Rings of Anubis: A Folley & Mallory Adventure by E. Catherine Tobler
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is one of those books I’ll admit I put off finishing because I didn’t really want it to end. The author created a lovely world, but didn’t bash me over the head with a feeling of “This is Steampunk- you’re reading Steampunk!” She also cultivated some charming, sympathetic characters with believable motivations and pursuits. To be frank, what made me give it four stars is she made me stop analyzing her writing and to the point where I just wanted to find out what happened to my new imaginary friends. The pacing in the middle kept me from giving it five.
I did get a little bogged down in the middle of the book, where it seemed like she was trying to set things up for the ending, instead of continue with a consistent storyline. But once we got past that, it took off and became very fun. I also enjoyed the fact that she didn’t describe everything to death, including some of the dreams/visions that are mentioned. It made it easy for my mind to fill in the blanks and feel immersed in the story.
I would definitely recommend this book – it’s not G-rated, but that’s what keeps it feeling authentic to me. It’s also not full of gratuitous gore/sex/violence. I was really disappointed when I searched for E. Catherine Tobler on Amazon and found she didn’t have a sequel available (that I could find). Hopefully she will in the future.
| writing & rhythm | 