{Review} ETERNAL DREAMS: THE CURSE OF MEMORIES by Christopher Compton

ASIN #: B00D02Z1G8

File Size: 543 KB

Page Count: 228

Copyright: May 24, 2013

Publisher: Virtualbookworm.com Publishing

Book Summary:

(Taken from Goodreads)

Eternal Dreams is a fiction fantasy tale about six teenage friends who escape into a dream world to hide away from the horrors of their own lives, only to find that reality is catching up to them anyway. Drephoria, the name of the stunning dream world created from their collective minds, will test the limits of their friendship, break the balance between good and evil and prove the true value of memories and the imagination.

The first book in the trilogy, "The Curse of Memories," focuses on the central character Kail and his dark past, told through memories, while simultaneously introducing the rest of his friends (known as The Inseparable Six) and the other strange and deadly inhabitants of Drephoria. Pitted against the dark queen Malise and her legendary allies known as The Forgotten Four, Kail and his friends must rid their world of evil before they lose themselves forever. Nostalgic, thrilling, heart-breaking, and consistently memorable, Eternal Dreams is a fantasy at its finest.

Kathy's Review:

I know I’m jaded from having read so many of these YA-type stories, which all seem to begin in the same fashion … a group of friends stumbles upon something magical, and of course our main character has major powers he never knew about. So forgive me if I’m not impressed with the premise.

Going into a world of dreams that is created by their own minds is kind of cool, but really fails to deliver in any sort of meaningful way.

This book also suffers from Too Many Character Syndrome. Six friends are the center of this book. The author does a much better developing the male characters than he does the female, so my suggestion would be to lose the girls. Or make it two boys and two girls. Having exotic names such as Kail, Cora, Thalia and Kanoa doesn’t really help me distinguish them in my mind.

Not surprisingly, this book leaves a lot of loose ends at its conclusion, which suggests a sequel, if not a series. It’s not one that I would continue with because I haven’t invested in any of the characters, except perhaps Kail and Kanoa, at the book’s end.

I will say that the author’s writing itself is solid, but lacks some of the basic elements of a good novel. Cool idea, but just ok on the execution.