endlessmidnight's review against another edition
1.0
I just didn’t understand what this book was all about. And well, I really really tried. At first, it did manage to catch my attention. But there just wasn’t anything that I really wanted to read about here.
I barely know anything about the world or even any of the characters at all. They are mostly just really really flat, and nothing really interested me about them.
And the plot was nowhere. For lack of better word. And if I don’t care for the characters, I really won’t care for the plot at all.
Perhaps it is because I just read too much of this genre, and I expect something to be different rather than generic. Which with this always happens to be the latter rather than the former. And also happened with this book.
Well, I guess I should take a break from this genre unless I’m certain that it is bringing something different to the table. Perhaps this is for you, but it certainly isn’t for me.
I barely know anything about the world or even any of the characters at all. They are mostly just really really flat, and nothing really interested me about them.
And the plot was nowhere. For lack of better word. And if I don’t care for the characters, I really won’t care for the plot at all.
Perhaps it is because I just read too much of this genre, and I expect something to be different rather than generic. Which with this always happens to be the latter rather than the former. And also happened with this book.
Well, I guess I should take a break from this genre unless I’m certain that it is bringing something different to the table. Perhaps this is for you, but it certainly isn’t for me.
dr_ju's review against another edition
2.0
Crossbones feels like the most fun party ever I haven't been invited to.
I have read the first part of it last year, considering it some sort of a teaser and I saw a lot of potential in it. The author provided me with a copy of the book in exchange for a honest review and I was excited to discover how the magic-fae-pirate idea evolved.
I will start with the things that I liked. The beginning of the book starts in the middle of the action, with the so called opening incident. This thing told me the book has a plan behind, it follows some kind of book architecture. The chapters have a very cinematic feeling, the whole story is structured like a film script and I think it would make a rather interesting action packed film. The fighting scenes are dynamic and engaging. Considering the fact that half of the book consists of such scenes, there is no time to get bored. But...
...there are some things I didn't liked. The main downer of this book is being too short. The structure and planned events are made for a full length novel, but the actual length of it is of a novella. This is caused by the fact that each of the chapters are 1-2-3 pages long. Because of it every event feels rushed, it all ends before the reader had any chance to take a peek at characters and surroundings. There is no build up, therefore the immersion into the story is minimal. The characters are interesting, their personalities trying to burst out in the short one-page chapters, but because they are cut out so quickly they appear to be manic and lacking solid reason. Also because of being too short, the events are condensed, every piece of the puzzle falls in place too soon, everything is so obvious (making me say "oh, come on!" every 5 minutes) resulting in unbalance in favor of the "good" party, their invulnerability making it one sided.
I did enjoyed the diversity of the elements the writer used in the story, but I did not liked all the clichés of the YA genre like the mocking between main characters in the middle of some serious events, the need to introduce a romantic relation when it does not benefit to the story at all.
The editing work of the book could be better too.
In the end I do believe the idea and the author skill is up to make a great fantasy novel, it just lack the effort of planning and about 70 thousands words.
It's an "OK" type of novel, nothing more.
I have read the first part of it last year, considering it some sort of a teaser and I saw a lot of potential in it. The author provided me with a copy of the book in exchange for a honest review and I was excited to discover how the magic-fae-pirate idea evolved.
I will start with the things that I liked. The beginning of the book starts in the middle of the action, with the so called opening incident. This thing told me the book has a plan behind, it follows some kind of book architecture. The chapters have a very cinematic feeling, the whole story is structured like a film script and I think it would make a rather interesting action packed film. The fighting scenes are dynamic and engaging. Considering the fact that half of the book consists of such scenes, there is no time to get bored. But...
...there are some things I didn't liked. The main downer of this book is being too short. The structure and planned events are made for a full length novel, but the actual length of it is of a novella. This is caused by the fact that each of the chapters are 1-2-3 pages long. Because of it every event feels rushed, it all ends before the reader had any chance to take a peek at characters and surroundings. There is no build up, therefore the immersion into the story is minimal. The characters are interesting, their personalities trying to burst out in the short one-page chapters, but because they are cut out so quickly they appear to be manic and lacking solid reason. Also because of being too short, the events are condensed, every piece of the puzzle falls in place too soon, everything is so obvious (making me say "oh, come on!" every 5 minutes) resulting in unbalance in favor of the "good" party, their invulnerability making it one sided.
I did enjoyed the diversity of the elements the writer used in the story, but I did not liked all the clichés of the YA genre like the mocking between main characters in the middle of some serious events, the need to introduce a romantic relation when it does not benefit to the story at all.
The editing work of the book could be better too.
In the end I do believe the idea and the author skill is up to make a great fantasy novel, it just lack the effort of planning and about 70 thousands words.
It's an "OK" type of novel, nothing more.
chocklad's review
5.0
When you're in your journey to finish the anime ''One Piece'' and accidentally come across a book about pirates = true love Haha
I really liked it, the chapters were short and fun, there were so many different but nice povs. I was so excited to read its sequel ''Burning Rage'', but I can't find it anywhere ):
I really liked it, the chapters were short and fun, there were so many different but nice povs. I was so excited to read its sequel ''Burning Rage'', but I can't find it anywhere ):
mcb's review
4.0
This review was originally posted on Blame It On The Books
Crossbones is a fantasy serial which tells the tale of Dean and Eldric Whittaker, two pirate brothers who are somehow able to control fire and ice. In Episode One, the reader is dropped into the world of these two boys while they are right in the middle of an adventure. From page one, you are in the midst of all the action, traveling the high seas with Dean and Eldric.
I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed reading Crossbones. I mean...Pirates? Magic? What else do you need? This was a really fun, action packed adventure that kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. There was no time wasted on exposition; it was just action followed by more action, which I actually found to be very refreshing. Although it wasn’t discussed much, the world of Alarisia and the magic system of this world seemed really interesting, and I am excited to learn more.
Because this is a fantasy serial, it is quite short, so there wasn’t a ton of time for world building or character development. I am hoping that this is addressed in Episode Two, because there are still many unanswered questions and to ignore them would be unfortunate. One other thing that distracted me a little while reading was the presence of a couple typos and run-on sentences. Things like that really distract me while I am reading, but I know that it doesn’t bother some people at all.
All in all, I was really impressed with Crossbones. I was shocked that I could get that invested in a story after only 37 pages. I am really interested in learning more about this world and discovering more about Dean and Eldric’s powers. I definitely want to pick up Episode Two to see how the story progresses.
Crossbones is a fantasy serial which tells the tale of Dean and Eldric Whittaker, two pirate brothers who are somehow able to control fire and ice. In Episode One, the reader is dropped into the world of these two boys while they are right in the middle of an adventure. From page one, you are in the midst of all the action, traveling the high seas with Dean and Eldric.
I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed reading Crossbones. I mean...Pirates? Magic? What else do you need? This was a really fun, action packed adventure that kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. There was no time wasted on exposition; it was just action followed by more action, which I actually found to be very refreshing. Although it wasn’t discussed much, the world of Alarisia and the magic system of this world seemed really interesting, and I am excited to learn more.
Because this is a fantasy serial, it is quite short, so there wasn’t a ton of time for world building or character development. I am hoping that this is addressed in Episode Two, because there are still many unanswered questions and to ignore them would be unfortunate. One other thing that distracted me a little while reading was the presence of a couple typos and run-on sentences. Things like that really distract me while I am reading, but I know that it doesn’t bother some people at all.
All in all, I was really impressed with Crossbones. I was shocked that I could get that invested in a story after only 37 pages. I am really interested in learning more about this world and discovering more about Dean and Eldric’s powers. I definitely want to pick up Episode Two to see how the story progresses.
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