Most helpful critical review
6 of 8 people found the following review helpful
on December 10, 2013
A Review of The Symbolon
Reviewed by Wennie Conedy
The Symbolon is the second book in The Sibylline Trilogy, and not having the pleasure of reading the first book, I had a difficult time getting into the story of Alex and Valeria.
The first five chapters had a number of references to what I am assuming are incidents or situations established in the first book which, unfortunately, left me with a lot of unanswered questions. It was at this point that I almost gave up.
The story finally took off towards the end of Chapter 5. Expecting a smooth event, requesting for two immortals to marry, ended in an edict that delayed the marriage – for hundreds of years, and an order for the two lovers to stay apart. Alex made a drastic mistake. Alex let his emotions rule his actions. His one soft spot is his love for Valeria. He would do anything to protect her and be by her side. His one soft led him to make decisions that affected their forever-after, and he now has to live with it, or find the solution to mend it. Little does he know that there are other factors in play.
I loved the setting of the story, and references to Greek lore, which I find to be mystical and mysterious.
The continuity of the story left much to be desired. There were some characters, like Meege, who seemed to pop up and disappear from the story without any explanation. Meege's main contribution to the story is to facilitate Alex's meeting her ex-husband Paolo. Her character was a convenient tool to budge the story forward.
I also felt that the resolution of the character's situation was incomplete. The author failed to address how the solution would affect the characters in the long term. What is their standing with the council? Will they be hunted for the rest of their life? How will this affect the rest of their family? The biggest question for me was - why Paolo suddenly changed his stance and did a complete one-eighty on his petition. There are so many unanswered questions.
Unnecessary detail bogged the story down. Details such as the style of her dress, or how she styled her hair, or the frolic by the beach did nothing to contribute to the story. There were a few scenes in the book that, if edited out, would improve the pacing of the story. The overuse of exclamation points and the writing style did not lend to the sophistication of the story line. There was also a bit too much of narrative, and very little dialogue or action. I felt that the story would have been more fully developed if told from the character’s actions and words. The frequent use of exclamation points to stress the character’s thoughts was distracting.
The premise of the story is intriguing. Unfortunately, lack of knowledge of what happened in Book 1 hampered my understanding of the story. For example, I wondered why Caleb could not be touched by anyone except Valeria. To understand this story, and these two star-crossed lovers, I strongly encourage reading the first book before delving into the second. Be prepared to have some questions unresolved. I suspect that the author intends to address those in the third book.
I commend the author for her effort in bringing her story to light. Writing, getting published and receiving critique is not easy. I appreciate the opportunity to review.