A review by octavia_cade
Shadow Blizzard, by Alexey Pehov
3.0
Of the three books in the Chronicles of Siala series, this is my favourite. As a series, it got better as it went on, I think. And this book in particular has a really very well done section when Harold is in Hrad Spein searching for the Rainbow Horn - it was eerie and creepy and really fascinating to read.
That being said, most of the characters continue as cardboard cut-outs, and the appearance of the Dryads is something of a deus ex machina, where they conveniently pop out of nowhere to save the heroes. (Have they even been mentioned in the many hundreds of pages of the series, up until that point? I don't remember, but they came across as awfully convenient...) And I grant that the Horn is powerful, but it does seem to wrap stuff up awful quick. Three books about finding the thing and getting it back to Avendoom, then what... 30, 40 pages or so and everything's all over - including the twist?
I read this series because my Dad recommended it - he thought it was just great. It doesn't do as much for me as it did for him - I found it relatively generic as epic fantasies go, with the high point of Hrad Spein not compensating enough for the rest of the series. Still, it's competently executed epic fantasy, if not exactly ground-breaking.
That being said, most of the characters continue as cardboard cut-outs, and the appearance of the Dryads is something of a deus ex machina, where they conveniently pop out of nowhere to save the heroes. (Have they even been mentioned in the many hundreds of pages of the series, up until that point? I don't remember, but they came across as awfully convenient...) And I grant that the Horn is powerful, but it does seem to wrap stuff up awful quick. Three books about finding the thing and getting it back to Avendoom, then what... 30, 40 pages or so and everything's all over - including the twist?
I read this series because my Dad recommended it - he thought it was just great. It doesn't do as much for me as it did for him - I found it relatively generic as epic fantasies go, with the high point of Hrad Spein not compensating enough for the rest of the series. Still, it's competently executed epic fantasy, if not exactly ground-breaking.