Guardians of the Forest

This novel - for the most part - was very good. Full of magical places and beings that makes it a fun-filled and never dull read. The dark chaos monsters, although cool and exciting to read, came off reading kinda half-cocked. It seemed as if the writer was going to make more characterization out of them - but didn't. Although filled with lots of cool imagery, along with some excellent characters - both human and elf - a lot of the scenes came off seeming kinda glossed over. As if the writer had a deadline to meet. This is still a very worthy read, despite the various problems I spotted. Liked to have seen this as a series or trilogy, so as not to feel so rushed in certain areas of storyline and characterization. This author obviously has a good grasp on fantasy elements. And does a decent job at writing battle scenes. But some of the battle scenes were not too clear, nor well balanced for my tastes. The different clans of elves were a treat. Unfortunately, the human main character seems to pale by comparison. That's a shame. I liked Leofric. But he came across as letting himself be pushed around for such a great human warrior. Didn't like that. And also, if the human was so outclassed as a fighter as compared to the elves...then why at the final battle scene can he all the sudden outfight most elves...? Still worth the read.