Friday, October 04, 2013

A Wicked Kind Of Dark by Jonathan K Benton

Genre: YA Fantasy
Series: The Minaea Chronicles #1
Publication Date: 3rd September 2013
Pages: 276
Book Source: Publisher & DMCPR Media

Synopsis: Robert Duncan no longer believes in magic. A mysterious call about a blood moon, however, leads him back to the magical world of his childhood and to Luthien, the beautiful girl with flame-coloured hair, who he loved and lost.

As Robert unravels the secrets of his childhood, darkness enters his life and an ancient evil awakens. To have any chance of defeating the dark forces that would destroy two worlds, Robert must find Luthien before the rise of the blood moon. He must, once more, believe in magic … 

A Wicked Kind of Dark mixes vast and spectacular fantasy landscapes with gritty urban reality. A must-read for people of all ages who believe in the power of imagination, and the importance of never losing touch with your inner child.

My Thoughts: 
An imaginative debut, but unfortunately not one that worked for me. That said, there were things that I found enjoyable, so I'm torn between a 2.5 and 3 rating. 

Much of the phrasing is lovely, quite lyrical but the earlier dialogue and flow of the story felt awkward. I didn't care much at all for the characters, Robert included, however Allaria from the world of fae was a feisty and funny addition to the cast, she stole the show.  

Alternating between the real world and fantasy world of Minaea, this reminded me a little of The Bridge To Terabithia (which I loved) and the wonderful world of a child's imagination. The twin soul concept was intriguing and will obviously be explored further in future books.

I enjoyed the social issues highlighted, homelessness, isolation and the rewards reaped from helping others, the focus being a soup kitchen in London where the main characters are drawn after encounters with "the Sparkling man".

The elements are there for an enjoyable story but I just didn't connect with it on a whole, maybe it comes down to execution?? From my disjointed review, I'm guessing things are about as clear as mud so for clarity and other opinions check out GoodReads

The target audience is YA but perhaps this one is more suited to the middle grade or early teen reader? 

Connect with Jonathan K Benton
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Available to purchase
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@B&N
@Book Depository
@Odyssey









4 comments:

  1. I am with you on this one, I thought it read more like a middle grade story tweaked to try and make it fit YA,

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  2. And I do not think this one is for me

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  3. Thanks for the warning!

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