Review: "The Silver Serpent" by David Debord

When I created this blog, I promised that it would be more than just a forum to share my crazy stories, but would also be a place to review new media I watch or read. So I present, dear bloggers, my first review.

As a voracious fantasy reader, it's hard these days to find a new series to get excited about. So, as you can imagine, I'm giddy to share a new discovery. I found The Silver Serpent a truly enjoyable and entertaining read. It's definitely David Debord's first novel and has weaknesses, but it's fun and your love of the characters sneaks up on you. The heroine, Shanis Malan, seems, at first, to be the typical fantasy heroine trapped by her society's expectations of a woman's role. As the story progresses, you realize that this girl is no victim and full of flaws. It is within her struggle to control her own identity, as well as her temper, that you begin to really care for this girl and her companions.

Debord approaches the classic, questing, epic fantasy novel with a sense of humor and an optimistic voice grounded by realistic characters and intriguing implications about the greater context of the world, which hooked me completely. His presentation of the world initially is fuzzy and nebulous, but as the characters move out of a small village and step into this world's legends (ala Eddings or Jordan), you've found solid footing within his world. The fight scenes are well done with impressive clarity and brevity. The prose is straightforward, but engaging. Though the characters are flawed, your affection grows fast. Its ending seemed disjointed, vaguely described, and abrupt, but it leaves you wanting more. As book one of "The Absent Gods" series, I thought it provided a great foundation. I'm just happy to have found a new series that's right out of the gate. Now I have something to look forward to again within fantasy.

Here's a link to the first 56 pages on Debord's website.