Mimadamos
By Chadi B. Ghaith
I have a lot to say about this book but I’m not going to say it all because I want to focus on having a fair review instead of a ridiculous rant. The first thing I want to start off with is what I liked about this book.
It is very unique; I realize I say this about pretty much every book I review but I think Indie-Authors tend to be unique writers so that’s no surprise. But in all honesty, it is very unique and very original. The concept of Fate being a man who is soon to marry the woman Destiny was enough to catch my interest. Plus, the cover looked spectacular. I just had to read it and, in terms of exceptionalism, this book knocked it out of the park. I won’t call it ‘creative’ but I will say it tackled some interesting concepts in a very different and out-of-the-box style.
I also enjoyed the narration. There was very little dialogue and not very much description but I knew exactly what was happening and I could keep up with the story. There weren’t a lot of ‘big words’ but the style of writing carried a distinct air of sophistication. This book reads like an old classic when, in fact, it was published very recently. So my hat goes off to the author for really demonstrating such expertise in this field. It was inspiring to read such mature writing.
The last thing I enjoyed was the structure of the novel, it was third person narration but it followed multiple characters and really told their separate stories in a great way. I wasn’t hopping from character to character but I knew their stories and I could connect the dots fine enough. Sometimes it gets confusing when you’re writing—or reading—from duel perspectives but I never fell out of line in this novel.
Now, I’ve gone into detail about what I liked so here comes the hard part. What I didn’t like.
For a book with such sophistication and style, it really deserves a higher rating than what I gave it but I’m not one who judges simply on good grammar and narration. I can five-star the crappiest edited novel as long as it holds my interest with the plotline and, unfortunately, this book did not hold my interest very long. It wasn’t a long read but it seemed to drag on. The style of writing was very poetic but it took forever to just get to the point because of how ‘beautifully crafted’ each sentence was, which is just another way to say he put in about ten extra words that didn’t need to be there but they weren’t grammatically incorrect so it was acceptable.
The second thing I disliked was tricky because I did like it but I didn’t like the way it was presented and that was the actual concept of the entire book. Fate and Destiny being alive and in a relationship, cool. Sounds like an old fable being retold in modern times. Except it wasn’t. I was expecting a great story with an underlying philosophical message, instead I got a lengthy—and awkward—philosophical rant with a story somewhere on the side. I felt like the concept had so much potential and it just fell flat.
The last thing I disliked was that this book was presented to me as a Christian Fantasy novel. I feel like this book is not Christian at all. Don’t get me wrong, I am absolutely open to reading books of multiple genres, in fact I probably read Christian Fiction least often. But I don’t like being misled just for a review. I probably would have rated this book higher if I hadn’t cracked it open with the mindset that I was being presented with an epic Christian Fantasy novel. That’s not to say that it didn’t include spiritual concepts but that’s about it.
The inclusion of Fate, Destiny, and a deified figure, which isn’t exactly portrayed as the Christian God, Almighty, doesn’t make a book a Christian Fantasy novel any more than mentioning a burka makes a book Muslim Fiction. This was, perhaps, my biggest issue in that I was told one thing when in fact this book turned out to be something completely different. I would label it as ‘spiritual fiction’ but certainly not ‘Christian Fiction’. Many religions have a focus on some sort of deity they call ‘god’ so having a higher power in your book doesn’t make it the Christian God, Almighty.
Overall, I would say this book is actually a 4 out of 5. But because of personal issues, I rated it lower. It is a very well written and well-planned novel. It takes on an intriguing concept and I think it tells a fairly decent story. Anyone looking for something that will take you out of your comfort zone will enjoy this. If you want to explore some deep thinking and unique concepts, then this book is for you. I would recommend this to adult readers.
*I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*