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The Sixth Surrender by Hana Samek Norton

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JMJacobsen
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Joined: September 2008
Location: Gig Harbor, Washington

Post by JMJacobsen » Tue July 13th, 2010, 9:12 pm

Alright, already, I'm here, I'm here! And I'm so glad you posted that spoiler because to be completely honest, I was SOOOOO not going to make it to the end of this book. Ain't gonna happen, folks.

And your spoiler? Didn't spoil a thing for me. I made it up to page 310 and I'm still wondering who the hell are these characters and shouldn't I be recognizing a recurring one here and there after this many pages? Because I don't. I'm so confused.

Okay, so that said, I think I can observe the following:

Take away the plot twists and other weirdness and underneath it all, she isn't a half bad writer. (I can hear you all spewing out your coffee as you read that sentence). But really, hear me out....for example, in the beginning of the book any writer jumping into this period of history has to be able to give back-history to catch the reader up to speed. In Weir's latest catastrophe, she comes across as amateurish with her condescending dialogue wherein the characters give the backstory to each other, which is completely STUPID because the characters would already know that information. I thought Norton was pretty smart introducing Juliana (or whatever her name is), who as a novice shut up in a nunnery all that time, wouldn't know the back-history and has to have it explained to her, thereby clueing in the reader at the same time. Nicely done.

Okay, okay, so the back-history she gives is so convoluted that no one can understand it, LOL, but the technique is good stuff.

I also liked the fact that the author doesn't talk down to the readers (she talks in circles, bwahahahaha)....she doesn't feel the need to define every medieval term she throws in there and I appreciate that.


Of couse all the criticisms/observations in this thread already do indeed apply. But I kind of think that this writer has potential.....if she just had someone to pare down the plot twists, nix the bunnies, and flesh out her main characters, she might have a winner here.

Who knows...her next effort might show tons of improvement. As silly as this book was, I think it might be worth it to pick up her next novel.

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JMJacobsen
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Location: Gig Harbor, Washington

Post by JMJacobsen » Tue July 13th, 2010, 9:18 pm

[quote=""Misfit""]Had to go back and reread, it is strange as well as the author's notes - she's rather carefree about the whole thing.

What I thought odd was the only heir being locked up in a nunnery in the first place. Very disappointing.[/quote]

I admit to kind of liking her author's note. Anyone who choses names because they looked "nifty" can't be all bad. :D

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Misfit
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Location: Seattle, WA

Post by Misfit » Tue July 13th, 2010, 9:29 pm

I was actually prepared to suspend belief and pretend it was all just a story after all, but I was soooooooooooo lost in the convoluted plot at the end I needed a scorecard. I think people who want action/adventure type of stuff and don't care about inaccuracies might (might) enjoy it. It does appear from the end there's at least one more coming.
At home with a good book and the cat...
...is the only place I want to be

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Misfit
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Location: Seattle, WA

Post by Misfit » Tue July 13th, 2010, 9:29 pm

If you don't finish, do not miss page 431. Worth a good laugh.
At home with a good book and the cat...
...is the only place I want to be

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