoy it. Thanks for the review

[Juliet+1]

I love a good fantasy story and sometimes read YA books, but a writing style that is too simple or basic is a deal breaker. Thanks for a very insightful review.

[unamilagra]

This book would have been perfect if not for the errors. I admire Danny's gift, and I hope he plays his role in the upcoming war.You have a great review but I think I will skip this one because of the errors.Thanks.

I understand, there are just a few tweaks needed for this to be a great book. Thanks for commenting!

This sounds like it would be up my alley but the writing style is critical to me so if it's not polished I won't enjoy it. Thanks for the review

I understand what you mean. Thanks for your comment!

I love a good fantasy story and sometimes read YA books, but a writing style that is too simple or basic is a deal breaker. Thanks for a very insightful review.

I agree. Thanks for stopping by!

[Tomah]

I've had my fair share of books with confusing storytelling recently, so even though fantasy is one of my favorite genres, I'll likely skip this one. Thanks for the review!

[Adanna Inya]

This book will sure leave me confused. I'll pass. Thanks for a thorough review though.

[Prisallen]

It seems as if this book has a good plot, but it needs some work to get to where it should be. I hope the author takes your suggestion and gets it professionally edited. Great review!

[cj_mcrich]

I hope the author will get some professional help for this book because it seems interesting.

Thanks for the review!

[hasincla]

This seems like a bit of a confusing read, and considering there's not a huge payoff (great characters, fantastic writing) I think I'll skip this one. Thank you for your honest review!

[Maria Esposito]

Poor writing style can really drag the reading process down. I share your hopes that the author will engage a professional editor to improve that. Excellent review!

[booksandmagicshop]

I definitely understand your confusion and lack of interest. When an author drags things out too long, it always gets me frustrated. I'll have to pass on this one, but thank you for the review!

[inaramid]

Glad to know that the religious theme doesn't overpower the fantasy elements, but too bad about the writing/editing issues. The cover looks amazing though. Thanks for a well-thought-out review!

[sirbobthewise]

Oooh, but the cover is so pretty! But sadly, it sounds like even the pretty cover couldn’t save it from poor editing. I like to hear that the author introduced the Christian themes in a way that could be accessible to people from many different religions, and I liked your comment that the “worldbuilding was... fantastic.” I think that’s so important in a fantasy novel. So yeah, as many other people have commented, I do really hope that the author takes advantage of the fact that they have a great premise and plot here and has a professional look through it to even out some of the problems. Great review!

[Tonika632]

I was thinking of reading this book, but I honestly don't like kind of writing where I struggle to understand the storyline. I may give it a try eventually.