Behind the Pages

Visit Behind A Million Pages for the author interview and this review from the Book Blog Tour!

The prologue (0) gets straight to the story. We get into the atmosphere very quickly as we are already asking questions on who the Flame is and what was/is the prophecy? Action is quick to follow and we are very soon devouring pages.

Random Fact Alert: Who wouldn’t want to live in the Great Library? I would!

We see the two’s connection from when they first met. From how much Kailel thinks about Krishani we want and wait for the next time they cross paths again. From then on we have a connection to the Waterfall and all the times that they have met there. At the end of the novel when Kailel starts going through her memories of the Waterfall we are there to as we can remember what they experienced together as well as what they shared.

I tend not to read the blurb of the novel straight before I am about to read a novel. This is because some novels reveal too much within their blurbs which leaves us in the novel somewhat unsatisfied as we were expecting it and everything else that happens in the novel is just strategically placed there to make the story flow together and for it to be longer, yet we already know most of the story through the blurb. This however, in most novels, leaves us to read in order to find out what happens at the end as the blurb would mention a challenge or life-altering choice. I actually happened to read this blurb when finishing this novel and it seemingly fell in with the blurb-story category that I mentioned above. We are told straight about who Kailel and Krishani are (Flame and Ferryman) as well as basically what happens in the novel and left with the life-altering choice that will be made at the end of the novel. From this blurb we are not told about who they are and from my perspective it is like that because it was already mentioned in the blurb so there was no need to mention it again.

We question how much knowledge of the land and of herself as a flame, if she knows that she is a flame. She doesn’t seem to know or get taught that much about certain things and is kept in the dark. This just allows her to become weaker and more vulnerable as she has no knowledge of anything that is relevant to her and her dilemma.

They live in a land where love does not exist (kinda like that) to some extend as it is saved for the land as they marry the land and not fall in love with others. We can see from this knowledge that their love is forbidden and their constant thinking of each other makes this intensity grow. We wonder what she can do (powers) and what her role will be in the war that was foretold by the great oak. Will she come to accept her destiny and her chosen path? Or will she run away from fear?

The descriptions of places, surroundings and people should be taken into account for many authors as many do not accurately describe the surroundings within the story. Paille does a brilliant job and we can tell this by the complete visual imagery we get as we read about the places, surroundings and people. We can ‘see’ everything that is happening at that current time allowing us to grab a better sense of their environment and to become more connected within their realm. Although we do lack some information within the novel, yet most of the time it is cleared up when reading further. However, some small details that we do consider do not show within the novel. Things such as when she is told that she is leaving at Beltane, we need to be reminded how long away that is. We also need to know about the passing of days, sometimes throughout the novel we get skipped through a number of days quickly and we only realise it later rather than sooner. In other words, throughout this book it does lack knowledge of some things. We just hope that the next novel will clear a lot of things up for us.

Although we are taken through the novel in third person persona, we learn with Kailel mostly. We come to understand her parable as well as her changing world and position within it. This gives us a connection with her that, although we are not shown in first person what she is thinking and feeling, we understand her so that we know what she is thinking and feeling as well as getting the added benefit of understanding about the other characters as well through the use of third person.

I would have hoped that from reading this book that there was a reference at the start of the novel that allows us to know how the words/names are said as well as what some of the places/creatures in this novel are. Some of the names that are used make you stop reading so that you have to re-read it over again in order to see if it sounds right through the way that it is spelt as well as stopping to think what some of the words for creatures and things (such as feorns) mean as well. The constant use throughout the book of words that are used in the characters world allows us to lose focus and contact with the story, and makes us not so interested in the story that we lose focus and our minds wander because we are not familiar with the words used and it makes us seem out the loop with the story. A loss of connection. This is also one of those novels where you would like a map of their world at the start of the novel.

This novel does lack in the whole “book crack” element that holds you to every word, forcing us to read every word written. We are able to stop reading as well as get sidetracked at times. It does have some aspects of “book crack” within the novel yet at other times it lacks this, which takes us more time to read the novel that what we would actually hope because of this lacking factor.

Completely loved the intensity at the end of chapter 20, it was brilliant and I only wish that he whole novel was complete with that sort of feverish action. The emotion just poured out of every word written and we could feel along with Kailel what it was like to let go and release the other being, the “flame” inside us all.

Another novel with a cliff hanger to die for!! Cannot wait for the second novel! We want to find out what happened with Kailel as well as what will happen to Krishiani.

Suspicions:
Krishani has the dreams about the Ferryman probably because he is the next Ferryman. This could explain why he cannot handle his powers and complete his training. If this is true then it is the same with Kailel as she has dreams about fire and flames which could hint at her being a Flame.