Gregory S Close

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot.wordpress.leafmarks.com & Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road Facebook Group by Bookstooge's Exalted Permission. Title: In Siege of Daylight Series: Light, Dark & Shadow Author: Gregory Close Rating: of 5 Battle Axes Genre: Fantasy Pages: 620 Format: Kindle Synopsis: A young man, son of a Hero, goes to Court with his mentor, only to become embroiled in something that is larger than the one kingdom. Prophecy is involved as are all the different "Kinds" [ie, species] of beings inhabiting the world. My Thoughts: This came across my radar thanks to Gene sometime last year. Overall, I would say this book was much too long and complicated. I wasn't reading as an editor, so I can't point out specifics, but at least one point of view [and there were more than a handful] should have been cut and a lot of small details should have been edited down. For the story that was told, the 600 pages should have been cut down to under 400 OR expanded into 2 books. My other issue was the naming convention. I'm used to complicated names, after my years into anime, but even this was beyond that. It felt like it was made complicated to give it a feeling of reality but only accomplished actually being complicated. I enjoyed this but little things just kept distracting me from the overall story. I felt like "I" could have done some editing to tighten this up. Which isn't a good sign overall. I did track down the author's blog and it turns out he has the titles up for the next 3 books. However, I saw no posts or details about the actual books themselves and when I left a question, over a week ago, it hadn't been answered at this date. I guess I get spoiled by authors like Brandon Sanderson and other indies like Michael Sullivan. "… (mere)

A very deep fantasy tale set in a boundless world that is as complex as the story. The story itself is a typical fantasy tale about us vs them, but throw in interesting evil aspects, complex array of racial feuds, and multiple POV (and by multiple I mean a lot), makes this story original and gripping. All the characters are interesting and the writing allows you to see this complex world from different eyes. This part is helpful as the reader is thrown into the world and essentially has to figure things out about the world as they go along. There are many new words and geographical locations that are not explained, but the reader will understand them (loosely) with time. The author writes in a way of "showing, not telling" which I fully appreciate and brings a sense of realism in this fantasy world. The ending has a fantastic climax, but no where near ends the story. It is clear just by how massive the world is that the story itself is going to take a while to tell. Overall I really enjoyed the book and will look forward to future installments.… (mere)

Are you a fan of traditional fantasy? In Seige 0f Daylight delivers a sweeping fantasy tale full of adventure, prophecy, and intrigue. Author Gregory S. Close translates many of the familiar tropes into his own breed of characters—characters with flavor and rich backgrounds in a setting that is comfortable, but not too familiar.

His pacing is spot-on, and his prose provides some lovely scenes. If there's one thing that interrupted the read, it would be the naming conventions. Close veers from horrendous, unpronounceable, apostrophe-ridden monikers to French (what?) names without missing a beat. Many of the characters and creatures share names so similar that they confuse.

If you can ignore that, a compelling prologue catapults the reader into the first chapter, where the young protagonist makes his debut. I wanted to slap him several times, but that's a good thing; a young apprentice who knows everything, can do everything, and doesn't demonstrate his actual youth is difficult to believe. Calvraign may be a quick study, but he's also victim to a mercurial temper and a teenage sense of invincibility.

The other figures introduced in this story are equally well developed — no cardboard cut-outs here. Aside from the names, the other races are introduced without the baggage of an info dump, yet they flow into the tale smoothly, and still leave room for surprises.

The plot unwinds at a good pace, displaying contrasting cultures, veiled histories, and surprise reveals. While the territory is familiar, Close does a fine job of keeping it from being cliché. In spite of the number of character views, he’s kept them in balance and done it in a way that coaxes the reader to keep turning the pages to find out what happens next. He is clearly a storyteller worth watching.
… (mere)