J. G. McKenney

Lovers of Fantasy should be well aware that we are awash in a world of clones. Despite my deep love of this genre, it's true that a lot of times every story is like the one before, and so I become a bit jaded when it comes to starting a new book. However, lucky for me, J.G. McKenny approached me with Eon's Door. From the moment I opened it on my ereader I was swept away into a beautifully crafted world. With deep ties to nature, and a distinct lack of complicated character names or races, this book stole my heart.

Miann, the young protagonist in this book, was an extremely dynamic and well-written character. His love for his people, for his family, and for the connection he had to the Nature around him, was beautifully done. I fell in love with his persistence and compassion. However what really brought the book home for me was McKenny's ingenious tie to the world that we , the reader, live in. He brings a character from the outside world, from a place where Nature is stagnant and flat, into this gorgeous world of his. The dynamic between Miann and Bobby truly, in my opinion, is what makes this book. Each from a separate home, yet fighting for the same end goal. I adored them.

As I've already mentioned, the world that is built in Eon's Door is utterly breathtaking. I'll admit the fact that there were times when I found myself wanting to know more. One thing that you won't find in this book is over explanation or an overload of imagery. Instead, there is a generally flowing and descriptive sense to the writing that pulls you just far enough into the world to understand what is going on, without being confusing. There is a depth to Miann and Bobby's story that builds up slowly, adding and adding, until it all fits together in the end and you're left breathless at the thought that it all worked out so wonderfully. In my opinion, the story line is executed perfectly.

If there is one thing I honestly did miss in this book, it was the lack of forward motion that occurred at times. Although Miann and Bobby are on an epic quest to save Erla, there are times where things just seem to stop. At certain points I felt a void of emotion coming out of the characters. It was almost as if they were just moving where they needed to go, and not really thinking about it. I also felt that there were scenes whose brevity was unnecessary, especially as they were important to the overall story. Certain events were just brushed over in a matter of pages. It wasn't often enough to hamper my overall enjoyment of Eon's Door, but it did cause me to knock off one star in my rating.

Still, I'll be the first to admit that this is the first book in a long time that stood out to me in this genre. It's ties to nature, the depth of the story line, and the wonderfully written characters, all mesh together to create something that is wholly immersive and enchanting. I may have had my slight qualms, yes, but overall I fully believe that J.G. McKenny has written a gem. I will definitely be keeping my eye out for more of his work, and I highly suggest that you do the same.… (més)

Where to begin with this review? I won't deny that I had high expectations for The Book Knights. The fact that this story promised to merge together a dystopian world where readers are banned, and Arthurian legend, had me really excited. Can I please profess that I secretly loved every second a new character was introduced in this story? Their names were perfection and, set against the backdrop that McKenney created for them, they had me in their thrall. I was ready for an adventure, and I definitely had one.

Let me go ahead and start with the characters, since I've already touched on that. As I mentioned, each character has a name that ties them into the Arthurian legend that this book lovingly pulls from. Arti Penderhagen, our protagonist, is a reader who is forced to flee her family home during a book raid. She instantly peaked my interest. Here was a young girl, taught to read from childhood, out in the world on her own. I was fascinated as I watched her navigate this new world, where being a reader is a death sentence. I think Arti was the easiest to connect with, because we were kindred spirits. Readers forever. It helped that she got the most face time here, since I really got to know who she was. While I loved all the other characters as well, I never got to know them as well as Arti. There wasn't time. I would have loved some background into their personalities, and gotten to know more about their views on the world they live in.

As it stands, this is a very quick moving book. Characters are introduced in a way that feels natural, which was nice, but the plot moves along so speedily that I never quite felt like I had my footing in Arti's world. I had so many questions about Morgan Fay's motives. I wanted to know more about the general public, and what their opinions were on the world at hand. I also desperately wanted to know more about the Book Knights as whole, since the book had to give a whirlwind explanation in order to move back into the action. While I enjoyed this whole plot, I just honestly wished that the story was longer so that there was more time to get into the the thick of things. I like closure, and I crave world building. The Book Knights was a little shaky on both counts.

I suppose it all comes down to the fact that I just wanted more from this book than I received. The writing was great, the characters were well rendered even if they didn't have as much depth as I wanted, but I missed out on the sturdy world building that I'm so used to in Fantasy books. Arti's world was one that fascinated me, mainly because of how close we might actually be to living in it. I would have loved to see more background established. I wanted more details to help me understand why Arti's destiny was so important, and really color in the full picture.

As it stands, I'm happy to give this book a solid three stars. I enjoyed my time reading it immensely. I accidentally left this book when I went home to visit, and was absolutely devastated until I got it back and was able to finish it. That, my friends, is the mark of a good story. I eagerly await more.… (més)