The Samsaric by G.W. Lwin | Review *4/10 Stars*
5:12 PM
by G.W. Lwin
Page Count: 344
Published: November 16th 2015
Publisher: CreateSpace (Independent)
Genre: Fiction, Horror, Mythology
Genre: Fiction, Horror, Mythology
Source: I received a paperback from the author for an honest review (Thanks!)
Summary
SAMSARA: "The cycle of birth, death and rebirth within the realms of existence ..." The plague of 1918 A.D. The mortal world is in a state of devastation.
A woman wakes up in an abandoned temple of Kali, the goddess of darkness, in the ancient city of Gaya. She does not know where she is. She does not remember the events leading to this.
She only hears the familiar voice of a tormented man who has haunted in her dreams. He tells her a story - of a time of souls and suffering, of immortality and gods, of life and death. This, he says, is Mesopotamia. The SAMSARIC is a fast-paced fantasy-horror novel full of history, horror and vampirism from an ancient era.
The verdict
I took my time and thought a lot before writing this review. I don't like writing negative reviews. I know fully well how much work goes in writing an original piece of literature, and then bringing it out as a self-published book, for the whole world to read and judge. If anything, I want to offer words of encouragement. I don't like writing negative reviews.
That said, I hope this review comes off as honest and constructive criticism (I'm not being mean, trust me). Intrigued by the blurb and anticipating a fast paced three hundred plus pages of awesomeness, I dug into this book. Mythology? Gods? Immortality? Vampirism? Horror? All my kind of 'spices' to throw in a book. Unfortunately, The Samsaric turned out to be not my kind of read. Let me tell you why.
Firstly, the writing. I didn't like the writing style. It wasn't exactly fast paced as the blurb said and lacked a certain amount of flow required for me, as a reader, to remain glued to the story and keep turning pages. Then there are the typos and grammatical errors. I believe a lot of readers tend to not go for self-published (or indie) books primarily for this reason. Nobody wants to buy and then give their time to three hundred pages of 'not properly edited/proof-checked' manuscript. Also, the entire narration (and dialogues) was mostly 'telling, not showing'. As a reader, I was simply being told that this and that happens, and this and that is being said as the dialogues. I couldn't connect with the characters either. No.
The plot, premise and world-building were interesting, and were perhaps the only things that kept me from DNF-ing (did-not-finish-ing) the book. It was pretty complex, intense and well thought out, enough to make me believe that we can expect some great stories from the author in the future.
About the author
I love anything that comprises the old and the ancient full of rich history and spirituality. For me, reading and learning from our ancient past is truly a beautiful, unique and intriguing journey.
From a young age, I have felt that there were two versions of me: the old spiritual one and a young soul who still lives in his fantasy world.
However, both of these versions share one commonality - my interest in vampires from the ancient mythology and beliefs. I was mesmerised by their folklore since young.
The need to express is very strong within me. Writing, for me, provides this gateway and helps me to grow as a person. It is a life-long learning path that I gladly embark.
As a writer, I would like to improve each and every stage of writing, to possess the art of crafting words to communicate the emotions that arise from within to the readers ... a vision shared by many authors.
I love anything that comprises the old and the ancient full of rich history and spirituality. For me, reading and learning from our ancient past is truly a beautiful, unique and intriguing journey. From a young age, I have felt that there were two versions of me: the old spiritual one and a young soul who still lives in his fantasy world.
However, both of these versions share one commonality - my interest in vampires from the ancient mythology and beliefs. I was mesmerised by their folklore since young.
The need to express is very strong within me. Writing, for me, provides this gateway and helps me to grow as a person. It is a life-long learning path that I gladly embark.
As a writer, I would like to improve each and every stage of writing, to possess the art of crafting words to communicate the emotions that arise from within to the readers ... a vision shared by many authors.
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