The Legend of Broken

May 15, 2013

Best-selling American novelist and military historian Carr (The Alienist) brings his talent for historical detail to this epic fantasy tale. Notes and explanatory information are included that support the (fictional) pretense that this tale is actually a discovered historical document. The story concerns the medieval kingdom of Broken and features corrupt rulers, religious conflict, battles, magic, and much more. However, the complex plot, interesting setting, and mythic heroic elements are overshadowed by the dense, disjointed storytelling, with overly long sentences, inconsistent narrative voice, mostly two-dimensional characters, a slow-moving plot, and wordy dialog. Heroically narrated by professional actors and narrators Tim Gerard Reynold (story), George Guidall (notes and introduction), and John Curless (correspondence), who each provide rich and lively narration. VERDICT While the narrative has some problems, this will be of interest to fans of the author, fantasy, and alternate histories.--Denise A. Garofalo, Mount Saint Mary Coll. Lib., Newburgh, NY

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