Elita Faith Daniels

The Tree of Life is a epic fantasy novel that combines adventure, romance and magic. There were many aspects of this novel that I found appealing. I thought the world building creative and original with its mix of mages, sorceres, elves and other creatures. I thought the imagery and description exquisite and the language stunningly lyrical. With so much going for it, I find it frustratingly difficult to articulate why I lost interest. I began to struggle about half way through and I have to admit I ended up skimming through most of the last half. High Fantasy is something I rarely read, and though I hate to admit defeat, this book is simply not for me. I truly can't attribute my lack of interest to any obvious flaw in the novel, its simply a matter of personal preference.… (altro)

Deacon is a Riven, a being capable of extraordinary magic. As a child, his father manipulated him and his mother. They are saved by the Elvin people. When tragedy strikes, Deacon and his cousins, Cedrik and Derek, set off on a quest for revenge; but against who and why?

This book had elements of J. R. R. Tolkein, Raymond E. Feist, and Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Rapuccini's Daughter". It is by no means an original novel, but there is a twist in the plot and a cliffhanger ending.

The pacing was a bit to quick in the beginning and a bit two slow in the heart of the story, but the last chapters are fast paced and exciting. I didn't realize when I started reading the book that the first part was all backround information before you get to the true story. The author quickly galances over the situations that give the main character reasons for his later actions. Then the story becomes a slow paced romance until near the end when the hero finally takes action.

The most well written aspect of this novel are the characters. I really began to care about them. This is important because this is the beginning of a series and beloved characters always keep readers interested in learning of their futher adventures.… (altro)

The story begins not with the main character of this tale, Deacon, but rather with the people and the betrayal that would guide the journey occupying the bulk of this book. Though initially a bit disappointed at the brevity of the first adventure, I was quickly placated by the realization that it was only the backdrop to a more involved production.

Daniels proves herself as one with a good understanding of human nature. Her characterizations are consistent, even with the transformations and maturation of personalities. Deacon himself displays aspects of the Byronic hero, a man whose inner darkness drives a self-destructive attitude towards those who surround him. We are slowly drawn into his inner turmoil, and while much of this is elicited through his scenes with Magenta, the interest gave purpose to the otherwise overly-romantic sections. With that being said, there were still moments when I wanted to knock him upside the head for being so slow to make up his mind.

Many of the names, as well as the fantasy realm itself, seem to draw heavily from Tolkein. The similarity of elven attributes was difficult to ignore, and while this facilitated the process of picturing an ethereal race, it took away from the mysticism of it all as my mind started drawing parallels between Tree of Life and Lord of the Rings. Fortunately, the creativity of the plot, as well as the well-paced storyline, maintained my interest in the reading at hand. Daniels displays a firm understanding of "show, not tell," as she introduces the reader to concepts and characters without giving excessive background information. We learn the details as we would in real life — through conversation, action, and events.

For the most part, the text flowed quite readily. The author's sense of rhythm and sentence structure is well-developed, and complex ideas are conveyed in lyrical prose without becoming cumbersome in their dense verbiage. Even so, there were some paragraphs where unintended redundancy marred the effect. If something is described as shocking, for example, then we need not to be told that the character was shocked. Appalled, or amazed, perhaps, but certainly not a word that was already used. Additionally, the overuse of variations of the word "caress" began to wear at me by the end of the book.

With its complex, carefully planned storyline; its believable characters; and the promise of intrigue yet to come, Tree of Life is a novel that propels the reader headfirst into hours of pleasant reading and goads him into swimming frantically towards the final destination: the last page. The ending left me itching for the next installment in this series, and I look forward to finding out the fate of characters that have become dear to me over the course of two days.… (altro)

I'd like to start this review by stating I'm not particularly a Fantasy genre fan, and really didn't expect to enjoy this book as much as I did. Ha! Fooled me.
Elita Faith Daniels has a definite way with words. The first sentence 'hooked' me, and her flowing sentences made me want to keep reading. Its rare in todays novels to
get such enjoyment just from the way wording is used.

Set in a mythical country, there are elves, and humans, and 'mage'.....those with mystical powers.
The story centers around young Deacon, and his struggle to come to terms with his part human, part mage heritage, while fighting his own internal demons. The authors descriptive prose brought the characters and surroundings to life, and I found myself rooting for, sympathizing with, and wanting to throttle Deacon at different times.
There are highs, and there are lows, and I felt each one. If there is one downside......its the ending. Elita!! How can you leave me hanging like this??? There had best be a part II and soon.
I read the e-book version, which was very well formatted. As you can see by my history, I am not one to post or review much, but this book is well worth anyones read.

Enjoy.… (altro)