This section will spotlight a particular series that I have read (and liked) and wish to recommend. Today the Spotlight Falls on:
The Chronicles of Elantra – Michelle Sagara
I recommend these to you because these books are awesome. Now why they’re so awesome will require more than one sentence so let’s break it down.
The characters are all vibrantly hued – complex and traverse off the pages and into your mind with an ease that will make you sit back and wonder. The relationships are complicated enough that they cannot be summed up in a book but are rather constantly evolving. Kaylin, the protagonist is likable and her actions are understandable. The side characters – the Hawks, the Dragons, the Elves – the narrative is rich in history and detail and this imbues the entire book with a superiority that sets it apart from the rest.
The plot is gripping. Honestly, the series is one where you read the first book and immediately die for the next one. While there are no major cliff hangers, the story is compelling enough that you want to immerse yourself continuously in the world Sagara has created. The writing is beautiful and in the way of all great storytellers, moves you forward to the completion of the story without interrupting your focus on it by recurring irregularities in the way the story is composed. In fact, you forget you are reading. It’s like you’re wearing 3d glasses and sitting in a theater watching the story unfurl around you.
The romance. While it is not explicit and not complicated in the way other things are in the story, the hints of it that are present are so satisfyingly spicy that you forgive the author for teasing. I know that the author will probably have to discuss the romantic relationships brewing eventually but until then, I am satisfied by the sweet ambiguity between the main players.
If you like urban fantasy, you will love this. Though this is set in a different world – an alternate universe – it reads very much like an urban fantasy novel.
The entire series receives 5 resounding stars from me.
