Chimera, how was Levin Thumps? I keep getting tempted to pick it up, since I want to help LDS writers who are writing stuff I'll actually LIKE.
Leven Thumps was okay. The story wasn't bad, had some original elements to it, and was entertaining enough to keep me reading.
However, I wouldn't call it good either. I would not recommend it to people if I wanted to give them an idea of excellent YA fantasy. It was a little too cliche--I got all sorts of Harry Potter wannabe vibes. Not that no one will ever be able to use the archetypal elements that are in Harry Potter, such as an unwanted orphan who turns out to be the only one who can save the world, but because of Harry Potter it has to be done in a NEW and UNIQUE way. And Leven Thumps didn't quite make it to this distinction.
Also, the writing style drove me crazy at times. I had two major complaints. The first was that the narrator would give us some plot element in narrative and then, like two chapters later, give us the same plot element in almost the same exact words. Which made me, as the reader, want to ask: Do you think I'm stupid? Do you think I can't remember something you told me a chapter ago? I'm not sure if this was just a poor writing choice, or if the author was under the mistaken impression that because he was writing for kids he had to repeat things or else they would forget and not "get it." The latter is a stupid attitude. Kids are perceptive and smart readers. And no reader, of any age, likes to be treated like an imbecile.
The second thing was a more minor editing choice that just drove me up the wall. I literally wanted to throw the book across the room at some points, but once I start a book I get a little OCD and as long as it has some merit I feel compelled to finish it (if nothing else, I learn what not to do). This irritating choice was that whenever the villian spoke--and I mean
every stinking time there was dialogue--his personal pronouns were italicized. I.e. "
I was wrong.
I see now that the path
I was on is futile" or "Show it to
me." Perhaps the author was trying to emphasize what an egomaniac the villian is. Nevertheless, italics should be used sparingly. Someone should have told the author, whoever Obert Skye really is, that this editing choice had the potential to irritate his readers and lead them to desire to harm inanimate objects.
But it wasn't a terrible book. It just wasn't a
good book. And with some different editing choices, it could have been better. The action scenes, like when Leven and Winter are fighting a mud monster, are quite good. And a lot of the magic events are fun--almost enough to get over the tired cliches. But the narrator just did not work for me, and the villian needs to stop italicizing his personal pronouns. But perhaps that was his evil plot--to drive readers insane.
Oh, and I just remembered that there were some plot holes that made me shake my head. I don't want to put any spoilers here, so I will refrain. But even magic has to have logic within the magic system created, and sometimes this did not occur.
I really wanted to like this book, partly because it is a smaller press's attempt to get into the big time. Unfortunately, Leven Thumps feels like a rough draft with potential that wasn't fixed enough to go to print. It does not equal the best YA fantasy being published currently.
