Review: "Bakkian Chronicles, Book II - Insurrection" by Jeffrey Poole

Title: Bakkian Chronicles, Book II - Insurrection
Author: Jeffrey Poole
Available: Smashwords
Summary: "Bakkian Chronicles, Book II! Add one magic-stealing goblet, half a dozen dimwitted trolls, and one conceited wizard. Next add one kidnapped member of the royal family, one concerned son, two bodyguards, a soldier, and an adolescent griffin. Throw in a pinch of green dragon. Mix well and you will have yourself one fantastic action-packed fantasy adventure set in the magical kingdom of Lentari."
Source: I purchased this on my own.


Review: See, this time I was smart. I went into it knowing what sort of book I was going to get, after that little expectation mishap in my review of the first book.


Although the book still straddles an odd line for me between being Young Adult or Breezy Grown-up, it's still a lot of fun. Reading too much dark fantasy makes me expect every "good guy" of being a turncoat, and it's a happy relief at the end of the book when they're actually genuinely good guys. Don't get me wrong, I love a twisty-turning book, but I also like reading stories where I know what I'm getting.


Admittedly, I apologize to Mr. Poole. I'm sure my review would be more enthusiastic if I wasn't in a bit of a reading slump. I was just determined to finish this once I'd started it, so I dragged a little but I know it wasn't the book. The book kicks off the action very fast, which draws you right in, and doesn't require any "info dumps" to tell us what happened in the last book. (A tribute to the author's skill.)


Rhenyon still rocks. Steve, Sarah and Annie all reading more like teenagers than adults is still a bit strange, but far from intolerable. I'll admit I'm a little uncertain about the necessity of the Ylani (that didn't involve Main Characters) scenes, but they weren't so bad either. Otherwise, I got no complaints. I liked the sorceress sister concept, dwarf versus wizard was fun, and I like the set-up for the next book.


So, a solid 4 Fireballs for this fun, exciting romp through Lentari!


Though, reading about Steve makes me really want to up my Crit on my WoW fire mage. That's a dangerous thing! ;-)