Rewind Wednesday (Shatter and Render - Elizabeth C. Mock)

I'm addicted to blogging and am unable to stay away.  Also, I have to fill the massive black hole that SARAH is leaving open.  So, Rewind Wednesday is born!

Today, I'm going to go over two books I read fairly recently, I just never reviewed them.  I have an e-reader (which I love almost as much as my boyfriend and my car).  When I had a Nook, there was usually a weekly freebie, and this is how I discovered Shatter: The Children of Man by Elizabeth C. Mock.  Firstly, it was FREE!!  How can I not love a free book?  Alas, it is no longer free, but is $2.99 in the Kindle store, which is a bargain.

I don't recall what I had been reading at the time, but I needed a serious change of pace, so I selected Shatter.  Let me tell you, it roped me in almost immediately.  I finished it the first time in just a few days (and have since reread it, as it has a sequel and I couldn't recall how the characters ended up where the sequel began).  The pacing is fantastic and the story moves along at a steady clip.  Also, something I love: her command of grammar and the English language in general is great (though in going through Amazon reviews to refresh myself on the book, as I read it months ago, someone disagrees with me about her grammatical prowess.  Then again, my own grammatical prowess is often not what it should be.  Perhaps I read a version that had been edited after initial publication?).  The writing is clear, descriptive without being over-flowery, and just generally great.  Mock really has a way with words.  I felt that for her first novel, she did a fantastic job.  I later found out she is apparently a Language Arts teacher.  Therefore, I applaud and envy her dip into novel writing.

As for genre, it is fantasy.  Mock does a good job introducing an unfamiliar world and unfamiliar terms.  All the characters have back stories that don't need immediate explanation, and when they are explained, tie in well with the rest of the story.  Now, I also read mention that the basis for Mock's magic system in the novel is the card game, Magic: The Gathering.  I've never played, nor have I looked up how the game works. 

Anyway, I certainly liked it enough to read the second book, and I thought it equally as good.  I'm looking forward to a third one and also discovered there is now a prequel I'll have to buy.