27 September 2014

Zenith by Dirk Strasser

What's it all about?
Imagine...
A mountain so great it takes a year to travel from base to summit
A sun so powerful it drives you into madness if you look at it
An ascent so vital it determines the fate of the world
A summit so precious it holds the key to the divine


The world of the great Mountain is unstable. Giant pillars erupt from the surface and yawning chasms form unpredictably underfoot. Since the Maelir first stood on its slopes in the distant past, they have sought to still its anger and control its power. Each year, twin brothers are chosen to make a perilous journey to the summit. If they survive they will be witness to Zenith, and the secrets will be revealed to them.


When Atreu and Teyth embark on their Ascent, their Talismans lead them onto conflicting paths that will ultimately set brother against brother. And this time the Ascent itself is in peril as unknown forces that have long craved the power of Zenith will stop at nothing to make it their own even if it means destroying the very thing that sustains all life the Mountain itself.


Atreu?
Yep, this is who I was picturing too:



Atreyu from the legendary movie The Neverending Story


The book focuses on Atreu’s ascent (as this is book one in a series, I suppose we might learn more about Teyth's journey elsewhere, although I can't say I'm desperate to read more). Our hero meets some strange folk en route to the summit and learns that the world is a strange place. After much walking through fields, forests and villages, Atreu finally reaches the end of his Ascent and has some strange dreams.


Sounds strange?
Well, it kind of is. I love fantasy books, but there was something about the storytelling that made this story seem a bit flaky. Maybe it was the way Strasser introduced his fantasy world, referring to events, trees and societies with unfamiliar names and little description that made it hard to get into to begin with. Maybe it was the reliance on dialogue between the brothers to drive the plot forward rather than developing the characters.


In contrast, once you do get over this and into the journey proper, the author decides to painstakingly describe the scenery and the areas that Atreu travels through, slowing the narrative down to a glacial pace. And as for those strange folk Atreu met? They all just disappeared and were never mentioned again!


Is it any good?
I think it could be. The idea of the story is sound, this book just needs some TLC from a dedicated editor! If you can persevere through the journey, you will be rewarded with a satisfying ending where Atreu learns of a truth that no other 'Ascender' has ever discovered.




⭐️⭐️

 

About the author:
Dirk Strasser has won multiple Australian Publisher Association Awards and a Ditmar for Best Professional Achievement. His mythic fantasy series, The Books of Ascension, has been republished by Macmillan Momentum, this time including Eclipse – The Lost Book of Ascension for the first time in English. His novels and short stories have been translated into a number of languages. He also founded the Aurealis Awards and has co-edited and co-published Aurealis magazine for over twenty years.


Links:
@dirkstrasser

I received a free copy of this ebook as part of this promotional tour organised by











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