What do you think?
Rate this book
Desiderata
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 22, 2025
Great foundation, but the implementation could have used one more revision to address the weaknesses.
This is an ambitious epic fantasy with impressive world-building and thematic/philosophical scope. It includes a nice ensemble cast of distinctive and relatable characters. The action scenes are vivid and, for the most part, well done; they help to reveal the characters' arcs.
While a good debut novel, it could have benefited from better high- and mid-level editing. The biggest problem is one of pacing and would benefit from improving the transition between chapters/characters. While mostly clear, many paragraphs and long sentences could have been broken and streamlined. Sometimes, there is unnecessary telling rather than showing. The different characters' dialogues could be differentiated better to fit the character; often, the dialogue seems generic when it should have been more character-specific. There is also a sizable number of cases where the narration and dialogue seem to border on info dumps rather than the natural way the characters would talk.
Bottom line: I would have given this novel 3.5 stars but rounded up to 4 stars due to the potential this book could have achieved. I know that creating a new, improved edition is a LOT of WORK, but the end result could bump this review to a solid 5 stars.
This is an ambitious epic fantasy with impressive world-building and thematic/philosophical scope. It includes a nice ensemble cast of distinctive and relatable characters. The action scenes are vivid and, for the most part, well done; they help to reveal the characters' arcs.
While a good debut novel, it could have benefited from better high- and mid-level editing. The biggest problem is one of pacing and would benefit from improving the transition between chapters/characters. While mostly clear, many paragraphs and long sentences could have been broken and streamlined. Sometimes, there is unnecessary telling rather than showing. The different characters' dialogues could be differentiated better to fit the character; often, the dialogue seems generic when it should have been more character-specific. There is also a sizable number of cases where the narration and dialogue seem to border on info dumps rather than the natural way the characters would talk.
Bottom line: I would have given this novel 3.5 stars but rounded up to 4 stars due to the potential this book could have achieved. I know that creating a new, improved edition is a LOT of WORK, but the end result could bump this review to a solid 5 stars.
July 23, 2025
I’m not usually a reader of scifi but Desiderata combines enough of fantasy and the familiar to be enjoyable. On the intriguing world of Gracyr, where an ongoing struggle for power and truth unfolds, you first meet Emperor Armando, a "time-tested titan" in Ezmondia, who grapples with disappointment and a sense of unfulfilled "battle lust" after a victory. His reflections on past encounters, and specifically on the word "desiderata", hint at deeper, underlying desires and a troubled past related to his rise to power.
The story then shifts to introduce a diverse group of characters, each with their own complex motivations: Andromeda, a likable, skilled sword fighter from a struggling ranch seeking a way out for her family; Gerrard, a stoic champion swordsman grappling with his past and a sense of duty; Regina, an idealistic and introspective individual passionately concerned with energy reform and societal change; and Hector, a mysterious, guarded young man driven by a hunger for excitement and adventure, who wields the ancient, sentient sword Kazahvir. Their paths intertwine in a world where magic is rare and the influence of powerful entities and organisations, like the Order of Oranlak and the oppressive Ezmondian Empire, looms large. Their challenge is to unlock a new energy source (yes, the real-world parallels here aren't lost on me!).
As the unlikely companions find themselves confronting the manipulative forces, they uncover secrets about ancient powers, alien technology, and new energy sources. Very sci fi, but also quite fantasy – a surprisingly adept combo! I also enjoyed how the personal journeys of these characters were woven into the conflict: Gerrard confronts his past and the monster who killed his father; Andromeda discovers the true, vampiric nature of her blaster and an ancient book that speaks of humanity's potential and sacrifice; Hector struggles with Kazahvir's insatiable drive for conflict and his own distrust of others, yet finds a purpose beyond himself; and Regina continually challenges societal norms and her own beliefs, seeking to understand the "why" behind their world's injustices.
Although there was some telling rather than showing at times, I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would, given its genre. The characters felt genuine, well rounded, and suitably complex to keep me guessing as to what was going to happen. If you like quest tropes, unlikely champions, a little eco commentary to make you think, and sci fi, I think you’ll enjoy it too!
The story then shifts to introduce a diverse group of characters, each with their own complex motivations: Andromeda, a likable, skilled sword fighter from a struggling ranch seeking a way out for her family; Gerrard, a stoic champion swordsman grappling with his past and a sense of duty; Regina, an idealistic and introspective individual passionately concerned with energy reform and societal change; and Hector, a mysterious, guarded young man driven by a hunger for excitement and adventure, who wields the ancient, sentient sword Kazahvir. Their paths intertwine in a world where magic is rare and the influence of powerful entities and organisations, like the Order of Oranlak and the oppressive Ezmondian Empire, looms large. Their challenge is to unlock a new energy source (yes, the real-world parallels here aren't lost on me!).
As the unlikely companions find themselves confronting the manipulative forces, they uncover secrets about ancient powers, alien technology, and new energy sources. Very sci fi, but also quite fantasy – a surprisingly adept combo! I also enjoyed how the personal journeys of these characters were woven into the conflict: Gerrard confronts his past and the monster who killed his father; Andromeda discovers the true, vampiric nature of her blaster and an ancient book that speaks of humanity's potential and sacrifice; Hector struggles with Kazahvir's insatiable drive for conflict and his own distrust of others, yet finds a purpose beyond himself; and Regina continually challenges societal norms and her own beliefs, seeking to understand the "why" behind their world's injustices.
Although there was some telling rather than showing at times, I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would, given its genre. The characters felt genuine, well rounded, and suitably complex to keep me guessing as to what was going to happen. If you like quest tropes, unlikely champions, a little eco commentary to make you think, and sci fi, I think you’ll enjoy it too!
July 23, 2026
Desiderata, by M P Desmarais, is a Sci-fi/Fantasy novel with strong themes of environmental concern and corruption of power. Whether that’s political power or generated power.
It focuses on 4 main protagonists: Gerrard, Andromeda, Hector and Regina, coming together through a combination of chance and design to form a team who is set on saving the world. Not from monsters or villains on the traditional SF sense – although there are those elements. Rather, from the greed and shortsightedness that is sending the world ever closer to the brink of environmental disaster.
Each of the 4 leads are distinct and given their own space to develop and grow, challenging each other even as their situations challenge them, and in the main this is well-handled. However, I did find much of the dialogue a bit stilted and unnaturalistic. Pacing is also an issue, with some parts waiting for some plot to happen and others rushing ahead so fast, it’s difficult to keep hanging on.
World-building is strong, but there are times when references/analogies seem to connect more with our world rather than theirs. For instance, describing something as ‘Victorian’ has no relationship to that world unless they also had a queen called Victoria who ruled in an era that, by sheer coincidence, was known for those same certain values, architecture, etc.
In general, though, this was an interesting and thought-provoking read. Just needed a bit more polish to help it shine.
It focuses on 4 main protagonists: Gerrard, Andromeda, Hector and Regina, coming together through a combination of chance and design to form a team who is set on saving the world. Not from monsters or villains on the traditional SF sense – although there are those elements. Rather, from the greed and shortsightedness that is sending the world ever closer to the brink of environmental disaster.
Each of the 4 leads are distinct and given their own space to develop and grow, challenging each other even as their situations challenge them, and in the main this is well-handled. However, I did find much of the dialogue a bit stilted and unnaturalistic. Pacing is also an issue, with some parts waiting for some plot to happen and others rushing ahead so fast, it’s difficult to keep hanging on.
World-building is strong, but there are times when references/analogies seem to connect more with our world rather than theirs. For instance, describing something as ‘Victorian’ has no relationship to that world unless they also had a queen called Victoria who ruled in an era that, by sheer coincidence, was known for those same certain values, architecture, etc.
In general, though, this was an interesting and thought-provoking read. Just needed a bit more polish to help it shine.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews