By Tom D Wright

Review by Miranda Boyer

As a first time author myself, I get a little more anxious when reviewing books by other newbie writers. I feel that I have to take a little more time to review a book by someone who is in my direct peer group, especially when they deserve the extra time. The Archivist by Tom D Wright was a solid attempt at a first book (although after further research I think it might be his third?). However, in the end it’s not really my cup of tea.

More often than I care for, the writing is unnecessarily long and overly descriptive, like beating a dead horse with words and more words and more words (<-get it?).  For example: “I quench my thirst with a pint of thick brown ale that looks like the muddy river we came up, but the cool brew has a nicely rich and smooth taste.” Or this one: “I am merely cautious as I stand at the entrance, and take my time, loosening my dark oilskin duster while I survey the room.” But than again, maybe this just simply doesn’t meet my writing style preferences.

I will give the author this much, there is an interesting plot amongst all the extra words and editing choices. I just had a hard time getting to it. The novel felt as though he was trying to hard to show me a story and forgot to tell it. Which ironically enough is the extreme opposite of another big no-no in the writing world, telling and not showing. I suppose that pendulum swings to both extremes and somewhere in the middle is where the gold lies.

There is adventure, intrigue, and at times it even reminded me of the Librarian. If you’re into futuristic dystopian societies with an almost steam punk meets Indiana Jones flair about them… than this book might be for you. It does have some really beautiful cover art and I have to give props to the artist for that, whoever they might be. We can’t win them all, for me this will be a pass.

I do want to thank my friend over at www.TheSteveStrout.com for the recommendation though. Check out some of his fantastic interviews with authors, actors, artists (the three A’s of Awesome) and get caught up on all the latest geeky news.