Fantasy Book Reviews

The Shattered Orb

Author: samuelegreen
Title: The Shattered Orb
Link: https://www.wattpad.com/story/75840460-the-shattered-orb-wattys2016

The Shattered Orb is an intricate story about gods and demons, and the mortals in between. The plot revolves around magical artifacts called "carcaern orbs" that contain the "essence of gods". Someone is going around destroying them and murdering the gods!

The story begins with a bang, taking us straight into the plot without ado. We meet Hiroc (I like the name!) who's on his way to the altar of the guardian Nanbir with an offering. He's the only acolyte brave enough to do the task on a day where a storm is brewing. Upon arrival, he discovers that the "Nanbir's orb" is missing and the guardian's crystal has been shattered. Seeing the altar stained with blood, he fears the worst: someone has killed the guardian, bringing destruction to the the town of Indham, his home. What a great first chapter that gives readers the plot right away without having to trudge through fillers. And all the while, we learn about the story world without being inundated with useless information. We also see a bit of Hiroc's personality, notably his passion for priesthood, Indham, and Nanbir. The chapter ends with promise of greater conflict to come, a definite page turner!

We then meet Alfric and his friends, "Children of Indham", presumably orphans taken in by the priests. A duel occurs been Alfric and Oswin, where the the winner will advance in the tournament, the prize being a forged document showing the holder's highborn status, a ticket to warriorhood. In this part, we see the author's skill and attention to detail when describing the action sequences. I was completely immersed in their sword fight, feeling every pain and emotion Alfric was experiencing as he fought and the disappointment of his losing.

Finally, we meet Idmaer, one of the priests of Indham who appear to have a lot of influence and power. It'll be up to him to keep the people calm as he searches for a solution to the threat of destruction on Indham. I like that the author is giving the story yet another angle to look at, and is what I think makes it so compelling to read.

The story is told through multiple POVs, which is often difficult to do right, but the author certainly knows what he's doing. We move swiftly from one character's head to the next, gaining more insight to the plot and story world, as well as each character's motives and emotions. A lot of deep POV is used, bringing readers even closer to the characters. I feel, though, there's still room for better characterization. Right now, the three POVs (Hiroc, Alfric, Idmaer) are very similar to one another in their tone, especially Hiroc and Idmaer. Them being all male characters doesn't help. But then again, I've only read four parts into the story. I suspect (and hope) their voices will be more defined as the story progresses.

In summary,The Shattered Orb is a well-thought out story enriched by very imaginative world lore. There's plenty of action, a dash of romance, and even the promise of dragons. What more can you ask for? Go read it now!