D.M.Barnham

SPSFC3 First Phase Mini Reviews
Riders on the Storm
by Eric Summers

Important note, I’m rating these based on a ~20% read rate – thus the mini review headline- um, these are by no means complete reviews and only reflect the beginning of the stories.   

My Vote:

No.

Though I ultimately voted no on this one and there were some personally annoying aspects about it, I want the author to know I’m still keen to keep reading it.

Note on Votes: A Yes/No vote is just my own. The other judges in the team might vote differently. Undecided usually means I think it has potential but I still have others to read before ranking them by personal preference.

Summary:

At ~20% Read. Essentially Riders on the Storms is Star Wars but set on one world. There are magical seemingly all-powerful beings with force-like powers. Adventurers exploring the world for lost technology, and those stuck in the middle with the all-powerful Sith-like “Host” running things. Evil is absolute in Riders and those with absolute power tend to cruelly put it on full display at the most minor of infractions.

Pyk, our protagonist was traumatised by the Host in his youth and the story begins when by pure chance he is thrust from his ordinary mundane life as a fisherman into the very centre of the Hosts’ desires where he and his friends are chased across the world.

Overall impression & Criticisms:

It’s been a mixed-up ride where I kept switching between loving it and hating it.

I despaired at the first page … I had to google the meaning of two words. I can live with that if it’s scattered throughout the novel, but the first page? That’s a real red flag in my book. I call books littered with English words that nobody uses and/or knows the meaning of as “Philospher Stone” books, because they remind me of reading the first Harry Potter book – I’m always weary when I come across this and tend to want to run away.

This poor start affected me. I became the hesitant kid sneaking looks around the corner to try and glimpse the monster about to ambush me. I was on high alert and walking into the prologue with a negative frame of mind.

So when chapter one came around I put my phone down and went off and did other things. I knew I had built a bias and this wasn’t fair. Come that night I crawled up into bed and tried again, now refreshed and hopefully with dumped baggage … and the change in atmosphere was instant. My hesitation swept away and within no time I found the first chapter behind me and wanting to eagerly to continue on.

The writing style is highly enjoyable. I found it over the top in the prologue. The descriptions for every detail were unrelenting and I was soon drained of all hope and needing to come up for air (contrary to popular belief I’ve always believed a good book is a mix of show and tell and there can definitely be too much showing – looking at you Neal Stephenson) – Anyways, back to business. Chapter one toned it right down to comfortable levels and soon I was immersed in some of the most interesting worldbuilding and highly likable characters, including a giant crab creature that can talk! – and the pictures that accompany the story! … they’re just wonderful … did the author draw them? (gotta look that up). It’s worth checking this book out just for the sheer love that clearly went into it.

But with the praise and excitement from the beginning chapter I then went onto the following chapters and found myself once again on the back foot. The first chapter was a resounding cheer of “I love this!” but that faded with the following chapters and I was left wondering what on earth happened … But like a pendulum, when Chapter 6 arrived I returned to loving it again … then the following chapter I was groaning. At this stage I put my finger on what was causing this sea-saw of love and despair.

The parts I wasn’t enjoying were moments of action. And the ones I loved were moments of world-building and the characters interacting in a non-action fashion (mostly).

All the action scenes have this distinct “I need to entertain my readers” feeling. They feel forced into the story to make it exciting and as such they are filled with irritating human errors and whooping plot holes. I find them utterly tedious and frustrating. I know some readers are fine with these things and if you love an action romp then I’m sure you’ll love this, but I’m not one of them. I need my stories to follow a certain level of rational execution. Even irrational characters are still subject to a world of logic. (unless that’s the whole joke).

[SPOLIERS]

Frustrating action scenes example – When our hero Pyk is introduced to the mysterious Cassidy I’m left very confused as to the reason behind any of her or the others’ behaviours. She knowingly led the most evil and powerful villains in existence straight to her ”buyer” and was going to bolt the instant she could, leaving them to deal with that said enemy. Just the insanity of it. And it doesn’t end there. They are forced to flee to a flying ship which possesses its own set of problems.

I had so many troubling questions. Were the evil “Host” chasing her? If so then why hadn’t any of them secured her unguarded ship? And if the Host weren’t chasing her, but just happened to be in the same place how come they never noticed her ship (there aren’t many of them around and I’m sure it would’ve stuck out like the certain anatomy of a male dog).

If they hadn’t noticed that either then why didn’t Cassidy hide and wait until it was clear … for that matter, what mad person would anchor a sky ship in a bay of primitive boats?

Later on, after they escape the Host in the skyship they find themselves in the wilderness needing to refuel. This is when a would-be tribal assassin guy collides into the back of Pyk, our hero sitting on top of a cliff … they collide so hard he knocks both of them off the edge … where they continue to struggle as they fall to the ocean below. The description of their landing also left me thinking the other guy died. But then he seemed to appear amongst the other attackers (who appear on the beach after splashdown) at the end of the fight. This all left me confused, that scene definitely could’ve used some work. The whole sequence made no sense even when I re-read it. Obviously the antagonist survived the cliff fall and joined the beach fight but the way it was written didn’t make anything clear, I just thought it was others fighting because, well, their mate died from the fall and they were enraged. The initial attack made no sense in itself, If that attacker had meant to kill Pyk he could’ve stabbed him in the back without Pyk even knowing until it was too late. And if he wanted to capture him, well, surely both of them falling off a cliff into waters unknown below was far riskier than, idk, incapacitating from behind.

[END SPOILERS]

This book is clearly written with onscreen aesthetics in mind (which I have no issues with btw, lots of authors do that). The action scenes I’m reading are things that would look good on a screen, but in focusing on flashy imagery the author keeps creating plot holes that I personally find very unappealing. It’s action for action’s sake.

The beginning action scene feels like it’s simply there to thrust our protag’s story forward. And because of that the whole sequence just annoyed me to no end. There’s just too much plot convenience for my liking. I can live with that occurring if it was just a once-off to lift the story off the ground. Sometimes it’s hard to make everything perfectly logical. But the way the first 20% reads I have a terrible suspicion this is how it is. For potential readers. If you don’t mind that, if you’re into the wild Hollywood action that is fun so long as you don’t look too closely then I reckon you’d love this. But if you’re more like me then you might be weary. Again I feel the worldbuilding is epic enough to entice some of us ‘logic purists’ but I’ll leave that up to you to decide.

After hitting around the 20% mark I’m also starting to get a feel for the characters and story. Overall I think the world and the concept are quite intriguing. It is its own, unique world and I’m fascinated by it. I really want to know what’s going on and where our adventurers end up. I want to explore more of the world and see more of its strangeness.

But I don’t like the execution of the action and I get a feeling it’s going to be endlessly and exhaustingly action-packed.