Senrid Reviews

• truly excellent

  
  By AIRCOHU2NULXV on 2007-05-04
  Young as he is, Senrid Montredaun-An isn't a child... or even a real king. No, he really can't be, when his foolish, power-hungry, ruthless uncle of a regent lords over Marloven Hess, a country where war culture is reminiscent of the ancient Spartans. Senrid looks about twelve (though actually fifteen)--denied his rightful military training and beaten into obedience on a regular basis--and relies on his brains, wits and aptitude for magic to try and outmaneuver his cruel Uncle Tdanerend.
  
  When Senrid was a young child, his mother was murdered, and his father, though a fair ruler, was not the same after that, almost welcoming the knife in the back by his brother Tdanerend. Senrid grew up being fed the idea that both his parents were cowards--'weak' was the word his uncle called them--and that morality was only a tool to justify the actions of a powerful king. As a result, when he casually stumbles upon the royal castle in tiny, neighbouring Vasande Leror, Leander is perplexed, and slightly unnerved, by Senrid's skewed ideas about right and wrong. Leander, a fellow king, serves as Senrid's foil--though slightly older, Leander's background parallels his, aside from sharing ancestry several centuries back: both are orphans, a tyrant at some point poisoning both their thrones. Yet, Leander's Vasande Leror seems the exact opposite of what Marloven Hess is--a quiet, peaceful country sloppily armed only for self-defense, and certainly not seeking to conquer. Everything about Leander would be what Senrid's uncle would call 'weak', but there is no mistaking the respect and loyalty the Leroran citizens have for him, something Tdanerend never got. Fear and thirst for power perhaps, but never respect.
  
  We learn how this poor boy--emotionally and physically abused, often forgetting to eat or sleep as he tries to stay ahead of his uncle in learning magic or mustering the little training he can get on sneak--wrestles with history's toughest questions. Believing 'white magic' to be slow, cautious and less effective, Senrid educates himself in black magic, a potentially destructive type favoured by Tdanerend and the timeless enemy, Norsunder. I've not read many books where I was kept guessing if Senrid was 'good' or not... or maybe that's another one of those words like 'justice' or 'morality'. I often found myself questioning his motives, scrutinizing his psychology and cheering on his steadfast determination to overthrow his uncle.
  
  Not that the book is all business and no fun--far from it. Not if Kitty, Leander's pain-in-the-neck stepsister, has to say anything about it, or CJ Sherwood, the loudmouthed impersonator of Senrid's cousin to get behind the scenes in nasty Marloven Hess. With plenty of inventive insults, Kitty's knack for finding trouble, a high sense of adventure and a more noble cause, the novel is extremely engaging and at times darkly humourous.
  
  Calling this novel coming-of-age would be a misnomer if one was expecting the usual themes in coming-of-age novels. But with exploring ideas like morality, justice, free will and most of all, kingship, Senrid learns to understand the world around him as well as himself--and if that is the case, then this is 'bildungsroman' in the purest sense of the word.
  
  

• Magical, Not Surprisingly

  
  By A2BJUHJ2OPY9AX on 2007-06-07
  Senrid is about a young king whose throne is being subtly stolen from him by his uncle, the Regent, who consistantly beats and publicly humiliates him in the name of "strengthening" and "preparing" him for the kingship. The king-in-name-only, Senrid, is secretly trying to overthrow his uncle and win back the throne. In the beginning of the book, he is very firm in his beliefs of what is right and wrong, but because of his horrible childhood these views are rather pessimistic and self-centered. As he goes out into the world and meets different people, especially the Mearsies-Heili girls, he comes to change his views. He is a very interesting character. The reader is unsure whether he is a bad person or a good person who is misunderstood, which makes the book more fun to read.
  This book is filled with action and mystery, with a good bit of magic as well. The characters are well-developed and you find yourself really becoming emotionally involved with each one. (Except Kitty. I find her as annoying as Senrid does.)
  The story switches points of view a few times, and my favorite parts were those narrated by CJ, a girl from Mearsies-Heili, a country near Marloven-Hess (Senrid's country) that is as opposite as you can get from it. Her "records" are most entertaining.
  Sherwood Smith is one of my favorite authors, second only to Tolkien. Her writing style is reminiscient of Tolkien's and I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed The Lord of the Rings. Actually, I would recommend this book to anyone who ever read a fantasy book of any kind and enjoyed it even remotely.
  
  

• Sherwood does it again

  
  By A30PZOZD87K62K on 2007-06-05
  Sherwood Smith has worked her magic again.
  
  Senrid is about a 15 year old who has been controlled against his uncle, who came to the throne of Marloven Hess by murdering Senrid's parents. Senrid also struggles against his misconceptions about magic, morality, and loyalty. While Senrid is struggling with these difficult topics, he struggles to regain his throne.
  
  The story is also features many other unforgettable characters: Leander, another young king, Kitty, his spoiled little sister, CJ, loudmouthed and courageous who will do almost anything to save her friends.
  
  Overall, this book is a great read and its characters will haunt you several days after you put it down.
  
  

• A Confusing Tale...Masala Senrid

  
  By A1KO8MUY1MP5Q1 on 2007-10-19
  I found this to be a book that wants to have been separated into several volumes at least. There a many threads of storyline that maybe could have been better suited to individual books.
  
  I know that the author has been writing about this world of hers since child hood but it seems too dense and self-involved storytelling. A better editor would have forced her to maybe spend more time fleshing out and expanding the backstory of all of the characters. It was frustrating to constantly be introduced to characters who seem almost in mid-story of their own plot (might be realistic but very annoying to me).
  
  I could tell there were at least 4 individual books here.
  
  

• Senrid is a mindblowing adventure

  
  By on 2007-06-05
  I know it says "kid review" above but actually I'm 20 but I don't like to advertise my name and email address on the internet.
  Senrid is the King of Marloven Hess but he isn't allowed to have the power of a King, he is controlled by his uncle Tdanerend. Add in Kitty a selfish spoiled princess from a nearby Kingdom whose older stepbrother Leander is trying protect his Kingdom Vasande Leror from the army of Marloven Hess. Then Faline a shapeshifting girl from a far away northern country comes to offer her help to Leander. And this is just the beginning....
  
  These characters and many other memorable ones such as CJ sherwood, Puddlenose and others go on an adventure that goes from one end of the world to the other (including a brief underwater interlude).
  
  It's hard to describe the story in small terms or in a short way because it is a huge expansive story. Anyone who liked Crown Duel or any adventure/fantasy lover will adore this new adventure into the world of sherwood smith. It is suitable for any age and is captivating enough for adults: I even read it twice to fully understand the story. Thankyou Sherwood Smith I hope you continue to write more adventures.
  
  
• can't wait for more!
  By A1W8MGCO70TUF on 2007-06-06
  I won't write another summary since other people seem to have already done that. but seriously, anyone who claims to like fantasy should read sherwood smith's books. she's created an entire world with over 800 years of history. This world that she's created has all the important things needed in a good fantasy read: memorable characters, magic, life threatening conflict, some history, and insight on people in general. Senrid, is no exception. It has everything i listed above. and it's the first in a series of more about senrid. anyway, I find sherwood smith's fantasy to be much more in depth and penetrating than something like harry potter, which is a lot more popular. So read her books people! so she can write more and publish more!
  
  
• Must have
  By A3IBF53QU4IQIP on 2007-06-06
  I have been reading Sherwood Smith for over ten years and she is hands down my favorite author. I enjoyed Senrid immensely and agree wholeheartedly with the other reviews posted so far on Amazon. Be sure to check out her other books too.
  
  
• Not a Crown Duel Substitute
  By A19IZC4Q57CW3H on 2008-02-17
  I bought this book having loved Crown Duel and Court Duel. Senrid, however, does not particularly resemble either of these works, though some of the magical tidbits are the same. As said by another reviewer, there are a number of intertwined stories, many of which are not particularly fleshed out. Characters that appear to have a major role in the novel fade in and out of the story at unexpected intervals. For instance, the book starts with Leander and his sister Kitty, and they remain fairly prominent characters until Leander's role diminishes at the end of the novel. Also, Faline and CJ Sherwood, who I came to assume would retain significant roles, dropped out of the story towards the latter half, which was strange and a little dissatisfying.
  
  This is not to say the novel is poorly written (although the paperback edition seems rather cheaply made for being so expensive). Positives are that there are many amusing conversations and random occurrences, although there are times when the plot seems a little disjointed. I perhaps enjoyed Senrid's character the best, for his snide and worldly ways. My biggest complaint is the anti-adult stance and the constant reminder that everyone is a 'kid.' There is nothing wrong with young characters, but to be constantly reminded over and over becomes wearying. Also, for anyone who is hoping for an element of romance between the characters will not find it here.
  
  All and all I found this is an interesting novel, only it turned out to be of a different style than I was expecting.
  
  
• Better after 'Over the Sea'
  By A2L9RV4782UPFH on 2008-02-03
  I enjoyed 'Senrid' moderately, but was frustrated by the references to people and places not explained here. 'Over the Sea - CJ's First Notebook' fills in a lot of the needed background, and I would strongly recommend reading it first. I think my reread of 'Senrid' will be much more pleasant.
  
  
• keep your eyes open for the actual plot.
  By A1VV7CYDH0UWYB on 2008-09-14
  Senrid is a pretty good book. Great in parts. But it gets drowned out by sillyness.
  
  The overall plot is about Senrid, the boy-king of Marloven-Hess, trying to wrest control of his country from his uncle, the regent. It's actually pretty interesting. Senrid is a really cool, complex character. I enjoyed him. And the plot, when he starts finally rebelling against his uncle, gets suspenseful and fascinating. There's also a plot about Senrid choosing between dark and white magic, and while it could be stupid and didactic, it's well-done, mostly because Senrid is such an intelligent character. It doesn't end up being so black and white.
  
  So why only three stars? The above plot, which I really enjoyed, only happens in the last few sections of the book. The rest is too full of randomness. We don't even start exploring Senrid's character until about halfway through. While Senrid is essentially the central character, she concentrates way too much on other characters, while slowly introducing him as a side player. When he does come in during the first half, we only see him through other characters.
  
  The actual plot stopped and starts, jumps around way too many ultimately unimportant characters, and includes random side plots that aren't even explained. FINALLY, we get to the last part, which is incredibly interesting. If she had only started the book here, I would have loved it.
  
  It drove me crazy the way the book was not continuous. You need to have an overarching plot to be engaged in a book. I would get interested in a plot, and then the plot would just end. Happy ending, everything resolved, but it's still the middle of the book!
  
  Another thing that drove me crazy was all the half-plots. Sherwood Smith has a million different plotlines all in her head, and so she intersects them at times. It cool that she can do that, and it's impressive when you realize just how big her universe is, but it just ruins her story because SHE DOESN'T EXPLAIN THINGS! Random people show up and do random things, and we just get no explanation. And they shouldn't be here in the first place, because the story is not about them! They do nothing at all to add to the story.
  
  My third major complaint is the Sherwood girls. The author made them up when she was eight, and it shows. They seem to think themselves incredibly clever when they call their enemies oatmeal-face snarklebutts. They're so immature and annoying. But they only appear in the middle plot of the book (because of the stop and start plots I complained about).
  
  There is a really good plot somewhere in here, but first you have to wade through a lot of disorganized, random material. In the end it's worth reading, but I wish the author and gotten her act together and written it more professionally.
  
  
  

• The Fox
• The King's Shield (Inda, Book 3)
• Inda
• A Posse of Princesses
• Crown Duel (Crown Duel / Court Duel)