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DW's Reviews > A Voice in the Wind
A Voice in the Wind (Mark of the Lion, #1)
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I am flabbergasted that this book gets so many positive reviews. The writing is so bad that I can't believe the book was even published. Maybe it's not fair to compare this book to masterpieces like The Color Purple or All the King's Men, but I can find stories for free on the internet that are written better than this. (For example, why describe a direct quote as "terse"? You just told me the whole quote! And surely no book needs the word "sardonic" in it ten times.) I didn't fully appreciate what a "flat character" was until I read this book - even the main characters are as well rounded as a sheet of paper. And even though I am notorious as not predicting plots, I could predict this one. The young Roman master can't sleep, walks out to the garden, and finds ... wait for it ... his new slave girl, praying! Nobody saw that coming!
The only reason I kept reading was for the incidental information I picked up about Rome, and I'm taking that with a grain of salt. Despite the author's attempt to be historically accurate (I'm assuming) by using the Latin names for garments, parts of the house, and the bath, I'm pretty certain the book is filled with anachronisms. I haven't done research, but I find it hard to believe that a slave would alternate between calling her master "my lord" and using his first name. And okay, the target audience for this book is probably not familiar with mixed martial arts, but the descriptions of fights border on nonsensical. I would like to point out that when a person is choked unconscious, his vision doesn't blur, it gets black around the edges. Getting that correct doesn't even require personal experience (ahem), a simple Google search is sufficient.
As at least one other reviewer has noted, for a Christian book, this is not exactly edifying. Only Hadassah is Christian, and she spends most of the book being distressed at the actions of all the other characters as they go about being as debauched as humanly possible. Descriptions of unlikeable characters frittering away their lives at games and parties quickly get old, and I can point to several non-Christian books with much better (and more believable) role models. I'd give this book zero stars if possible.
The only reason I kept reading was for the incidental information I picked up about Rome, and I'm taking that with a grain of salt. Despite the author's attempt to be historically accurate (I'm assuming) by using the Latin names for garments, parts of the house, and the bath, I'm pretty certain the book is filled with anachronisms. I haven't done research, but I find it hard to believe that a slave would alternate between calling her master "my lord" and using his first name. And okay, the target audience for this book is probably not familiar with mixed martial arts, but the descriptions of fights border on nonsensical. I would like to point out that when a person is choked unconscious, his vision doesn't blur, it gets black around the edges. Getting that correct doesn't even require personal experience (ahem), a simple Google search is sufficient.
As at least one other reviewer has noted, for a Christian book, this is not exactly edifying. Only Hadassah is Christian, and she spends most of the book being distressed at the actions of all the other characters as they go about being as debauched as humanly possible. Descriptions of unlikeable characters frittering away their lives at games and parties quickly get old, and I can point to several non-Christian books with much better (and more believable) role models. I'd give this book zero stars if possible.
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Madi
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rated it 5 stars
May 08, 2013 09:47PM
*gasp* This is like my number one book! My life was changed by this book, I felt like Hadassah was the pirfict romoble for all women. Are you a christain? It would change your prespective a lot if you weren't. I understand every one has there own oppinios and I respect yours, i just dont understand how you could not LOVE this book, nor do i aggre with you oppinion.
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I really enjoyed this book personally but I definitely agree with your frustration at the repeated use of the word sardonically. I think a thesaurus could have been used. I've found she actually uses that word a lot in all her books. Too bad
You completely missed the point of the book. I feel sad for you that you couldn't read it for what it really was.
Definitely agree with you on the flat characters and the focus on the characters' extreme lack of morals. I wouldn't necessarily give the book zero stars, but I definitely wouldn't recommend it.
OMG Yes! Every time I read the word "sardonically", or every time someone had a "sardonic smile" I cringed. Haha.
I'm so glad I'm not the only one who thought this.
I kind of question your rating of this book if you think an author using "sardonic" ten times in a 500+ book excessive...
I know everyone is entitled to there own opinion but I think the reason you don’t like this book as much is because it sets up the series. The other book s are so much better because you understand the context by reading the first one. I think Hadassah is a great role model because she is unashamed of her faith. I would also really suggest reading the Lineage of Grace by Francine Rivers. It sounds more your thing
