Name: A Chance Beginning
Author: Christopher Patterson
Published: May 2, 2014 by CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Purchased: Received free from the author in exchange for an honest review, $2.99 on Kindle.
☆☆☆☆☆/5
“I was there.” The first sentence of the book. The scene isn’t really described by the author but in my mind, after reading that sentence, I instantly saw a man in a tavern sitting at a table in the darkest area, glaring at his drink as he tells his tale to others around him. I tried to imagine something else, a grandfather telling his grandchildren, a camper telling his story around a fire but the tavern scene would not go away. I got chills.
The story actually has quite a few POV changes but instead of annoying me, it felt like it would change right before it would get boring. The action in this story is few and far between, it’s mostly talking, going on journeys and a few backstories but I actually really loved this book.
There’s actually a bit of…I wouldn’t say religious debate but, this book could be a little more relatable in that there is discussion between people about there being a Creator and there not being one. It isn’t the main focus so I wouldn’t expect to see this book in a religious bookstore but it does get the reader thinking.
The writing style actually reminds me of the Firekeeper series by Jane Lindskold, a series that I love and will be re-reading soon, which is almost the same thing. Little action, mostly talk and journey’s but it’s written in a way that just sucks the readers in.
I will say this, the characters did seem a little one-sided. I loved a few, felt indifferent about a few, wanted to slap others. Why one-sided? Because the characters didn’t really seem to change. I didn’t feel any growth. Why am I not taking away a star? Because even though they seemed one-sided, there were different characters that invoked different emotions.
There were quite a few little surprises here and there, I held my hand to my mouth and gasped quite a few times.
The characters didn’t really have detailed descriptions, hair and scruff, broad shoulders, tattoos if they had them, eyes for some. Even though there weren’t really detailed descriptions, I could see the people in my head.
I would recommend this to those who are looking for adventure, a new world filled with strange creatures and many interesting characters.
Thank you for reading my review.
-Sam
Fiction - A Separate World 