Review: Composer of the Calm Horizon

Hello all! It's been a minute. Today I have a new review for you. Composer of the Calm Horizon by Al Romano. I received this book for free in exchange for my honest review, which I've given below.

 Description: Have you ever felt like the stork got the wrong address? So she left you where you're not supposed to be: in a cage that you can never escape? That's exactly how 15-year-old Neph Baker feels, hated by literally everyone in his town for an arson whose perpetrator remains at large, yet for some reason everyone blames Neph. But he himself can't recall where he was when it happened. Nonetheless, the rumors were strong enough to grant him the ill-favored epithet that induces terror in all who hear it: The fire kid. But things aren't all bad, because even with everyone against him, he still has the company of the ever-loyal Grasshead, an otherworldly creature known as a hiphomoy and the only means of comfort Neph has. But with no money, no friends, no support and nowhere to go, Neph is forced to bide his time until the moment when he will leave his wretched cage of suffering and loneliness… for that is his one and only desire.Everything changes when he discovers the Natin, a group of humanoids who invite Neph to their home, for they believe he is the composer of the calm horizon, the long-lost hero of legends, who will defeat the Airatsmeka, the Natin's eternal enemies. Neph enters the novaverse, a utopian parallel world dominated by the Natin. Yet the utopia may be destroyed by the Airatsmeka if Neph doesn’t live up to his supposed destiny as the composer. Because they have no alternative, the Natin are open-minded to the idea that Neph is the composer, since they waited seven centuries for an opportunity like this, and time is running out.But there's an even bigger problem: no one is certain Neph is actually the composer. But the Natin are willing to test him if it means the defeat of the Airatsmeka. Realizing this might be his only shot at a better life, Neph is willing to go through any and all trials to prove himself. Should he fail, he will return to a life of condemnation and to the world from which he came, for the Natin have no tolerance for failures… and Neph can’t to go back into the cage.
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Okay, let's get into the review. First of all, I'm a huge fantasy reader, so I thought this book might suit my interest.

The Cover

The cover is probably one of my favorite elements to this novel. Fantasy creatures can be hard to picture, so the fact that the aforementioned Grasshead is included helps for imagery purposes. It also gives a clear picture of what it is: a fantasy book. Expectations met there.

The Characters

Ah, the characters. My feelings are so mixed here. I really did not enjoy Neph as a character and considering he is the focus, that was a bit of a problem for me. It's not bad to have a main character with problems, but I personally found him to be quite abrasive and frustrating at times. He had a bit of a romance involved and he was SO mean to the girl he liked at times. It felt a bit much.

My favorite character was probably a Natin named So'Krang, but overall I kind of found the characters to be a bit one dimensional. They had a lot of potential but never quite reached it. If the author continued to develop this further, I would encourage him to find more dimension in his characters, especially the more prominent ones. 

The Plot/Story

Okay, the plot was pretty interesting once I understand what was going on. But it also seemed like only a small portion of the story was covered in the book, since the author seemed to describe every minute detail. This was okay some of the times, but often it created longer than necessary scenes and chapters and put the book at a slow start. Additionally, some of the plot elements were not really integral to the story... there was a character included near the beginning that was discussed and only briefly mentioned later in the book. I didn't understand the significance of this character since she seemed like a large player early and then just vanished with no explanation of what she was about. I like the fact that this book plays with the "chosen one" trope since the main character doesn't actually know if he is, in fact, the supposed "chosen one". So that was a nice little twist to see. The writing could have been much tighter in places. I felt at times that I was reading a first draft, which isn't something you want. One of the large things that bothered me was the amount of cussing. I guess it's just something you don't expect from a fantasy novel, especially one with a main character of fifteen. Suffice it to say, I was really surprised with that fifteen's year old's mouth was extremely dirty. The publisher/author should probably make it known that though the character is a teen, this is not a true young adult novel, as it could be assumed to be. 

Overall, this book had a complex world. I wish we could have seen more of that world and have it more detailed and written with far less passive voice. With a bit of an overhaul, this book could be a rich, detailed addition to the fantasy genre.

If interested, you can find more here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07Q84R9GB