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A review by emrodav
An hero at the end of the world by Erin Claiborne
2.0
I really wanted to like this book. I really did! But it just...didn't work.
First off, the premise sounds so good! Imagine if, in Deathly Hallows, it was Ron who killed Voldemort and not Harry. Imagine dealing with that sense that you've let everyone down, and also feeling jealousy because YOUR story has been derailed. It's a really interesting idea for a story.
Unfortunately, it maybe would have worked better as a Harry Potter fanfiction than a book with new characters. In A Hero at the End of the World, we're thrust into book seven of a story, but we don't have the background for the rest of the world that's come before this. It works in fanfiction because you're working off of a common story that the readers will be familiar with. But it doesn't work when you've remixed things. There's no real connection to the characters or the lives they lived before the start of this book.
It also has a negative effect on character building. The characters map a little TOO well with characters from Harry Potter. Ewan is Harry, Oliver is Ron, Archie is Draco, and Sophie is Hermione. And there isn't a whole lot going on to make them more unique or separate from the characters that they're obviously based on. (This is why Rainbow Rowell's Carry On (which has a very similar premise/inspiration) works. The characters are very different. Simon and Baz feel like their own characters.)
And on top of all that, the magic system didn't work for me either. It's way too weird and complicated. There are so many random terms thrown around, and ideas that are introduced and not explained until later. That might work if you've had other books in a series to learn about the magic system, but it doesn't work for one 300 page novel.
I feel bad saying it, but I think this book should've stayed as a fanfiction idea. It would be a really good one! But it just doesn't work as a standalone original novel.
First off, the premise sounds so good! Imagine if, in Deathly Hallows, it was Ron who killed Voldemort and not Harry. Imagine dealing with that sense that you've let everyone down, and also feeling jealousy because YOUR story has been derailed. It's a really interesting idea for a story.
Unfortunately, it maybe would have worked better as a Harry Potter fanfiction than a book with new characters. In A Hero at the End of the World, we're thrust into book seven of a story, but we don't have the background for the rest of the world that's come before this. It works in fanfiction because you're working off of a common story that the readers will be familiar with. But it doesn't work when you've remixed things. There's no real connection to the characters or the lives they lived before the start of this book.
It also has a negative effect on character building. The characters map a little TOO well with characters from Harry Potter. Ewan is Harry, Oliver is Ron, Archie is Draco, and Sophie is Hermione. And there isn't a whole lot going on to make them more unique or separate from the characters that they're obviously based on. (This is why Rainbow Rowell's Carry On (which has a very similar premise/inspiration) works. The characters are very different. Simon and Baz feel like their own characters.)
And on top of all that, the magic system didn't work for me either. It's way too weird and complicated. There are so many random terms thrown around, and ideas that are introduced and not explained until later. That might work if you've had other books in a series to learn about the magic system, but it doesn't work for one 300 page novel.
I feel bad saying it, but I think this book should've stayed as a fanfiction idea. It would be a really good one! But it just doesn't work as a standalone original novel.