{ The Eye of the Crystal Ball by T P Boje }

The Eye of the Crystal Ball by T P Boje

June 23, 2011 by T P Boje

Source: from author for review

Format: Ebook

From Goodreads:

When Sara was newborn her parents left her at the doorstep at Mr. and Mrs. Schneider's house.

When Sara was ten she discovered she was telekinetic. She began to move stuff around when she got angry just by her will alone.

When Sara was twelve her real parents came for her and took her with them to live like the Gypsy that she was - or Romani as they like to call themselves. They told her she was goin to fulfill a prophesy. That is was once said that out of the Romani people the greatest sorceress who had ever lived would be born.

When Sara was thirteen she had a baby brother and when she was fourteen he got very sick with a strange illness.

To save her baby brother Sara sets off on a quest to find his cure - well knowing that it will cost her dearly.

Soon Sara finds herself going through the Singing Cave, crossing Wild Witches Valley, talking to a ten foot giant snail, rescuing the Beads of Souls from the Hell-hounds, escaping a spell in Vamilla, the Forest of Vanity, visiting the King at the City of Lights before she finally reaches the Black Castle where she is told the Eye of the Crystal Ball can tell her how to cure her brother's strange illness.

But nothing is free in this world - and as Sara soon will know - everything has a price.

My Review:

The Eye of the Crystal Ball is an epic fantasy filled with adventure, wonderful creatures and some great life lessons. Aside from a one sentence reference to a rape, at the hands of a snake-wizard, this is a story suited to all fantasy readers ages 10 and up. If you are a lover of fantastical creatures, this book is sure to satisfy. Within the 22 chapters you will meet a werewolf boy, sorceress, witches, a speed talking giant snail, a griffin, a black dragon, a bogwoman, elves, Will-o'-the-wisps, a handfull of creatures turned into various weird creatures at the hands of the evil Sensisaron, pegasis and of course a unicorn.

However, aside from the adventure and characters, The Eye of the Crystal Ball left me feeling very conflicted. To be perfectly honest, this book on a whole is in need of an editing overhaul. I am not a writer or an editor, but when a book is filled with this many spelling/grammatical errors and a few inconsistances within the story? It is just too distracting. I know that the author has had her books translated into various languages for publication, and it is quite possible that that is where the issue stems from. But from a personal stand point, this was too much of a distraction for me.

In the end, editing issues aside, the story at it's core and the characters are definitely a wonderful fantasy for young readers. I just hope that the next book in this series is given the editing overhaul that it deserves.

Rating: 2.5 stars