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Monday, July 19, 2010

CSFF Blog Tour: Starlighter Day One

Ain't technology grand? As of right now, I'm actually in New Orleans for the LCMS National Youth Gathering. But there's no way I'd miss a Blog Tour, even if I am physically separated from my computer by about half a continent. So I'm actually writing these posts about a week early and leaving it up to the little gnomes that maintain my blog while I'm away to see to it that they get posted at the proper time.

Wait, your blog doesn't have little gnomes? I'd better call in an exterminator.

Ahem. Well, that's really neither here nor there. This month, we're taking a look at Bryan Davis's latest offering, Starlighter, the first in the Dragons of Starlight series (which, in the interests of full disclosure, I received for free for review purposes from the publisher).


Two young people aren't sure if they should believe the legends. Jason Masters, a young warrior-in-training, has heard stories of dragons that kidnap people to slave away on their distant planet. Koren is a young slave girl on said dragon planet who has heard the rumors of where human beings originally came from. But both find themselves on an adventure. Jason learns the truth when he becomes the bodyguard for the local governor. Koren stumbles on her true history thanks to an incredible gift she's been given. They will soon find themselves working toward the same goal: saving the humans of Starlight from their dragon overlords.

Truth be told, I'm not quite sure what to make of this book. I enjoyed it while I was reading it for the most part. But it wasn't like the book sunk its hooks into me. And really, it didn't leave much of an impression once I was done. With some books (especially books in a series), finishing one book leaves me hungry for the next one. In this case, once I was done, I set the book aside and thought, "Huh. Okay read, but I'm fine." So to me, the story was a bit . . . well, forgettable. That's unfortunate, because I know that Davis can produce gripping stories that keep the reader on edge.

Davis's characters were fun, that's for sure. I liked Koren's dramatic streak and Jason's nobility. Tibber the Fibber made me chuckle on more than one occasion. And I especially liked Elyssa.

Maybe the problem is that I'm not the target audience. I mean, it's been a long since anyone considered me a teenager. I don't know. I probably won't be seeking out the future installments of this series but that doesn't mean that you shouldn't check it out. If you like a twisted adventure.

Go and see what the other tourists are saying (and just as a note, since I wrote this entry before I got the "official list" of participants, this is actually the list from last month's tour. I make no guarantees about the contents; some people may have joined. Others may have opted out):

Brandon Barr
Keanan Brand
Grace Bridges
Beckie Burnham
Valerie Comer
R. L. Copple
Amy Cruson
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Andrea Graham
Tori Greene
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Jason Joyner
Julie
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Dawn King
Leighton
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Donita K. Paul
Crista Richey
Chawna Schroeder
Rachel Starr Thomson
Steve Trower
Fred Warren
Phyllis Wheeler
KM Wilsher

4 comments:

Astral Pen said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Bryan Davis said...

John,

Thank you for participating in this blog tour. I feel so blessed to be getting such support!

Bryan Davis

Fantasythyme said...

John, I've always enjoy your book tour reviews. You manage to pick up on aspects not readily apparent to everyone.

Timothy

Fred Warren said...

Gnomes? Brilliant!

I get the occasional troll, but they create more problems than they solve.

Have a great time in New Orleans!

Fred