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Cargando... The Serpent Sword (The Bernicia Chronicles) (Volume 1)por Matthew Harffy
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Inscríbete en LibraryThing para averiguar si este libro te gustará. Actualmente no hay Conversaciones sobre este libro. Well written and researched, atmospheric descriptive. Riveting from first to last page, with superb characters throughout. I was fortunate in one way to receive the latest book in the series from NetGalley, but enjoyed it so much I had to start back at the beginning, which could prove expensive, but based on this excellent read worth it. The action and there is plenty of it leaves little to the imagination, an absolute quality page turner. Completely recommended. “The Serpent Sword” features a blend of quality battles, tense encounters, and an engaging ‘boy-meets-girl’ storyline. I liked it in the most part, but like with many historical novels, the author puts so much effort into getting the history elements correct that essential creative writing skills are neglected. Main problem being too much ‘telling’ and not enough ‘showing’. Adverb overuse is another evil, and the biggest problem with adverbs is that they ‘tell’. For example, with ‘walked determinedly’ you have a weak verb coupled with a ‘telling’ adverb. There’s always a stronger verb than ‘walked’. In this case, ‘strode’ or ‘marched’ would’ve ‘shown’ the determined walk. Adverbs are at their most superfluous with this kind of thing: “More slowly”, “more quickly”, “more brightly”, when ‘slower’, ‘quicker’, and ‘brighter’ convey the meaning in one concise verb. Two style issues that irritated me are the overuse of ‘then’ (to state what happens next), and ‘had’ (past perfect). To keep using ‘then’ is lazy and unimaginative. It’s fine in children’s books, but for gritty historical fiction I expect more imagination. Most can be cut, the rest replaced. It's sometimes natural for a character to say 'then', but this word should be purged from any third-person narrative. The frequent use of ‘had’ in the past perfect tense is something all authors should avoid, as it reports on the scene rather than taking the reader into the action as it unfolds. The odd one is inevitable, but in this book it’s consistent, even though it would've been easy to cut them out. For one thing, this narrative is in the past tense, so ‘had’ should only be used if a sentence sounds odd without it. For example, ‘He had said’ works as ‘he said’ because ‘said’ is in the past tense. ‘She had sat down’ flows better as ‘She sat down’ because ‘sat’ is past tense making 'had' superfluous. If a scene that’s past is being recalled, all that’s needed is to inform the reader that it has already happened, after which the frequent use of ‘had’ is unnecessary. On the plus side, this author uses some excellent similes. I was impressed with his creativity in this department. So, despite the criticisms, I liked this novel well enough to read the next in the series. sin reseñas | añadir una reseña
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AD 633. Beobrand is a young man with a shadowy past. As an outsider in the kingdom of Bernicia, he is compelled to join his brother, Octa, as a warrior in the household of King Edwin. He must learn to fight with sword and shield to defend the war-ravaged kingdoms of Northumbria. In a period of great upheaval for Dark Age Britain, all he finds is death and war. Men and women strive to seize control of their destinies in a time of despair, and the land is rife with danger as warlords vie for supremacy and dominion. Amongst the blood and the betrayals, Beobrand learns of his brother's near-certain murder. Inexperienced but ruthless, Beobrand must form his own allegiances and learn to fight as a warrior with sword and shield. Driven by a desire for vengeance and a relentless pursuit of his enemies, he faces challenges which transform him from a boy to a man who stands strong in the clamour and gore of the shieldwall. As he closes in on his kin's slayer, can Beobrand mete out the retribution he craves without sacrificing his honour... or even his soul? No se han encontrado descripciones de biblioteca. |
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Google Books — Cargando... GénerosSistema Decimal Melvil (DDC)823.92Literature English & Old English literatures English fiction Modern Period 2000-Clasificación de la Biblioteca del CongresoValoraciónPromedio:
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