Cheryl S. Mackey

There are several points of view that one can throw into a novel. Some work, some don’t, and really it depends on the writer. The most common (in my experience and not because I researched this) is the third-person limited. That is, the story is told from the point of a view of a character and internal thoughts of others are unknown. The point of view can shift, but there is almost always an obvious break (scene or chapter) to indicate this. A cousin to the third-person limited is first person–again, internal thoughts or even motivations of other characters are out of the purview of the narrator. Unless you’re a god, how would you know?

Another method of writing is the third-person omniscient point of view, which essentially means the writer has the freedom to bounce from person to person, motivation to motivation, thought to thought, feeling to feeling. This can be done, but it can also be very confusing. Unfortunately, this was what I faced with Shadows & Starstone (The Immortals, Part One) by Cheryl S. Mackey. There were too many times when I believed I was in the point of view of one character and things shifted on me. That made parts of the novella very confusing, especially during some of the fight scenes.

Shadows & Starstone (The Immortals, Part One) is a not a bad read. It is a novella, and a prologue to the rest of the series. I’m not against being introduced to a world in this way, but it makes it difficult for the reader to become invested in the world. In fact, I rather enjoyed the plot: four immortals must protect a village and its supply of a power source that can help an invader–the Dro-Aconi–gain complete power. The fight scenes were well thought out, and the interplay between the characters of Ivo, Jaeger, Jadeth and Emaranthe was entertaining.

It is very hard to introduce a fantasy world that has to be built from nothing in 119 pages, and if the reader is unable to connect with the characters because of shifting POVs, then the task is that much harder. All this to say, however, that I will continue the series. The three books in the series are short, and I really think if this was presented to me as a full novel I would have been more engaged. I would recommend Shadows & Starstone (The Immortals, Part One), but only if you see as part of one novel and not something that can stand alone.… (meer)

After multiple deaths in her family, Moira has lost almost everything. Even life is a struggle as people question why she survived the deadly accidents, while the rest of her family died. When she's suddenly attacked by a strange man with green eyes in her living room, two angle-like creatures come to her rescue and take her to another world, Skyfall. There, she discovers that there's so much more to her than she ever suspected. . .or wanted to know. Now, she's expected to save an entire world.

Moira hits with sheer loneliness and isolation. The baggage from especially her sisters' deaths has left her in a serious state of self-doubt, and this reflects heavily on the scenes at high school as she's shunned to the extreme (at times, excessively so). These first chapters are raw, and the attack from the stranger grabs with tension pure. And this has a great contrast with Skyfall, where she wakes up and finds herself in light and with a sudden pair of very close friends.

The tale keeps a nice pace. Most of the high action doesn't happen until the later chapters, letting the plot concentrate on Moira and her search for the truth. The search involves more of a logical discovery than real action, something which will delight fans of character depth and emotional bonding more than fast-paced hopefuls. There are many layers of secrets and these are laid out nicely, while holding several surprises. There's still enough left open to lead into the rest of the series.

Friendship is key in this book, one that happens instantly. The reasons for this are laid out, but especially the bond to Belamar (a romance) is rather sudden. Still, it's warming as the tale goes on and builds a nice set-up for tension at the right moments.

This is a prophecy book but does hold several refreshing and new twists. The author does a lovely connection to Greece and builds a beautiful world and history. While some areas could flow better and there are typos, the story is entertaining.

It's a nice start to what appears to be an interesting series.

I received a complimentary copy and enjoyed it enough to leave my honest thoughts. I'm giving it 3.5 stars and rounding up.… (meer)