G.P. Taylor, Shadowmancer Review

Overall Rating

An easy read, possibly interesting if you're into English folklore.

Watery and unoriginal plot, underdeveloped characters, predictable and unsatisfactory ending.

I found G.P. Taylor's Shadowmancer to be a boring and poorly written example of an attempt to merge Sunday-school-style Christian doctorine with popular fiction. It is so bad in some parts that I found myself literally rolling my eyes as I read. Characters are thin and events unfold much too quickly and predictably; there is no drama or suspense in this story. The plot is a highly unoriginal tale of clear-cut good vs. evil, and you know from the beginning how it has to end. The heroes are so boring that I actually hoped a couple of them might meet unfortunate ends just to make the story more interesting (but alas, it is not so).

I doubt even the most dyed-in-the-wool Christians would really appreciate the "messages" that not-so-subtley pepper this story. The biblical lessons which flow from the mouths of so many characters are all too obvious and basic: anyone who has ever followed any Christian teaching has heard all this before, and I doubt there is anything new or inspiring that may be gleaned from this book. Of course, maybe an 11-year-old might find some insight here, if they haven't been exposed to these lessons already.

If you are looking for a Christian alternative to Harry Potter, this is definately not it. I found the Harry Potter books to be quite innocent fantasy, while this book contains much more explicit examples of truly evil witchcraft and devil-worship. Yes, I understand that the devil-worshippers are the bad guys, but to an impressionable youth they are undoubtably the most interesting characters in the book. Not to mention that the Harry Potter books are excellent literary works, and I am suprised that anyone would compare this story to JK Rowling's creation in the first place as they are clearly not fit to be in the same league.