Book Review: The Red Sun: Legends of Orkney

by: Alane Adams

A book along the lines of Percy Jackson, but with Norse mythology. Sounds great, right?

I hated it. Now please temper that with the fact that my 9 year old says he loved it and won't let me give away the book. It was torture for me, and I couldn't wait to finish. I felt the main character was unlikable, as he seemed to go out of his way to make the worst possible decision. The other characters weren't developed much and you could take them or leave them. I didn't feel you got to know anyone very much. And some things that didn't make sense seemed to be put there just because other kids books do it. Like Sam's friend telling him that if he can't do it, no one can...or something along those lines. I literally stopped reading and stared at the book, "based on what???" The friend hadn't seen him do anything at that point. Neither fighting or magic, so where is that unwavering confidence coming from??? Just little things like that started wearing on me.

There's one scene that even CW agreed with me, the young lady is home alone waiting for her father to return. She hears a knock on the door and her first thought is that it must be her father. Seriously? That's your first thought? That would be my last thought because parents don't generally knock on their own door.

So as an adult, I was incredibly disappointed. CW did like it, but he even felt it was a stretch more than once. And what's worse, is I really wanted to love it. We were both excited to read this one.

It's around middle school aged, but I would recommend parents check it out themselves first. It's a bit dark fairly often, and Sam is not a perfectly charming character.

Hmmmm, maybe I should be recommending it. While I was annoyed, I was definitely feeling something strongly. lol

Alane Adams isn't a bad author. I think her writing was solid, and I would giver her another chance. But not Sam of Orkney...nope, I'm closing the book on this chapter. I think she needs to explore another genre and find her fit.