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Dec 12, 2017Beatricksy rated this title 2.5 out of 5 stars
This tale is simply too derivative. It bleeds fantasy tropes (hunter orphaned protag, bully guards, finds mysterious pet in the woods gifted to him by an equally-mysterious old man in a tavern). But I can appreciate a good fantasy trope. It was when we got to the school and we were properly hit by the cluster of references that it got to be too much. Not every idea is going to be original, but the way you spin it makes the difference, and this played every reference straight as Colorado's borderlines. Eragon, Harry Potter, Pokemon (POKEMON, seriously!), Lord of the Rings, His Dark Materials...but all played perfectly, perfectly, perfectly straight. Diamond-tipped rulers couldn't have gotten that any stiffer. The characters are nothing more than parodies. The world building, which had seemed so promising early on, is tossed away or muscled into the plot in bad exposition. All in all, it's bland and bleary.