Location: United States
Member Since: Jan. 28, 2014

Mati

Smashwords book reviews by Mati

  • Jesika's Angel on Feb. 02, 2014

    Jesika's Angel is a novel that explores a different sort of future: one where much of our technological advances have been stripped away, life has been taken backwards to a more minimalist existence, and knowledge of history is almost nonexistent. On a world isolated from the rest of the galaxy, we find Jesika and her family. Living on the Fringe, they live a simple life, at least until Toby saves Janna and Jesika from would be bandits. There is still something interesting about this novel that made it worth the time. The world-building is intricate and the characters are intriguing, something that is lacking in many novels today. When I first started reading this book, I admit it was a little slow for my tastes. There was a lot of time spent on the emphasis of how far into the 'future' this story was, and how much had been forgotten over time. It feels a little wordy at times, and the prose felt like it could be touched up a little. Sometimes there were moments where the phrase 'show, don't tell' comes to mind. There are also some times where formatting was a little awkward. When Janna reads the story to the school students, the asides can be distracting. Sometimes the story arcs outside of the Fringe to show us other things that are happening in the city and elsewhere, but the timing and placement almost seem random at times. Most of these little problems are something that a context editor could have perhaps helped with. The transitions and story itself wasn't bad, but there is still room for polishing. I do like the way documents appear at the beginning of each chapter. It creates a further sense of history and helps shape the world. The actual message in the book is nice as well. Toby's transformation to Angel helps carry the story, although I wish there was a little more action early on to help carry the beginning. In the slower points it is possible to loose a reader, and you have to rely on their interest in what's already presented to keep them going. Overall, it was a nice read, and I enjoyed getting the chance to look at it.