Review: Dark Tidings
My rating: [rating=3]
Summary:
What happens when ancient magic meets the internet? One thing is certain, modern life will never be the same again.
A thousand years ago, a young thief, Tung, and a disgraced wizard, Madrick, are thrust together in an executioner’s dungeon.
In the darkness, Madrick reveals an incredible secret about a legendary spell. The great spell helps them escape their prison cell… and eventually their century.
Catapulted into the present day, their lives collide with Michael, a computer hacker who plans to destroy the world’s largest bank. But sinister people are tracking their every move and they will stop at nothing to steal their spell.
Review:
(Book provided by the author through ARR #421 in the Making Connections group, in exchange for an honest review.)
The premise of this book made it look like the kind of story I could enjoy—magic and technology mixed with a hefty dose of humour—and enjoy it I did. Granted, I thought the two storylines would converge much sooner; instead, they do after a while only, and at first I wondered when that would be. However, when the author brings them together, it all makes up for it. Besides, Tung’s and Madrick’s antics in their own era provided for very fun moments, that made me laugh a lot; not to mention I have a soft spot for such characters with a definite ‘loser’ streak, yet are able to get through their problems in the end.
The overall plot flew nicely and fast enough, with magic of old intertwined with conspiracy theories and modern means of action. The ending, while a cliffhanger and reminding me that there is a sequel, was of the kind I’d find brilliant—from the moment the characters made their decision, it spelled (pun intended) something grand and terrible in the making.
There were two things that bothered me in this novel, though. The first was the style itself, that I found at times a little too dry and descriptive, thus keeping the characters at a distance from the reader, so to speak; there were plenty of inserts such as “little they did they know at the time that…”, and while those were, in a way, in line with more traditional “tales formatting”, I’m just too keen about that. Also, I’d have liked to see more of Tung’s and Madrick’s reactions to the modern worled (the way things went, they just seemed to adapt much too quickly, in spite of a couple encounters and mishaps, and I think this removed some potential for more funny situations and interactions).
Still, I’ll probably pick the second installment along the way, as I want to know more about what the three heroes left behind.