Ink of Blood

(This review may contain spoilers).

I really liked the concept behind this book, being someone who has enjoyed making up stories and fantasy worlds from a really early age.

I would have liked a bit more detail of the differences between Tamarisk and Earth. While Tamarisk clearly had some fantasy elements, there were also parts that matched modern-day Earth. And while there had been some thought given to the science behind things, I would have liked perhaps some flashbacks to Chris and Becky telling the stories to each other. Seeing the strain in their relationship in the present day would have been more poignant if there’d been more showing the contrasts between their relationship in the past and their relationship in the present.

While it was easy to see the tension between Polly and Chris, I felt there was too much in the way of information dumping in regards to the other characters. For instance Lisa, who seemed to be good friends with Chris and who knew Becky… but had little to no interactions with her.

The already-established relationships were actually quite easy to believe, but I thought that the friendship between Miea and Becky was glossed over and didn’t feel that real. Most of the travels to Tamarisk were just glossed over; and there was little to no foreshadowing about what Becky was seeing when it was shown. By the end of the book, I had very little idea of just how much time had passed.

I did figure out the exact cause of the Blight before it was revealed and I found it quite strange that the characters didn’t figure it out for a long time. When it was realised, it didn’t really feel all that satisfactory, as said realisation was glossed over and not shown.

I liked being able to see different parts of the world and something of the animals that existed, but there were some things that weren’t really explained away; for instance that Miea remembered animals that had disappeared while no one else did. I was also disappointed that the forays into Earth weren’t really explored.

I don’t think I’d read this book again, but it was entertaining to read the first time. I think there were some things that could have been expanded upon further.