Review: Obstacles by Christopher Reardon

Title: Obstacles by Christopher Reardon

Publisher: Solstice Shadows

Release Date: December 18th, 2013

Genres: Action, Fantasy, Drama

Medium: Paperback, Received for Review from author (Thanks Chris!)

Obstacles by Christopher Reardon is a unique new novel about making difficult decisions, facing your fears, and fighting for what you believe in. It is a perfect mix of action, drama, and fantasy. With an intricate plot and many plot twists, this novel is a good read for those looking for an original fantasy tale.

The plot of this novel is truly one of a kind. In it, a man named Alcott is faced with a difficult decision; let a small child die or compete in a set of obstacles to win the child his life... and Alcott take his place and lose his own. This original plot makes for a suspenseful ride. There's plenty of action and drama, making this novel perfect for both genders, and a fantastic fantasy element that ties everything together and makes it enjoyable for any age. It's fast paced and full of twists and turns you never see coming.

The writing was good. I won't say great, because it was lacking in many places. Most noticeably for me, the sentence structure was off and needed some variation. It felt like every single sentence was short and had the same number of syllables. There needed to be some differentiation here and this would have improved my opinion greatly. Secondly, the writing could have been a bit more natural. It would have flowed so much easier if this has been done. Thirdly, the dialogue could have been more natural as well. I just wish the writing hadn't been so rigid and fake at times. Aside from these few problems, the novel is very descriptive and keeps a good pace. The creativity is there, but the writing needs some work.

I'll briefly touch on the characters. They were all very nicely done and each played an important part. They each had great back stories (may I say I was pleasantly surprised to see that one of the characters had a sister with Down Syndrome. As I, too, have a sibling with Downs, I love seeing representation in fiction today.) Every character was perfection.

Overall, the novel was quite good. It was unique, with a great plot and wonderful characters, and although the writing needs a little work, I will recommend this novel to fantasy-lovers. Christopher Reardon is definitely one to keep an eye on for the future.