Book Review: Griffin Rising by Darby Karchut

Griffin Rising by Darby Karchut
 Release Date: June 15, 2011
Publisher: Paladin Timeless Books 
Pages: 176
Received: Review copy from author
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Summary

From Goodreads:

For centuries, rumors have abounded of a lowly caste of supernatural beings known as the Terrae Angeli. Armed with the power to control Earth, Fire, Wind, and Water, these warriors secretly serve as guardians for mortals in danger.But for one young angel-in-training, Griffin, life is hell as a cruel master makes his apprenticeship a nightmare. On the verge of failing, a new mentor, Basil, enters his life and changes it forever.Taking on the identity of father and son, Griffin and Basil forge a special bond where honesty and trust go hand in hand to secure Griffin's destiny as a Terrae Angeli. Griffin's belief in himself and the love of a mortal girl are the perfect combination in overcoming the darkest days of his life. But will it be enough for him to succeed?For Griffin, it's time to angel up.

Review

4 stars for the characters

I'm a character girl, and these characters were fantastic. Darby Karchut writes with a deep grasp of the complexities of human development and crafts believable characters I easily fell in love with.

Now, sure, maybe the characters were a little *too* perfectly sweet and understanding, and sure, maybe the villains were a little *too* Stock Evil Villain, but that didn't bother me much. Bottom line is I liked these characters and I enjoyed spending time with them.

The relationship between Griffin and Basil is the central focus of the book with the rest of the plot loosely filling in the gaps around them. I wish I had a Basil of my very own. He is Griffin's mentor, but really he's more like his father. Caring for Griffin with a steady, kind, and deep understanding, Basil easily wins the father of the year award. I felt enveloped in a feeling of heartwarming serenity every time he and Griffin interacted.

Griffin begins the book as a scared, abused kid who quickly blossoms into a sweet teenage boy just beginning to get swoon-worthy. His growing relationship with the girl next door was nice and enjoyable to read, but didn't make me melt. The will-they-or-won't-they romantic tension and desire to find out how Katie will react to Griffin's paranormal secret is pretty much non-existent due to the spoilerific prologue (new readers might want to skip it).

I think this mostly comes from the overwhelming parental vibe (whether from the author or Basil, I'm not exactly sure). The book did not seem like it got into the head of a teen. Darby Karchut writes with stellar insight into teenage behavior, but the book is very clearly from the perspective of a learned adult and not a developing teen. I had no problem with this, but then again I'm not a teen.

3 stars for the plot

The plot is pretty thin and were it not for the excellent characters I'm not sure how engaged I would have been. Griffin Rising really is much more of a contemporary relationship book than it is a paranormal book, and I'm more of a high-action paranormal reader than a slower contemporary relationship reader. 

The narrative shifts around all over the place in ways that I normally would not have liked, but somehow Darby Karchut managed to pull off pretty well. It shifts from chapters written in the third person to chapters written as journal entries from the perspectives of Basil, Griffin, and Katie. I appreciated getting these multiple points of view and, given how short the book is, I think it helped flesh out the characters more effectively than sticking with one narrative style would have accomplished.

Then again, lengthening the book could have also helped. The plot breezes across years, lightly touching down on important events, heartwarming exchanges, and little asides before quickly moving forward in time again. Each chapter is only a few pages long.

On one hand, I'm an impatient reader so I really appreciated how this approach helped keep the plot moving along at a good pace. Scenes were kept short and sweet and then moved forward before they became unnecessarily stretched to the point of dullness. It also made for a very fast read.

But, this snapshot approach also made the book feel even less plot-focused. I have an excellent grasp of the characters, but I never felt engaged in the actual events. I feel like I went to Baskin Robbins and only got to try a few flavors with that tiny sample spoon they give you, but what I really want is to actually get a two scoop bowl of ice cream. So, tasty and good, but unsatisfying and leaving me wanting more.

Though, I have to say, I didn't expect that ending at all. It was like a slap in the face and I'm still reeling. Well done!

Wait a minute, isn't this self/indie published?

Usually I don't accept review requests for books that are self or indie published, mostly because the vast majority of them aren't very well-written and my TBR is too large to spend time wading through them. But, there are occasionally rare gems in the self/indie publishing world and Griffin Rising is definitely one of them.

Griffin Rising is one of those books that is probably self/indie published because of the subject matter and NOT because of the writing skills (or lack thereof) of the author. Darby Karchut's writing is perfectly fine and should not be painted with the Self/Indie Bad Grammar brush. The subject matter I'd say is only because it is less of a conventional "sure thing" because of its father/son focus than because there is anything wrong with it.

If you're hesitating because of the self/indie stigma, then I wouldn't let that worry you.

Bottom line

The ending of Griffin Rising is not a cliffhanger because the main hurdle is resolved, but the way it is resolved definitely has some MAJOR implications for the next book.

I enjoyed reading Griffin Rising so much that I have added both the sequel Griffin's Fire and Darby Karchut's new series Finn Finnegan to my TBR. Whatever issues I may have with the plot development, I'm a character girl and Darby Karchut is a great character writer.

Recommended for fans of touching interpersonal stories, particularly with a focus on father-son relationships. 

Explanation of rating system: Star Rating Key 

Do you have any questions about Griffin Rising that I haven't addressed?
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