Son of Avonar was my second foray into reading the work of Carol Berg and while I was excited I also had some reservations. The first book of Carol Berg’s that I read, Song of the Beast, did not quite live up to my expectations so naturally I was expecting that a bit when I began Son of Avonar. I was wrong to have assumed anything negative about this story. I can now see how Carol Berg has evolved as an author between the two books.
Son of Avonar is a story about a self-exiled noblewoman named Serianna who stumbles upon a mute and easily angered man. Once she takes him into her care characters from her dark past begin to appear. And what makes it even more mysterious is that they are not the only ones searching for the man she is sheltering.
Now, the foremost aspect that I love about Son of Avonar is the interesting protagonist. In fantasy, there are many heroines who are either naïve and virginal or are trying to be exceedingly masculine. Seri is neither of those. She is a woman who has experience both profound love and profound lost. She is a woman who is trying to leave her past behind, but it is constantly creeping up and reminding her of all the horrible misdeeds that others have done to her. However, while misdeeds have been done to her she is not a blubbering victim; she is strong, but still vulnerable. She is a character that strikes me as truly original and probably one of my favorite heroines that I have discovered to date.
Something else that was great about Son of Avonar was the fact that it took off immediately. Within the first five pages events were already taking place. While I do enjoy swooping epic fantasies that take a while to progress, I also enjoy it when books get going with a bang. And for most of the book (I will get into this later) the pace and action keeps consistent and is very fulfilling.
The world building, like the protagonist in this story, is very original. I relished it every time I found out something more about this interesting world and the magic that existed within it. In fact, even at the end when there was a bit of an info dump I was completely transfixed. This is a very original idea and one that I really enjoyed reading about and cannot wait to read more of this series. (As you can see in the book haul I bought the whole rest of the series.)
However, despite all of the greatness of this book there was one rather large problem. Flashbacks. Now, don’t get me wrong I love flashbacks, and for most of them I was completely okay with them and found them to be utterly fascinating. But, when the main storyline really took off and I still had to slog through back-to-back chapters of flashbacks I found that a bit annoying. While all of the information was important I only wished it was more condensed so that when the story took off, no more flashbacks were needed. In case I scared any of you off, you’ll be happy to know that the flashbacks do stop at the halfway point, so they are not constantly weighing the pace down.
Besides the flashbacks though, Son of Avonar was a fantastic story. It had me constantly wondering who had really done what and who was betraying who. I know I complain that I can see many things coming when I read a story…well, Son of Avonar kept me guessing. I highly recommend it for any fans of fantasy.
Visit Carol Berg at her website here.
Content:
-Language: Some, but never very harsh.
-Violence: There is action and violence, but it never gets too graphic.
-Sexuality: It is mentioned, referenced and there are some glossed over scenes.
-I recommend this novel for ages 14 and up (maybe 15).
My Rating:
9/10
-Dylan
