A review by verkisto
Balance Point by Kathy Tyers
2.0
The problem with these lengthy series is that some volumes in the series have to be strictly exposition to set up future books. I'm used to seeing that in graphic novel series, but since few book series run that long (save for, say, Discworld or James Bond, but those don't really have an overarching story like these do), I don't see them often in narrative book form. It's one thing to read a graphic novel that's mostly exposition, since they only take a couple of hours to read; novels, though, take far longer, and it's hard to shed the feeling that nothing's happening.
It's not Tyers' fault that she drew the short straw in this series, but boy howdy, was this book boring. What she sets up has the potential to be worth it, but having to get through it all was a chore. It didn't help that I struggled with some of her turns of phrase, or the setting of her scenes (there were a handful of times I got lost going from one sentence to another because of the way she seemed to shift characters at the wrong time), but the biggest frustration had to be Jacen. What Tyers is trying to do here is admirable -- showing someone struggling with the responsibility that comes with using the Force -- but she presented Jacen in the worst way. He was an insufferable teen, facing down the extinction of an entire race, and refusing to use his strengths to help ANYone. It was enough to make anyone want to shake and slap him into doing something useful.
I gave it two stars because the book wasn't bad, but it could have been so much more.
It's not Tyers' fault that she drew the short straw in this series, but boy howdy, was this book boring. What she sets up has the potential to be worth it, but having to get through it all was a chore. It didn't help that I struggled with some of her turns of phrase, or the setting of her scenes (there were a handful of times I got lost going from one sentence to another because of the way she seemed to shift characters at the wrong time), but the biggest frustration had to be Jacen. What Tyers is trying to do here is admirable -- showing someone struggling with the responsibility that comes with using the Force -- but she presented Jacen in the worst way. He was an insufferable teen, facing down the extinction of an entire race, and refusing to use his strengths to help ANYone. It was enough to make anyone want to shake and slap him into doing something useful.
I gave it two stars because the book wasn't bad, but it could have been so much more.