Genre

FANTASY, ACTION

Brief

A famous warrior and member of the royal family comes home to warn her people that the undead, a terrible menace the world thinks were defeated years ago, are back to destroy the world. She swiftly gathers together a group of humans, magic users, elves, and dwarves to fight alongside her. They must hunt down the necromancer responsible for bringing the dead back to life in order to put an end to it for good. In their final battle, the warrior sacrifices herself to keep her compatriots safe and save the world.

Overall Rating

FAIR

Point of View

THIRD PERSON

Narrative Elements

Authors Writing Style: FAIR

Characterization: GOOD

Commerciality: FAIR

Franchise Potential: FAIR

Pace: FAIR

Premise: GOOD

Structure: FAIR

Theme: FAIR

Accuracy of Book Profile

Yes, the Book Profile accurately reflects the book, though the logline could be more intriguing.

Draw of Story

The world is that of a vast fantasy epic, and the writer successfully throws the reader right into the midst of it. Exposition about the different lands, their terrains, and even the customs of their people come out really well within the action writing. Having Kai immediately save a young man from bandits and be presented with the mystery of who he is and why he was attacked, is perfect. It then leads into court intrigue once the prince’s identity is revealed, which is also great.

Possible Drawbacks

Kai is unfortunately not a very likable character once she reaches Raelis. She comes back after some twenty years away, claims she doesn’t have designs on the throne, and yet immediately starts bossing everyone around. This almost bullying aspect of her personality works later on in the book, once the audience knows her better, but she seems extremely entitled and borders on frustrating at first. Toning down some of this would help a great deal, so she reads less as a know it all. She is exceptionally smart and skilled, and she does know what she’s talking about, but we don’t know that yet. Her introduction would perhaps work better if she didn’t know she was royalty somehow, or if she wasn’t at all. That way she would seem less pompous while giving orders.

Use of Special Effects

THE STORY RELIES HEAVILY ON SPECIAL EFFECTS

Primary Hook of Story

There’s something classic about a group of adventurers setting out on a quest, and it’s always fun to follow along with that. It’s easy to envision a trailer showcasing the epic journey, and that’s a surefire hook to get an audience to watch it. The ensemble cast is also perfect because everyone will have one character they relate to the most, which is a great way to get people devoted to the film.

Fanbase Potential

Absolutely, this could have a large fanbase. Epic high fantasy tends to garner devoted fanbases, too.

Awards Potential

Due to the genre, an adaptation is unlikely to have traditional awards potential. It could succeed in visual effects or sound categories, potentially.

Envisioned Budget

LARGE BUDGET

Similar Films/TV Series

THE LORD OF THE RINGS, GAME OF THRONES, THE WITCHER, CURSED, SHADOW AND BONE

What’s New About the Story

Kai being a woman and the leader of this gang of adventurers is original, as well as her taking charge in general. This can be unfortunately rare to see in the high fantasy genre. An adaptation could build on this and swap the genders of some of the other characters so there are more female characters, which would truly set it apart. The desert landscape, where Shadow’s people live, is also rare for a fantasy piece. Whereas dwarves in caves and elves in forests is typical fare, showcasing the desert, and how treacherous it is, is great.

Lead Characters

Kai is a strong character that is almost wholly defined by her devotion to the quest and her warrior spirit. It’s rare to see this in a female lead, so it’s surprising and fresh. She also has the capacity to care about her friends and family, as well as her dead lover. She doesn’t let her pregnancy get in the way of anything she wants to accomplish, and she knows to prize saving the world above all else.

Uniqueness of Story

Though there are unique aspects to the book, it’s not a rare gem overall. Including more female characters — up to even having all of the adventures be women — would be a great way to make it stand out as a rare gem. Virtually nothing would have to change about their backstories or personalities, either. This also allows the Sisters of Mercy to be more firmly tied into the quest, too. It would be nice to see more of a matriarchal world being defended. It’s awesome to see Kai in her leadership role, and seeing more female characters in a similar place would make this more unique.

Possible Formats

Film: Studio, Streaming TV Series: Streaming

Analyst Recommendation

WORK IN PROGRESS

Justification

The book starts off on an exciting note, and immediately segues into political intrigue. Unfortunately this momentum is quickly lost as there’s a lot of sitting around and waiting, or preparation for fights or the upcoming adventure. The story meanders a bit, and it doesn’t feel like they’re on a set path plot-wise. Kai’s pregnancy is a big element up until she gives birth, but it ultimately impacts very little, and her death feels emotionally unsatisfying.

Tips for Improvement

The quest aspect doesn’t feel complete enough in its current form. It feels like they’re almost wandering around at times, waiting for a sign or circumstance to interfere. Accelerating the story will help this immensely, and it makes sense since most of their party is assembled pretty quickly. Currently they don’t leave Raelis until some 100 pages in, out of only 326. Pushing this forward and giving them a clearer trajectory of what’s to happen next (even if that’s thwarted along the way, and it should be), will hook the audience in more quickly. There’s a good deal that can be trimmed, as there are many passages of asking for food or about the food being served, or rooms being prepared and the like. These are realistic, but they’re usually glossed over as they’re necessary to the story or characters. Kai’s backstory that she shares with Alemrae is long and slows the pace very early in the story. Though it’s all interesting, it doesn’t all need to be included and could very well be its on prequel. There’s also repetition in the action, such as being told twice what protection the briar rose pin that Shadow has made for Kai offers. It would work just as well to only have this information come out when Shadow gifts it to her. The way Shadow is spoken of reads uncomfortably xenophobic. She’s of the desert tribes, which most seem not to know much about. She needs “enlightenment” (30), and she’s talked about in a way that implies she’s less civilized than everyone else. Shadow also just accepts this, when it’s within earshot. She’s more powerful than any of them, and it would be nice if she either bristled at these sorts of comments, or if they didn’t happen in the first place. Her native desert ways could be handled with more sensitivity. No one telling Kai she’s pregnant, and then stealing her weapons so she’s forced to not fight, reads as strangely sexist. It doesn’t seem like it’s supposed to come across that way, but it would be stronger if Kai herself admitted that she’s too weakened to fight back, or if she wanted to protect her unborn child.