By:
Unknown
on Friday, October 25, 2013
Title: Skater in a Strange Land
Author: D.W. Frauenfelder
Series: Borschland Hockey Chronicles, #1
Published: November 12th 2012 by Breakfast with Pandora Books
Page Count: 251
Genre: Fantasy
Shelf: Review copy
Rating: ★★★
Synopsis from Goodreads:
24-year old Sherman Reinhardt dreams of playing ice hockey professionally, but his career at a backwater Minnesota college disappoints-- until his doctored resume convinces a team owner that he's good enough to play in the mythical Borschland Hockey League. Borschland is a place time never discovered, on a continent that shifts between our universe and another. Here the locals drive horse-drawn carriages and fly in helium-buoyed airships, but everyone is mad about hockey. Sherm is welcomed as visiting royalty and beyond all expectations leads his team towards a championship. Even better, he wins the admiration of the hypnotic, headstrong poetess Rachael Martujns. But then a shadowy friend, the Upright Bear, Linus Black, Jr., claims Sherm's success is a sham: higher-ups are ordering opponents to let him succeed. What's going on? Is Rachael faking it, too? Is it time to wake from the dream? Finding the truth becomes Sherm's ultimate goal.
My Review:
This author employs a unique writing style that keeps you engaged and moving forwards. The story is told in a very straightforward manner through the eyes of the main character which not only draws you further into the story but allows you to see the world from that particular POV. Not only was this story well put together but it was also interesting and extremely unique. Being Canadian, hockey is hockey, but Frauenfelder gives it a definite twist here. By combining the fantasy genre with contemporary fiction the author created a novel that definitely stands out. I got a good couple of giggles throughout and found myself wondering what I’d do in the characters’ place.
The characters in this story spanned a vast array of species and races. It was interesting to see them all interact in such different manners. I appreciate the way that Frauenfelder uses varying degrees of character development based on the characters’ roles within the novel itself. It leads to a cast that you get to know on par with how you would interact with the individuals. The author doesn’t waste words throwing random tidbits of information at the audience, but rather uses each word to further the storyline.
Overall this story was extremely unique but a bit hard to get into at times. Once the story got rolling it was definitely intriguing. I enjoyed reading this story and exciting this plane of existence for a while.
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