Book tour: The Written – Ben Galley

The Written by Ben Galley
Published by BenGalley.com on January 1st 2011
Pages: 418
Goodreads

A spellbook has gone missing from the libraries of Arfell – a very old and extremely powerful spellbook from the time of dark elves and demons. Five scholars are dead, the magick council is running out of time and options, and the Arka is once again on the brink of war with the Siren dragon-riders.

It falls to Farden the Written mage to keep the world from falling into chaos. Entangled in a web of lies and politics, Farden must recover the spellbook before an ancient enemy rises, even if it takes journeying halfway across icy Emaneska and back.

In his fight for answers, Farden will unearth a secret that not only shakes the foundations of his world, but threaten the entire future of Emaneska. Sorcery, death, drugs and the deepest of betrayals await.

Welcome to Emaneska.

Dave of TheWriteReads threw out another call for his next Ultimate Book Tour. This time the honour goes to fantasy author Ben Galley. We could pick from four of Ben’s books and I picked The Written, Ben’s debut. Thanks, Dave and Ben, for giving us the opportunity to pick and read these books!

This won’t be a full review but a first impression of the book.

I’ll be honest (as a reviewer always should be), I’ve only read the first three chapters so far. Life happened, my own book is at a critical stage, and there was a birthday (my 31st) that needed a celebration after skipping a year. I also had a hard time getting into the story.

After three chapters, the real story hasn’t started yet. The main character, Farden, just found out a dangerous book has been stolen and tells his mentor, a vampyre called Durnus, about it. They decide on a plan of action and Farden, a battle mage, sets out on the quest.

Ben does a great job at sketching the world with elaborate descriptions. I’ve heard people saying they don’t like it, but I don’t mind. I’m used to fantasy books with a ton of description. What bugged me the most were the inconsistencies. They’re small, like so tiny you probably won’t notice if you’re just reading for fun. But they’re big enough that they break my suspension of disbelief as a reviewer. My reading flow is interrupted and a big “What?!” appears in a text balloon above my head. Then I have to work extra hard to get back into the story.

I do want to give the book a chance and keep reading later. The world is interesting and I know there will be more exciting battles ahead. Recommended for fantasy fans.