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booklored - Amethyst 1. Inception

Title: Amethyst 1. Inception
Chapters read: 11
Score: 8.5/10

INTRODUCTION:
Amethyst. Inception throws us into a world full of intertwined chaos, viewed through the perspective of a bastard prince whose powers are either despised or coveted. It's truly a unique story, complete with a world of its own and an interesting set of well-developed characters.

What I LIKED about your book:
I like how you developed Obscura. The fictional world contains elements from both sci-fi and fantasy, highlighting the use of magic and the presence of mythical beings and beasts all while retaining the background of a world with sophisticated technology. A really interesting combination I should say as I've noticed that despite the world's sophistication is that it still retains more medieval traditions such as monarchies and, suggested by Zeke himself as one full of tradition only, the use of horses.

What interested me also is that you managed to reveal the world in snippets and in the backdrops of conversations or thoughts, instead of dumping a whole paragraph of information, which I have encountered many times before. The slow and introspective exploration of the world really gave it a feeling of authenticity.

Moving on, the characters are well-developed; Zeke's and Meredith's characters are my personal favorites. I can see that you've explored Zeke quite well through flashbacks or through his narration of the story. I can't help but admire his character as one that endured so much, given that his status gives him a rather sour reputation in the court, worsened by his spontaneous bouts of power that resulted in the death of his half-brother. You've portrayed these struggles realistically as the abuse of his stepfather Geoffrey, and his estrangement to his aunt Lissette had a clear effect on his later personality.

Meredith was also interesting to me. You really drew me into her at the events of the Arnniva, when you made us realize that she's more than the tough and stereotypical character that you've introduced to us. Rather, we get wind that there's much more depth into her personality.

The plot itself never failed to entertain me as there was action in every corner. Each chapter helped introduce more and more elements into the elements which gave us more information and development not only about the plot but also for the characters and the setting itself. It was also unique in its own sense. Though comparable to other fantasies as it had some elements most fantasy stories have, you've twisted the story into its own direction and gave it the right to be differentiated from other fantasies.

The writing style is also suitable for the story. It's very descriptive, often describing scenes and the characters with precision. It's also something that I say is a mix of informative and formal, narrating most of the details with a balanced amount of color and information that gives the story a rather smooth consistency.

What I DIDN'T LIKE about your book:
One thing that clearly steered my interest away is the story's confusing premise as it not only introduced loads of characters but also darted from flashback to present without proper transitions. The introduction of characters had me misnaming a few for a while and messing up their relations with each other. The book's focus on the time period had an effect on the flow of the story, as it made it hard for us to root in place and familiarize ourselves with the setting, the characters, and the plot itself. As it darts from time to time, it made me confused if all was happening in the same time period or not.

CONCLUSION:
It's a very enjoyable read and the fact that it has 2 sequels already really attracted me. Personally, I'm one to get attached to characters too easily so I prefer longer stories to read in order to get more screen time for these.

Anyways, the book's concept itself was very interesting to me. Had it not for this review, I would've been still reading by now.

Obviously, it's definitely staying in my library.