Will Robinson (1)

Interesting ideas buried by wordage.
This might have been a thrilling read, starting out with a well-researched premise and a decent story line, however, the reader gets quickly confused by too many characters and alternating povs and jumping between different timelines.The author is trying very (too?) hard for picturesque language, while at the same time struggling with his tenses. Lively dialogues in dialect lend an authentic touch, even if not always consistent with the time period or region. On the other hand, the gratuitous Irish littering the pages are an incongruous mix of Old Irish, Modern Irish and Anglicizations, often grammatically and/or contextually off, and serve only to further confuse the reader.
All in all, an interesting and ambitious project that might do with some professional editing.… (más)

Will Robinson’s The Land of the Young transports the reader back to the Irish Potato Famine, asking them to view events through the eyes of the disposed, or soon to be disposed, Irish farmers in their struggle against English lords. However, what at first seems like a realist investigation, morphs into a supernatural thriller as the folklore of Ireland is weaved into the tail and our heroes not only have to fight the past, but come to terms that all may not end up how they hoped. While the tale is engaging, it does drag on in the beginning and suffers from having far too many characters, which results in a number of short chapters and jumping perspectives that can, at times, be hard to keep track of. Overall, a decent read, especially if you enjoy folklore.… (más)