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Land of Betrovia #1
Betrovia
In a land where the horrors of war are as common as snow and ice in winter... Patrik Veillein, as a newly-married young man, turns down the safety of small town life to help his uncle manage a road-side inn many miles away. But before he can learn even the basics of running a roadside inn, the uncle suddenly dies. If he had stayed where he was born, Patrik could have become a successful hunter, fur trapper, or even a successful artist. So why did he leave the comforts of home? Not long after the death of his uncle, Patrik's wife dies, leaving him to mourn her death while struggling to be a good father to their two young daughters. Where can he find the inner peace he feverishly desires? Tamara, boisterous, beautiful but often cantankerous, has turned down every man who has offered to rescue her from the pitiful routine of The Lonely Fox inn. Who, if anyone, could ever capture her love? Kristof, The Lonely Fox Inn's stable hand, has attempted to earn Tamara's affection since he first set eyes upon her but has suffered a lifetime of rejection in the few months he has been employed there. What can he do to somehow make her love him? Betrovia... a land in disarray... a land in need of peace...
- GenresFantasy
302 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2011
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88 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
January 6, 2012
Betrovia is the first of a three-part trilogy. This fantasy novel re-creates a time when a soldier’s weapons included swords, and bows and arrows. War ravages Betrovia. It tells the story of Patrik, an innkeeper: trapper, hunter, and artist; and his two daughters, Tamara and Galena, and the war that shapes their existence. When Patrik finds a package of scrolls, he decides to trust Teophelus, a neophyte priest, to help him get them translated. Teophelus agrees to help him. Teophelus soon discovers a religious community eager to squelch the scrolls.
The characters move in unexpected directions, especially when Tamara, oldest daughter, beauty, uninterested in the men who pursue her, an old maid at eighteen, finds her love and a life completely changed.
The story moved well and with enough detail to put the reader in the picture. The characters rang true.
I received the book from the author but I have not met him. He did not pay me. This is an honest review.
The author, Dave King, doesn't have an account on Goodreads so I need to add that the cover is beautiful.
The characters move in unexpected directions, especially when Tamara, oldest daughter, beauty, uninterested in the men who pursue her, an old maid at eighteen, finds her love and a life completely changed.
The story moved well and with enough detail to put the reader in the picture. The characters rang true.
I received the book from the author but I have not met him. He did not pay me. This is an honest review.
The author, Dave King, doesn't have an account on Goodreads so I need to add that the cover is beautiful.
April 3, 2013
I read Betrovia in anticipation of interviewing the author on my blog. I think we had a good chat, and you can read it here: http://christfictionandvideogames.blo...
For those wanting my mini-review, however, here it is:
In preparation for this interview, I’ve been reading Betrovia, the first book in the series. If you love authors who build vivid, rich fantasy worlds, these books may be right up your proverbial alley. I felt like Dave really loves the world he created and the characters in it. That affection shows through on the page (or the e-reader, as the case may be) and, as a reader, I want to get in there and discover what the author loves so much about these characters and the land of Betrovia.
But there can be a downside to this affection as well. Without a firm and sometimes merciless editing hand, it can be easy to get a bit lost in the world you love and spend too much time fleshing out minutiae that’s not relevant to the plot and may bore readers who aren’t yet in love with the characters. Trust me, this is something that I, and probably most authors, know about, and it’s a problem that I feel plagues Betrovia too often, especially in the first half of the book. I was waiting for something a bit more compelling than the everyday lives of an innkeeper and his family, and long discussions about trade agreements reminded me a bit of The Phantom Menace. The good news, however, is that things do pick up and the plot—especially involving a young soldier who rises through the ranks quickly—grows more interesting and more urgent. At the halfway point, I probably wouldn’t have wanted to visit Betrovia again; by the end, however, I fully intended to read the sequel, and still intend to. So Dave won me over.
Except for one little pet peeve I didn’t even realize I had. Initially, it seemed like everyone was glib. I felt like the word glib was constantly thrown around, except that it seemed to be used as a synonym for “talkative.” Research indicates that the word is actually only used four times in the first 29% of the book. That’s probably not as excessive as I felt. I was vigilantly looking for more glibness but it disappeared at that point.
For those wanting my mini-review, however, here it is:
In preparation for this interview, I’ve been reading Betrovia, the first book in the series. If you love authors who build vivid, rich fantasy worlds, these books may be right up your proverbial alley. I felt like Dave really loves the world he created and the characters in it. That affection shows through on the page (or the e-reader, as the case may be) and, as a reader, I want to get in there and discover what the author loves so much about these characters and the land of Betrovia.
But there can be a downside to this affection as well. Without a firm and sometimes merciless editing hand, it can be easy to get a bit lost in the world you love and spend too much time fleshing out minutiae that’s not relevant to the plot and may bore readers who aren’t yet in love with the characters. Trust me, this is something that I, and probably most authors, know about, and it’s a problem that I feel plagues Betrovia too often, especially in the first half of the book. I was waiting for something a bit more compelling than the everyday lives of an innkeeper and his family, and long discussions about trade agreements reminded me a bit of The Phantom Menace. The good news, however, is that things do pick up and the plot—especially involving a young soldier who rises through the ranks quickly—grows more interesting and more urgent. At the halfway point, I probably wouldn’t have wanted to visit Betrovia again; by the end, however, I fully intended to read the sequel, and still intend to. So Dave won me over.
Except for one little pet peeve I didn’t even realize I had. Initially, it seemed like everyone was glib. I felt like the word glib was constantly thrown around, except that it seemed to be used as a synonym for “talkative.” Research indicates that the word is actually only used four times in the first 29% of the book. That’s probably not as excessive as I felt. I was vigilantly looking for more glibness but it disappeared at that point.
June 12, 2014
Dave King is a fantasy author who clearly has an eye for the grand as well as for the little things. Whether it is the politics of the kingdom or the politics of the kitchen, the author pays close attention to every detail. This is definitely my kind of fantasy story; it remains focused on the characters and their day to day doings without losing sight of the grander picture, and without locking you inside their heads like many modern fantasy novels seem to do.
In Betrovia, Dave King approaches the fantasy genre from a unique perspective, telling the tale mostly from the perspective of an old inn keeper - the sort of man who is usually only in the background of epic stories.
I liked just about everything about the book. There was very little in the way of magic, which I much prefer over magic-saturated stories like The Wheel of Time series. The author did a great job of making his characters lovable and interesting, each with their own quirks and strengths.
The dialogue was especially interesting. There was a lot of humorous banter and the characters had some unique expressions that helped give you the sense that you were truly in a different land and a different time.
One of the most enjoyable fantasy stories I've read in a LONG time.
In Betrovia, Dave King approaches the fantasy genre from a unique perspective, telling the tale mostly from the perspective of an old inn keeper - the sort of man who is usually only in the background of epic stories.
I liked just about everything about the book. There was very little in the way of magic, which I much prefer over magic-saturated stories like The Wheel of Time series. The author did a great job of making his characters lovable and interesting, each with their own quirks and strengths.
The dialogue was especially interesting. There was a lot of humorous banter and the characters had some unique expressions that helped give you the sense that you were truly in a different land and a different time.
One of the most enjoyable fantasy stories I've read in a LONG time.
January 14, 2012
Betrovia is a trilogy about a fictional land called Betrovia. Names of places and people remind you of a place far away in another time striving to make their society work in the face of adversity and adversaries. I love to read fiction with adventure and Betrovia provides that through the pen of Dave King as he paints word pictures of the lives of common people and their relationships with royalty, middle class and servants of the day. The story keeps your interest as the characters' lives unfold, and of course I am looking forward to the second of this three part series.
If you love clean, imaginative fiction full of intrigue and detail, then the Land of Betrovia is just the get-a-way place you need to be. You can just loose yourself in the story, and become part of a land and adventure far away.
If you love clean, imaginative fiction full of intrigue and detail, then the Land of Betrovia is just the get-a-way place you need to be. You can just loose yourself in the story, and become part of a land and adventure far away.
March 28, 2013
The land of Betrovia comes alive through great descriptions that paint a clear picture of the characters and the setting. This book reminds me of David in the Bible for there is a young man who becomes king much in the same way David the shephard boy did. There is loss and there are victories. This was an enjoyable read, it had a slow start but a great ending.
March 5, 2012
Kept me on my " toes" with unexpected twists and turns! Can't wait to read the next book!
July 4, 2013
Sorry to say I gave up on this one only a few pages in. I found Patrik to be way to strange. He reminded me of someone who is mentally off. He became distracted over the smallest thing. One minute he is asking his daughter why she is so hard on Kristof, the stable boy, and the next minute he is distracted by how the sunshine highlighted a cleaning rag on the table. His daughter never answered by the way and it took him a full minute to realize this. The entire time you are in Patrik's head you see him distracted more times than he seems in "the moment." Too odd for me.
May 8, 2013
A fascinating read. The characters, the plot, the setting -- it was quite the enjoyable book. The richness of the world Dave King has created is quite impressive. The depth and individuality of the characters not only bring them to life but they draw you into their lives. A good, clean read full of action and adventure- well worth your time
November 10, 2015
Oddly paced and in need of an editor. Difficult to finish.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews