Eileen was kind enough to let me have a peek into one of her books, and now that my laptop is working again, I thought I would share.
I have to be honest right from the start – it does deal with some adult themes, and those themes are strongly adult. They are dealt with well, and with sensitivity, but it is strong meat. It wasn’t gratuitous, it was something that drove the plot, and while I blush at naughty bits, this was part of a strong plot, so I’m good with that.
It is a fantasy story, with strands of magic, politics and the ways that human nature can react darkly to unknown forces. I think the plot was well thought out, and I loved the the sense of place. Eileen wrote that the terrain in the book is strongly based on the landscapes known to her, and there is a wonderful depth to the descriptions. Something that I particularly liked was the sense of the world around the story, that other lives went on around the characters and would continue. The world is ongoing and evolving around the characters and is more than a reflection of them or their stage.
To be honest, I never really got into the characters, and I don’t know why. They were well described, and they were certainly not two dimensional. I think I ought to dip into more of Eileen Troemel’s works to see what happens, although I believe a lot of it is adult, and I blush too easily.
It is not a bad book, and there is the preview function on Amazon so you can get a taste of the tone of the book and its rhythm, so I suggest you use the ‘Look Inside’ tab and see what you think.
My personal view is that I am not likely to re-read it, but I don’t regret reading it, and I may well pick up other books by Eileen Troemel in the future. I think it is not quite my usual stamping ground or personal taste, so that has influenced me a little. I certainly wouldn’t reject it.
