Vanity of Vanities - Martin Bertram Book Review

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Review Summaries

"Set on a mythical land northwest of Spain, "Vanity of Vanities," by Martin Bertram, is a novel of fantasy and imagination, but the men - both brave and ruthless - who occupy its pages are startlingly true to life. In the year 1181, on the island of Vanar, conflict is brewing. The wise and just King Marcus Vortigern rules the Kingdom of Rorq, but he has enemies in the wasteland to the east of the island. His younger brother Reymus, driven by a thirst for power, has mustered his own forces in the east and now looks toward Rorq, and the land of Devlorn that lies in between, to expand his kingdom further, with little care for peace and stability. Early on in "Vanity of Vanities," Bertram introduces his hero Joshua, "a tall, well-built man of twenty years, with curly brown hair and light-blue, helter-skelter eyes." Joshua, an adventurous farm boy from Rorq, comes to the aid of an emissary of Devlorn, Sir Patrick Beoulve. These are both brave men, and they will both have their own parts to play in the upcoming bitter struggle between the ranged forces in Vanar. Over the course of the book, Joshua rises in status from farmer to knight, meets Lady Jessica, a peerless warrior and assassin, and finds his true love in a woman named Eliza. "
Ernie Vasquez, Resident Martin Bertram 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 - 20%
planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 30%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30%
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 - great warrior
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book

Main Character
Identity: - Male
Profession/status: - farmer
Age: - 20's-30's
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 - very athletic

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 60's-90's
Profession/status: - Prince/Nobleman/King
Eccentric: Yes - eccentric - obsessed - deluded - emotionally unstable
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged
Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence - Very much smarter than other characters
Physique - very athletic

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

Style
Person? - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths
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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