Greg Hamerton

I thoroughly enjoyed this fantasy of 600+ pages (for those who tire at 300 pages, beware!). Personally, I loved the length, which gives the reader a chance to become immersed in the well-crafted world. Our heroine is a young woman with yearnings suited to her station in life; all too suddenly she is plunged into a nightmare and thereafter is kept off-balance as she struggles to cope with things larger than she ever imagined. The writing is good (almost no copy editing mistakes!), the show more characters are believable (even the nasty ones because we see their motivations), and we see enough of what's happening outside the small kingdom to feel assured the author will take us back for further adventures.

I was so happy to see complexity arise, rather than a simple good vs. evil motif. Not only does this lend realism, but will give readers things to ponder long after they put the book down. The pacing is good, with brief respites from fast-moving action (usually through description that further enriches the tale). The romance is handled very well, with both our heroine and her beloved beset by easily understandable doubts. I'm definitely looking forward to reading the next installment of the saga. show less

Greg Hamerton takes on the epic concept of "good vs evil" in a big way in his novel, Second Sight, the second novel in his series Tale of the Lifesong. This novel is beautifully written, a little on the "flowery prose" side at times for me. However I know others enjoy that, so its not necessarily a bad thing. I simply prefer a more "simply" written book. Second Sight contained some of the most amazing world building, and the chararacters were compelling as well. Tabitha was inspiring and I show more laughed and cried with her throughout her journey. The "bad guys" were simply heinous!! You know that the characters are great when you have to sit the book down in anger from time to time! There was so much going on, and I was so fully invested, that I'm almost at a loss as to what may be a spoiler for someone just coming into the series. Every detail is relevant to the storyline. I think Hamerton is certainly a strong new voice in epic fantasy. I would recommend this to anyone that wants to be utterly swept away into a story of epic proportions. I was quite honestly blown away by this book and cannot wait to see what new and amazing things come from this author. show less

Greg Hamerton takes on the epic concept of "good vs evil" in a big way in his novel, Second Sight, the second novel in his series Tale of the Lifesong. This novel is beautifully written, a little on the "flowery prose" side at times for me. However I know others enjoy that, so its not necessarily a bad thing. I simply prefer a more "simply" written book. Second Sight contained some of the most amazing world building, and the chararacters were compelling as well. Tabitha was inspiring and I show more laughed and cried with her throughout her journey. The "bad guys" were simply heinous!! You know that the characters are great when you have to sit the book down in anger from time to time! There was so much going on, and I was so fully invested, that I'm almost at a loss as to what may be a spoiler for someone just coming into the series. Every detail is relevant to the storyline.

I think Hamerton is certainly a strong new voice in epic fantasy. I would recommend this to anyone that wants to be utterly swept away into a story of epic proportions. I was quite honestly blown away by this book and cannot wait to see what new and amazing things come from this author. show less

The wizards believed in Order but then one defied the rest and brought Chaos, threatening to destroy the world. One sanctuary remains, a safe haven where one special person can develop the magic that might save them. When Tabitha Serannon takes a ring that isn't hers and sings an ancient song, she releases a power that she doesn't understand and cannot control. Will she learn to balance the Light and the Dark before it is too late? Or will the entire realm fall under the rule of the show more Darkmaster and all hope be lost?

The Riddler's Gift is a fantastic fantasy tale! It reminded me of the epic adventures written by Terry Brooks and Robert Jordan. There are many characters to get to know and different story threads to follow but Hamerton has written them in such a way that there is no confusion. Shifts between places and people flow easily. Each detail is important and nothing has been left to chance in the connections between the stories.

The overall story drew me in quickly. Unfortunately, I had very little reading time when I was reading the first paperback so it seemed to take me forever. This had nothing to do with the story though -- I really wanted to be reading it! I finally got some solid reading time when I got to the second paperback and devoured it in just a couple of days. The small sections within chapters actually turned out to be a bonus for me when I was reading the first part because they were natural breaks where I could leave off even if I'd only had a few minutes to pick up the book.

The Riddler's Gift has magic, battle, good, evil, self-discovery, a guide, a journey, and even a bit of romance. In short, it is everything one would expect in an epic fantasy novel. It is also wonderfully crafted with the true voice of a story teller.

I am looking forward to continuing the adventure with Second Sight.

I received this book directly from the author in exchange for my honest review. show less