Receive Call Off The Search (The Comyenti #1) Curated By Natasja Hellenthal Distributed As Interactive EBook
Fantasy, January,
By Angela Ford "Author of Closure"
This review is from: Call Off The Search A Novel of Epic Fantasy, Paranormal Mystery, Paranormal Fantasy, Bisexual Romance The Comyenti Series BookKindle Edition
I don't usually read Fantasy but I love to open my mind for the chance that I may discover a great read.
Well done Ms. Hellenthal!
You captured my interest throughout this story and I loved getting to know the characters slowly, Not only a brilliantly written fantasy but I loved how there were interesting views added throughout that make you think, The ending love a good hook that intrigues you for book number!
The lead character Sula is definitely strongwilled while being faced with such heartbreaking decisions, Her search takes her on a journey to find more like her, Along the way, Sula meets Felix, Will a new lover stop her search
If you love fantasy, you will love Call Off the Search, "Call Off the Search" by Natasja Hellenthal was a real surprise find for me, Not usually one for fantasy books I was intrigued when a friend recommended this book and pointed out the author's fascinating personal background, As animal lover I was persuaded to read this story where a special type of beings exists that have a very
special connection to animals,
Our heroine Sula is one of them and is hunted by humans for it, She finds a "soul tie" with Felix, a human,
The book has a wonderful message and works on many levels, Sula is a fantastic heroine who isn't your average superwoman but whose solutions to her problems are more peaceful,
Well written, gripping and just my cup of tea, An elegant love story to all that lives
Call off the Search is a beautifully written fantasy, As much as I loved The Queen's Curse, I found this one more mature and elegant, Winter is described with such love and rich language, I could feel it with all my senses, I could smell the cold, hear Sula flying, see the magical frozen lakes through her eyes, I was actually freezing in the lonely cold of Northland's winter,
MindMerge, Mindskill, Mindmode, Ms. Hellenthal has created a glossary of terms and almost a new language, The real sense of danger is a vein running through this page turner,
What imagination and careful attention to detail it took to create the Comyenti, their world, and their code of humanity, Yes, humanity, despite their pointy ears and their habit of defying gravity,
I saw Sula and her kind as wild animals, afraid, distrustful of humansand for good reasonsbut also very human in their kindness and the way they care for other beings large and small.
Having read two other of this author's books, I learned to completely trust her, in the sense of knowing that no animal will get hurt or be mistreated in her stories.
What an experience! Call off the Search by Natasja Hellenthal is a fantasy novel that boldly goes where most works in the genre dare not tread, The author combines magic and mythology with aplomb while providing us a unique allegory with its own distinct dialogue, The story unfolds along the Balla Mountains of the planet Bhan, where Sula meets Felix as he traverses the outskirts of his village, He and his kinsmen are on the lookout for Grobo, a giant who has been preying upon the locals, Sula makes peace with the giant and wins Felix's heart, though the question remains as to whether the alluring stranger will be able to assimilate into the mountain clan,
The theme of miscegenation resonates throughout the novel as Felix learns that Sula is of a different race, The comyentis are clairvoyant halflings who possess a certain sexuality that Felix finds irresistible, His predicament is mirrored by that of Shazar, who encounters Ashanna while trying to restore young Twello to his parents, Shazar, also of the comyentis, discovers a Truthstone that reveals Twello's psychic energies, Realizing he is not alone, he eventually forsakes Ashanna upon learning of Sula, A romantic triangle develops as both Sula and Felix wonder whether or not she truly belongs with a companion of her own kind,
The situation is exacerbated by the child of the mixed marriage, Fay, who is entirely unaware that her parents' marriage and her family situation is in danger, At first it seems to be of no concern to Felix as he perceives this as the natural order of things, Only his passion for his mate proves stronger than his sense of logic, and Sula seems torn by what seems natural and what she feels is right, Further complicating matters is Felix's sister Feline, who also harbors an unnatural lust for Sula, Both the humanoid Shazar and the perversions of Feline augur grave misfortune for Fay and her parents, Yet the question remains in the heart of Felix and the mind of the reader: was this racemixing doomed before it started
Hellenthal provides us with an incisive fable that will doubtlessly provoke far more discussion and interpretation than any of the stock contributions to the genre we've seen in a long time.
For a completely different spin in an exotic and defiantly brave new world, Call off the Search by Natasja Hellenthal is one you won't want to miss,
P. S. I received a free copy for review purposes,
.out ofC. Staff Author of The Dark Mountain Saga Fantasy Series, January,
This review is from: Call Off The Search A Novel of Epic Fantasy, Paranormal Mystery, Paranormal Fantasy, Bisexual Romance The Comyenti Series BookKindle Edition
I received a free copy of this book for review purposes.
Call Off The Search started off with a heck of a bang! Father and son being chased by their enemy with no escape at all in sight, Great beginning Natasja Hellenthal!
In the true sense of fantasy, paranormal mystery, Natasja took the reader to a strange new world, Natasja then slowly introduced the readers to the inhabitants of the world, Sulu, the main character was faced with some tough choices, while trying to find others like herself, There seemed to be a bit of an, "I am making this up as I go, " feel to this book. I am not sure if I imagined that, or if that was an intentional thing, The ending of this book tells of more to come, that is for certain, I closed this book questing what will happen next,
In giving this review I found it difficult to give a three star, or four star to this book, I liked it, but not overly, I decided to give four as the author did a wonderful job of working characters into the book, I had a tough time following the story line, I was not really sure what to think of the Lesbian twist being added to this fantasy, I do not read this sort of thing, All in all this was not my sort of read, but it was a good read, Natasja Hellenthal has managed to pull off the difficult balance of writing essentially about racism and to a certain extent the environment, without it turning into a lecture, but rather a wellpaced, interesting fantasy story.
The main character, Sula, is by far the best a female lead who is strong, not necessarily in a physical/aggressive man's definition of strong, but is able to deal with difficult situations intelligently, without resorting to violence.
A refreshing change.
I most enjoyed the parts where the personal interaction got past a simple, twosided relation and a third party upsets the situation, Watching Sula as she is pulled in awkward directions by the force of duty or confused emotions really upped the tension,
The book ends on a savage note, leaving big questions as to what will happen next, A definite hook for the series, This is a captivating story, with vivid imagery of a fantasy world, Sula believes she may be the last Comyenti but is travelling the world, hoping to find others, On her travels she meets Felix, who is human and as humans were responsible for the near extinction of her race, she is immediately wary of him, However, she helps Felix and his fellow villagers recover their food supply, which was stolen by a giant and over time she falls in love with Felix and they have a child.
Life is good until the last full Comyenti Shazar appears, having learned of her existence from his own travels but I mustnt give away any more of the plot!
Although the story is written as a fantasy, it is very relevant to the world in which we live today.
It is a story about peaceful coexistence with other races than our own, it is about care for the animals who also inhabit our planet and many other topical issues are mentioned.
It is also very much about the emotions of love, fear and loneliness among others,
I strongly recommend this read to anyone who likes an intelligent and beautifully written story, whether or not you would normally consider yourself a fan of fantasy!
Let's start out by saying I really enjoyed this book, and am waiting very impatiently for the next.
This story out with Sula a comyenti a humanoid who has the ability to absorb the abilities of animals and use them for survival, Ar first, I was having a hard time grasping what was happening, it wasn't sure if she was a shapeshifter which she's not, or if she was simply using abilities.
As I continued to read, I became more clear and I was suddenly thrust into a very lovely story,
Beautiful descriptions transport you into the world of Sula and the planet Bhan, I was wary of her character, but after she meets Felix, I was hooked, The author is obviously very passionate about animal cruelty and her characters take the same stand,
We leave Sula and Felix and are introduced to other, very important characters, We follow them, get their backstories and I found I was having a hard time connecting with the character who drives the rest of the books storyline, I really wanted to like him, but he was callous and very closed minded, But, I loved the story he told of the sun and the moon, in order to help his travel companion,
From here we are thrown a few surprises and struggle right alongside Sula with emotions, confusion, and trust, . .
Overall, this book has a tightly woven plot, believable characters, and has set the scene of Bhan and the history of the comyenti in a style I really enjoy.
I hate spoilers, so I'll stop there, but lets just say by the last page of the book, I was yelling, literally, I yelled, . . and can't wait to see what happens next,
The planet Bhan. For millennia, humanity has persecuted the beautiful and mysterious comyentis with a deep set hatred burning their homes, driving them from their lands murdering and enslaving them wherever they find them.
Now, Sula, one of the last of her great and noble line, is fleeing for her life, with not just her own life but perhaps her whole species cupped precariously within her hands.
As a maelstrom of blood and fire slowly engulfs her, a man steps forth from the flames and reaches out to her, . .
Should she trust him Can she afford not to
Read "Call off the search" and cling to Sula as she fights for everything she holds dear.
All in all a very good read, and pleasing to immerse oneself in a fantasy novel that takes time to make the reader think, Strong characterisation is evident throughout and it comes across as intelligent and well thought out,
The comyenti are a plausible and interesting race and I enjoyed reading a work by an author who cares enough about her craft to work on creating new slants on existing themes.
Recommended. Natasja is imaginative and writes well, The story was good and different, but also understanding throughout the whole read, Natasja also hints points throughout the read in the way she writes, which makes you think and makes it more interesting to read,
The characters are crafted well into the world, Sula is a strong character and I liked her, Don't know about the lesbian twist in a fantasy book where I haven't read one before, but it was ok,
The book can be recommended to all readers, though I don't think this book would be good for children, Despite my aversion to cliffhangers, I still gave this incredible story five, This fantasy takes place in the world of Bhan where Sula a humanoid is pressured into a promise to keep her species alive, The humanoids are on the brink of extinction and this strong creature is put in a position of choosing between personal sacrifice or happiness, The writing is excellent and captivating, the dialogue is believable, Now I must read Book, FTC Disclaimer : I borrowed this book from Amazon's Lending Library
First, I'd like to say that I applaud the author's efforts, Natasja Hellenthal has obviously attempted to speak up about things she feels especially strong about, through a work of fiction,
In the first quarter of the book, it is evident that Ms, Hellenthal is promoting a vegan lifestyle, as she clearly defines through her heroine, Sula, her feelings about the consumption of any meat or dairy products, Felix, a human who has befriended Sula, feels it necessary to defend his village's practice of keeping animals for milk, which he quickly tells Sula is only for the children.
He then points out that the villagers do make and consume cheese, but only just enough !The consumption of meat is described as "cave man" like behavior, Please !
Sula has the potential to be a great character, but she is poorly developed, Felix seems more like a juvenile, rather than a grown man, Sula could have been developed better early on in the story if the author had spent time with her "travels" prior to arriving at Felix's village, Events and encounters along the way could have been used to clearly "show" Sula's feelings about the treatment of animals and her isolation resulting from the extinction of her race.
Veganism is not the only message here, Other, quite poignant messages are made throughout the novel about man's relationship to nature and the Earth, In some of these areas I agree with the author, man has elevated himself above nature and no longer considers himself a part of it, I should note that while I am not a vegan, I certainly can't say that I disagree with the practice, This review and the rating have nothing whatsoever to do with the messages that the author portrays in the story or my opinion of them, . . the rating and review are based on the "Quality" of the storytelling and the writing style,
My best advice to the author, learn how to show your reader more, . . and tell them less. The dialogue is extremely unrealistic, I tried to imagine an instance where these types of exchanges might take place and I just couldn't do it, not even in a fantastical setting, The author spent a good bit of time "explaining" certain emotions and convictions, "telling" the reader what those were, rather that "showing" through the exchanges,
Sadly, I was unable to complete this book, I say sadly because it is obvious that the author has invested a lot of time and effort here, I did however read the first sixty percent, The book is riddled with awkwardly worded sentencing, The authors overuse of adverbs and adjectives within a single sentence is distracting, The awkwardness of the wording required me to re read several sentences before continuing in order to understand where the author was going, The book could greatly benefit from some good old fashioned editing, Unfortunately, the problems with the writing take a good bit away from the story,
The story line is shaky and shifts a lot, Pages build you toward a story point that never presents and I kept asking myself, is this a fantasy novel or a book about animal activism It reads as if there was no planning, that the story just took shape as the author typed it.
. . which worked for Hemingway but does not work in this instance, The plot Couldn't find it,
Although this novel does contain "adult content", I think the author should consider removing this element and market this novel as "very" young adult, I think the story would appeal to very young readers, An example of that would be the very likeable, almost sweet twenty foot tall giant who lives in a mountain cave behind Felix's village, The giant has stolen an entire barn, picked it up like a box and taken it to his cave, When Sula and Felix find him, it's obvious that the poor creature does not know that stealing the barn was wrong, Sula uses an analogy to reason with him, much like one would with a small child, The underlying message here, kindness to and acceptance of others different from ourselves, I found this character almost endearing, but out of place in a novel written for adults,
I would very much be interested in reading a revised edition of "Call Off The Search" in the future, .