Compared to other genres, science fiction is not one that I read often. Still, when I do, I usually remember how fun such stories can be (once I have adjusted to the complexities, of course). Crystal Witness by Kathy Tyers recently proved to be no exception.

Ming Dalamani comes out of twenty years of suspended animation with little memory of her former life. Now, she must serve time for a crime she cannot remember and becomes caught in a tangled web of politics, while still trying to sort out her present reality. Will she make the right choices in deciding where to place her trust, loyalty, and talents?

In Crystal Witness, Tyers creates a fascinating world around Ming and her challenges, and I stayed intrigued to learn more as the story progressed—just as the turns of the story itself kept me intrigued. It is easy to say that I enjoyed my time with it and look forward to seeing what Tyers writes next.

I received a complimentary copy of this book and the opportunity to provide an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review, and all the opinions I have expressed are my own. ( )

This fantasy novel was one I was looking forward to reading. However, I had a hard time getting into the storyline. It starts out with a scene but then jumps to the future without a clear trail that I could follow.

While I found some parts of the book interesting, because of the number of characters and the way the story jumped around I sometimes had a hard time following it. We are introduced in the prologue to Ming as she and her family are making a smuggling run. But then the book jumps 20 years in the future and Ming has had her mind wiped and has been sent to a new home by RENASCO, to be a calligrapher and artist.

I enjoyed reading the parts about Ming’s artistic endeavors as well as the music of Tieg Innig. The friendship that seems to develop the two captured my attention.

So if you like fantasy books, check out this book for yourself.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from CelebrateLit, this in no way influenced my review. All opinions are my own. ( )

Ming is foggy at best trying to remember her past. Why can’t she remember anything and what crime did she commit? For some reason she is in a new dimension and nothing seems familiar. The author has crafted a place where Ming will have to be sharp in order to stay one step ahead of two enemies.
I was intrigued by the imagination the author uses to give readers a world that has specific rules and when Ming begins to remember her past she feels a threat coming closer to her. As in most sci-fi genres there are strange beings that give me the creeps. There were times when I wasn’t sure what was going on in the story and had to reread a few pages to figure out where the author was taking the characters.
I did enjoy the suspense in the story and kept wondering what Ming would decide. What would you do if you were ordered to spy on someone? Ming must make difficult decisions that will have a ripple effect on others. I think what I enjoyed the most was when Ming began to remember things. This is where the story really drew me in. I started to become invested in the story and wanted to know who could be trusted. It’s a nice book but not one I fully understood. It is no fault of the author that I was unable to connect to the story. I am more of a visual person when it com es to sci-fi and this story at times had some very in-depth scenes but overall it didn’t keep my attention. I have read other books from this author and really enjoyed them. This story just felt a bit out of sync at times and I never was able to grasp what the author’s objective was.
I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion. ( )