God love the Brits

It's bigger on the inside.

I don't normally point out specific reviews of Shatter, but I just really loved how this reader, S. Horrigan, explained his or her (I can't tell gender from an S.) experience reading my novel and wanted to share it. This review is on the amazon UK site of the Kindle version. And, yes, I did choose a picture of the 10th Doctor to represent my love of the British. What of it?

What lies between black and white, between good and evil?, between love and hate, between truth and lies - That is the story of this book. 

Set on a world where technology has not progressed past the steam train and where horses are the most common form of transport, this world has the feel of the wild west - with one major difference. The world is full of magic. 

Once there was the only black magic and white magic, but the "shattering" changed this. White magic was split, like light by a prism into its component colours and the world was plunged into war. 

The way the story is told is amazing! I am very grateful for the reviewers who said that you have to stick with it.. and I will echo that. 

The story is made up of several sub-stories, each one winding its way along the pages like a small stream. 

"Information is not understanding" says one character, and this is the second theme of the book. "You can be given information, but you cannot be given understanding" he continues. 

You are rarely if ever told anything clearly - you have to work it out for yourself. How magic works? Why are they riding horses when they can teleport? These and many other questions are answered by examples rather than by you being told. 

Slowly something in one thread of the narrative makes events in another thread make sense, and that then clarifies something else.. and the story builds and the streams join until you have a story that has you saying "Just one more page".. "I'll stop at the next page break".. "I'll stop when I reach the next chapter". 

I honestly can't remember ever reading a book like this! 

There are a few problems though. On the Kindle version at least, there are quite a few grammatical and typographical errors, and sometimes the continuity and story flow just doesn't seem quite right. It feels to me like the story still needs professional editing and proof-reading - yet these faults are easily forgiven. 

The story is an absolute gem. It is an uncut diamond sort of gem though. It still has its rough edges, but underneath is an incredibly clever piece of writing indeed - a story that could become a classic in the fantasy genre. 

I will without doubt buy the second in this series!  - S. Horrigan

Find the review here.