The Right Hand of Velachaz - Rie Sheridan Book Review

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"The Right Hand of Velachaz"
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Review Summaries

"Teman did his best to survive on the streets ever since his mother died and he was forced out of his home. He was only twelve, though, so he had to be careful to avoid all of the bullies as well as try and find somewhere decent to sleep at night where he wouldn't freeze. When the wizard Velachaz approached him one evening, Teman couldn't pass up the powerful man's offer for a bed and a full belly. Everyone knew that Velachaz was a powerful dark wizard, of course, but Teman was almost too desperate to care. So Teman was surprised when they arrived at Velachaz's home to discover that the man whose name was only spoken of in whispers throughout the kingdom was actually crippled on his right side. Velachaz had to spend a lot of energy and effort to keep up the illusion of his invincibility and was looking for a bright lad to help him out and Teman seemed to fit the bill perfectly. They were both pleasantly surprised to discover that Teman had a natural affinity for magic and Teman quickly became Velachaz's apprentice as well as errand boy. While Teman was gathering some supplies for his master, he ran into the gallant knight, Galen, who narrowly avoided killing Teman and himself for Galen was truly the clumsiest person that Teman had ever met. However, Galen was a knight, clumsy or not, and was off to slay a dragon laying waste to a corner of the kingdom. Galen's family had more or less forced him to try to slay the dreadful dragon because they would lose all of their land if he did not. Teman decided that if anyone needed help on his quest, it was Galen. Luckily, Galen turns out to be Velachaz's nephew and so Teman is off on his first grand adventure. Along the way, he will meet the fairie folk, learn new magic spells, have a cat-woman ensorcell him, and confront the dragon itself... This is an action-packed fantasy for younger readers. The tale is well written, but it is almost too full of adventures. Any one of the things that Teman does or any of the people that he encounters could have been a book all by itself so it was a little bit too relentless of a pace to have them all in one. Still, younger readers will enjoy the book because Teman does dabble in almost every aspect of traditional fantasy so it is a good introduction to that. Due to the involved plot, however, there is little if any character development and, while the characters are likeable, they are definitely 2-dimensional and you don't really feel anything for them. Still, it is a short, fun read for those looking for something in between Harry Potter books.

Crested sapwood supportable noradrenaline runout. "
Debbie, Resident Rie Sheridan Scholar

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Overall Review

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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Book
Descript. of chases or violence - 30%
planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 30%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20%
Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 20%

Tone of book - very upbeat
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - fantasy world/fantasy past
Coming of age Yes
Youngster becomes - a powerful magician
Is this an adult or child's book? - Kid's book (ages 7-14)

Main Character
Identity: - Male
Profession/status: - mage/magician
Age: - a kid
Has magical/special powers? Yes
Magical/mental powers of main character: - can cast many different spells
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events? Yes
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - magical being
Age: - long-lived adults
Profession/status: - mage/magician
Has magical powers? Yes
Magical/mental powers of main antagonist: - can talk to animals - super strength - can fly - can read emotions - is very quick
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount
How sensitive is this character? - middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - bulging muscles

Setting
Terrain - Mountains - Forests
Earth setting: - during "Tolkien" (fairytime) times
Takes place on Earth? Yes

Style
Person? - mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
Is this an e-book? Yes
How much dialogue? - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog

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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s).

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