A review by nebraskanwriter
Rook by Sharon Cameron

adventurous dark medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

 My biggest problem was trying to figure out the time period. It was as though the Dark Ages met the French Revolution. And as I read the Author’s Note in the back, it seems that the author did just that. She tells us that she’s fascinated in the possibility of the earth’s poles changing, the Dark Ages and the French Revolution so she decided to combine them all into one book. 
 
And it just doesn’t work. 
 
It’s just that she never explains to us how the “Great Death” happened. I believe one of the characters explains it in a few sentences but other then that, it is never mentioned the entire book. It was explained that this “Great Death “ happened 800 years ago and that now technology is banned. How did no one try to revolutionize France before? 800 years is a super long time to have things stay the same. How have things been the same for so long? 
 
This is supposed to take place 800 years in the future, the women still wear bodices, there’s no form of transportation other than horses, people still have arranged marriages. It was as though she took the French Revolution into another dimension, where things have different names and the language is different but pretty much everything else is the same. 
 
So many questions, so little answers. 
 
The reason for not using technology is never explained either, the basis is the rich stay rich and the poor stay poor. Save for the Red Rook, who acts as Robin Hood in a sense, freeing the poor from the prison’s of the crazed LeBlanc. 
 
Sophia’s story was entertaining, as was Rene’s. But their fiery banter and the action packed fighting scenes were not enough to save the story from dragging in many places. The book could have been much shorter, as other reviewers pointed out. 
 
Rook has an interesting concept but I think the author combined too many things into one and without properly explaining it to the reader, I was left in the dark. 
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