The Branches Of Time by Luca Rossi
Published by Createspace
Ebook
Published 13 June 2015
148 pages
Review copy
A shower of splinters exterminates the people of the island of Turios. Only Bashinoir, badly wounded, his wife Lil and the Priestess Miril survive. They would like to give a worthy burial to their loved ones, but the corpses have disappeared. Their only hope of salvation lies in the magical protection of the Temple. But they must cope with dark threats. A shadow haunts their hearts, threatening to divide and destroy them; their bodies seem to be less consistent. The closeness between the two women contrasts with the isolation of Bashinoir.
In the realm of Isk, wizards and advisors must submit to the insatiable greed of sex and war as well as the power of King Beanor. The last of his young wives, however, does not want to surrender to the loss of love and freedom. Will games and tricks under the sheets be the key turning point of a millenarian war?
OPENINGWhy does she keep flirting with that moron? Wondered Bashinoir, the best man.
WHAT I THOUGHTThe Branches of Time ultimately didn't work for me. I loved the idea behind it, the intrigue and mystery and I love books that screw around with time. There are some good moments in the book, plenty of tension, drama and intrigue that kept me guessing. However, there are so many elements that left me cold. There is very little world building in the novel and the descriptions of the island and the world the characters inhabit are too vague for me so I didn't get a real sense of place. I'm not saying I wanted the world described in minute detail but give me something to work with. The characters are okay but none of them are heroic or very interesting so I found myself wondering why these three had been saved. Surely there were much more interesting people that could have been kept alive. There is too much tell and not enough show. The priestess launches into lengthy explanations about what she thinks is going on which could have been better executed. There is a lesbian romance hinted between the two women which is not believable and made me cringe at times. As I lesbian myself I usually cheer when a writer introduces some girl-on-girl action but I just cringed at the awkwardness of the whole thing. There is a lot of sex in the novel. I'm not a prude and the amount of sex wasn't an issue, it was just bad, awkward sex that made me roll my eyes. The novel opens well with a shower of rock shards slaughtering everyone on the island, a mystery that still isn't solved. I also liked the chapters shifting from what's happening on Turios to Beanor's kingdom of Isk. Beanor is pretty much a wanker and I hope someone slits his throat real soon. I did enjoy these parallel storylines. However, there were so many elements that didn't work for me which made The Branches of Time very disjointed. I do want to know what happens; how does Beanor's story end, why did the people of Turios die and is the priestess's theory right. I just don't know if I would continue reading the series as some elements put me off.
I'm thirty-five years old and live in Glasgow in the UK with my partner of ten years. I work in a support team for a call centre. I like reading especially Joyce Carol Oates and Stephen King. I write fiction and poetry. I enjoy watching TV (Grimm, Torchwood, Doctor Who, Lip Service, The L Word etc). I like to play video games and am a fan of survival horror especially the Silent Hill franchise. I like to watch movies especially horror and anything where someone dies. View all posts by pamelascott30
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