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Page-turner

15/8/2017

2 Comments

 
Picture
​Slave Power
by Raewyn Dawson
 


The spectacular cover image of the arrow-wielding young horse woman will certainly capture attention on the book shelves and encourage readers to flick through the pages of this beautifully presented book.
     YA readers will readily identify with the cast of characters. Girls will love imagining themselves as pure-hearted Melo, who embraces the peace way, but is also a fearless soldier when required. Melo’s nemesis, Mithrida, selfishly manipulates behind the scenes determined to undermine not only Melo – she also covets the Queen’s power.  
 The empathic leadership qualities demonstrated by Melo and her tribe sends a positive message for teenage readers. The story is not all love and peace but does touch on darker elements of slavery, including murder, rape, and sexual perversion. Note, these are not graphically portrayed, only referred to in the context of the story. More emphasis is placed on cooperation and peaceful resolutions.
     The story clips along and I had a continual desire to turn the page as I was invested in Melo and her tribe’s plight.
     There were a couple of style issues that distracted me from the story. The first was an overabundance of exclamation marks throughout the entire novel and, in my opinion, culling 99.9% of them would markedly improve the story flow. The second would be allocating the point of view (POV) to specific characters and having a distinct break between POV changes and removing omnipresent intrusion. 
   The author must have performed meticulous research and this attention to detail alongside her imaginative flair has created a fully fleshed world, complete with an entire and credible belief system. The settings are so richly described that starting each chapter is like stepping into a mind movie. 
     I thoroughly enjoyed Slave Power, Book One, of The Amazon Series, and I would read more from this author.

Review by WJ Scott, multi-award winning children’s author
Title: Slave Power
Author: Raewyn Dawson
Publisher: Mary Egan Publishing
ISBN: 9780473389376
RRP: $25
Available: bookshops
2 Comments
Cassandra Winters link
15/8/2017 12:00:02 pm

I am assuming based on the series name that this somehow deals with Amazons? If so I am signing up to read this entire series. You made Melo sound like a character that would be enjoyable to ride along with during this book.Is this book currently out? Wasn't sure based on the review. Definitely think this sounds like a book full of strong female presences, which is what I usually love to read!

Reply
Raewyn Dawson link
16/8/2017 06:29:28 am

Yes, the series is about the historical warrior women living around the Black Sea in the time of Alexander the Great. Slave Power is published and available as a paperback from various online stores, mainly from Scorpio Books. The e-book will come out in a couple of months. Book Two is finished and ready for publishing, but I'd better check for excessive exclamation marks.

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