DainyBernstein reviewed Troubled Waters by Sharon Shinn (Elemental Blessings (1))
Review of 'Troubled Waters' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
Full review on Reader's Dialogue: http://readersdialogue.blogspot.com
Wow. All I felt for a while after I finished Troubled Waters was - wow. Sharon Shinn knows how to take you on a journey and immerse you completely in the world she creates through a skilled weaving of language, suspense, and emotion. Every time I had to put down the book, I wanted to get back to it as soon as possible, and every time I did, I was immediately engulfed in the world ruled by the five elements.
Zoe is a great character to experience this world through. She's a strong heroine, one who has to learn her strengths and also learn how to control them and use them properly. But she's troubled, an ordinary young woman when it comes to regular life, wanting friends, wanting love, shocked, confused, bewildered by what she learns. Darien is a bit harder to describe, because …
Full review on Reader's Dialogue: http://readersdialogue.blogspot.com
Wow. All I felt for a while after I finished Troubled Waters was - wow. Sharon Shinn knows how to take you on a journey and immerse you completely in the world she creates through a skilled weaving of language, suspense, and emotion. Every time I had to put down the book, I wanted to get back to it as soon as possible, and every time I did, I was immediately engulfed in the world ruled by the five elements.
Zoe is a great character to experience this world through. She's a strong heroine, one who has to learn her strengths and also learn how to control them and use them properly. But she's troubled, an ordinary young woman when it comes to regular life, wanting friends, wanting love, shocked, confused, bewildered by what she learns. Darien is a bit harder to describe, because for so much of the book Zoe doesn't know what to think of him. But I have to admit that I liked him only a few pages after he was introduced. He's actually a great fit for Zoe, complementing her turbulent personality with his hunti, wood and bone, immovability.
The plot is so intricate that it never stops moving for a single page, and the action just flows from one thing into the next. At the same time, it was very easy to follow what was going on, because everything was so clear. There are many characters, but each one is so distinctive that again it was very easy to keep track of who was what. Drawing on the elements to characterize the people was a bit confusing to me at first, but once I got a handle on which element was what, it made keeping track of people and families that much easier. I love the balance of having so much going on but being so smooth and flowing that it doesn't slow anything down.
