Title: The Darkwind Chronicles: The First Act
Author: Christopher Cifelli
Publisher: URLink Print & Media, LLC
ISBN: 978-1-64367-272-4
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 169
Reviewed by: Arthur Thares
Hollywood Book Reviews
The Darkwind Chronicles is an ambitious book for several reasons. First and foremost, it is within the Fantasy genre, which is so saturated already one has to write something extraordinary for it to stand out. Christopher Cifelli took that challenge to heart to create a world which stands out in a genre filled with magic and dragons. What is it about Mr. Cifelli’s work that makes it so unique?
I very much enjoyed this book because it reminded me more of the script for a fantasy video game than it did a book. Instead of having run-of-the-mill human characters, this book is filled with all sorts of anthropomorphic creatures, including orcs, dragons, were-animals, fairies, and more. Cifelli writes with such fantastic description that it is easy to imagine how these characters would look if they were standing right in front of you. It is no secret this is book one in a series based on its subtitle and it very much feels like a part one.
There is plenty of action in the story — and it is again very well written and descriptive — but none of it feels like an epic battle. This story focuses more on character building, which is fantastic because you end the book feeling as if you genuinely know these characters. The one issue I took with this book was the characters had so many abilities that it got confusing to keep them straight and a new ability popped up whenever it was needed. Trying to keep all of the different creatures and their abilities organized in my mind made me feel as if there may have been some small details about the characters that I missed along the way.
If it hasn’t been clear enough yet, I am a big fan of Mr. Cifelli’s writing style. His use of descriptors is fantastic, and the dialogue is easy to follow and always plays an essential role in the story. The book is serious, but he still finds time for fun, and there is a very organic feeling to the way the story flows. Most of all, this is an easy read that will keep you engaged — I finished the entire 169 pages in two days because I couldn’t put it down.
The Darkwind Chronicles has the potential to be the next big series, in my opinion. While I would love to see this book and all the future entries into the story be optioned for a film adaptation, I think this story is better suited for many other platforms like a video game or television series. That may be jumping too far ahead, but I am excited about the potential of this series. My sincere hope is that Christopher Cifelli is hard at work on The Second Act, but until then, I will re-read the first act to try to pick up on the small details that I surely missed.