The first book I read by Joe Ducie was a short story that I found on Amazon for free months ago. At least, I think that was where I found it. It was called THE FORGETFUL LIBRARY, and was just a short story. I liked the Declan Hale character, and saw Ducie had this novel out, I was excited, yet it took me awhile to get around to actually getting it.

That being said, this novel, for my return to this realm, was awesome! Declan Hale has been exiled from his world, a world within the nether called Forget. I won't go into the details of why, but this story is of events that cause him to return to the event that created his exile.

As I mentioned before, I loved the Declan character, and the supporting ones, though they are not really developed in the story aside from what is needed, they help provide the main character support. Plot and build-up were great, and the pace moved quickly throughout. In fact, things moved fast enough, there were times I would have liked a bit more detail/rumination. Knowing that there is a sequel, I won't expand about wanting to know more about the background of everything, as some may be revealed in the second book. Great read! ( )

Nice idea, but the writing was entirely tell and not show. The plot unravelled more than progressed. For a book written in the first person, there was no emotional connection to the protagonist whatsoever.

It's a pity. There were just enough flashes of something interesting to make the book incredibly disappointing that it never got there. ( )

A good read with some neat ideas about stories and the power of words.
Simple writing style (probably aimed at Young Adults (I'm never really sure) but I enjoyed it enough to grab the sequel! ( )

Declan Hale finds himself returning to a world he never thought he'd see again after he was exiled. But he has no choice, especially not after he sees himself die - in his favorite grey waistcoat, no less.

It gives a bit of a Jim Butcher Dresden vibe, but a little different. It's not as relatable, to be honest. Whereas Dresden snarks and talks to the reader, Declan is solely a first person novel that doesn't break that fourth barrier.

I know the author more from his fanfiction than his novels, so that might color this review. But I actually think that his writing in this novel is a little lacking perhaps because of his fanfiction background. Instead of developing the characters, Ducie jumps straight into action and past events. We never really get a feel for any of the characters, even though it's in first person. It's like he thinks the reader already knows the characters and only needs to concentrate on the plot and action scenes with initial character scenes (almost like a fanfiction, y'see?).

Even after 80 pages, I still had a hard time delineating all of the different characters. And none of them are particularly lovable or emotion-grabbing. I don't need to love a character, but I better as hell feel something about them, whether it's love or hate or sympathy or genuine annoyance. Instead it just feels like I'm reading about random characters doing things. Flat.

The strength of Ducie's fanfictions was always fast action and witty lines. But in this novel, his weaknesses are clearer and his strengths are slightly diminished because there is a fundamental lacking in foundation of character development.

If you can get past the first 120 pages, the book starts to pick up and Ducie settles into his element. He makes connections and plot twists that you would never expect, but then swear you should have seen it a thousand miles away when you think about all those hidden clues from the beginning.

Meh, it's just that I see a lot of elements taken from his fanfiction within this book. The Eternal Clock, revelations of an antagonist's identity, Atlantis: these are all components that have been transported from a certain fanfiction story. Which is fine because it's his own original work. But a little bit not fine because I actually felt like it was better written in the fanfiction.

It was an okay book. Two stars.
Not really recommended. I'd probably point to Dresden series before I pointed you to this one if you were looking for a scifi/urban fantasy with a male protag.
( )

Declan Hale finds himself returning to a world he never thought he'd see again after he was exiled. But he has no choice, especially not after he sees himself die - in his favorite grey waistcoat, no less.

It gives a bit of a Jim Butcher Dresden vibe, but a little different. It's not as relatable, to be honest. Whereas Dresden snarks and talks to the reader, Declan is solely a first person novel that doesn't break that fourth barrier.

I know the author more from his fanfiction than his novels, so that might color this review. But I actually think that his writing in this novel is a little lacking perhaps because of his fanfiction background. Instead of developing the characters, Ducie jumps straight into action and past events. We never really get a feel for any of the characters, even though it's in first person. It's like he thinks the reader already knows the characters and only needs to concentrate on the plot and action scenes with initial character scenes (almost like a fanfiction, y'see?).

Even after 80 pages, I still had a hard time delineating all of the different characters. And none of them are particularly lovable or emotion-grabbing. I don't need to love a character, but I better as hell feel something about them, whether it's love or hate or sympathy or genuine annoyance. Instead it just feels like I'm reading about random characters doing things. Flat.

The strength of Ducie's fanfictions was always fast action and witty lines. But in this novel, his weaknesses are clearer and his strengths are slightly diminished because there is a fundamental lacking in foundation of character development.

If you can get past the first 120 pages, the book starts to pick up and Ducie settles into his element. He makes connections and plot twists that you would never expect, but then swear you should have seen it a thousand miles away when you think about all those hidden clues from the beginning.

Meh, it's just that I see a lot of elements taken from his fanfiction within this book. The Eternal Clock, revelations of an antagonist's identity, Atlantis: these are all components that have been transported from a certain fanfiction story. Which is fine because it's his own original work. But a little bit not fine because I actually felt like it was better written in the fanfiction.

It was an okay book. Two stars.
Not really recommended. I'd probably point to Dresden series before I pointed you to this one if you were looking for a scifi/urban fantasy with a male protag.
( )