Word: taylorisms
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...This is just one more piece of evidence to show that Taylor can’t string together a coherent sentence...
...inducing beasts, called Varrigals, come at Taylor’s boy hero like the Death Eaters that attack Potter from Azkaban. And the underground caves, which set the scene for many of the battles, are reminiscent of the tunnels beneath Hogwarts, Potter’s boarding school. But though Taylor rolls out a host of fantastic and terrifying enemies, his inability to ground the reader with any sense of who the main characters—Thomas, Kate, and Raphah—were before they set out to save the world leaves us wondering, like Kate...
...Unlike Rowling, who makes sure we understand the stakes of the Potter-Voldemort battle, methodically creating a new world that draws upon long literary traditions of horrible families and utopian British boarding schools, Taylor begins “Shadowmancer” as the nefarious Obadiah Demurral is on the verge of perfecting his power. Already in possession of one magical talisman—a Keruvim—Demurral only needs the other to complete his goal. But the lives of Kate and Thomas are so bad—destitute, with infirm or alcoholic parents—that it is hard...
...fair, Reuben and Isabella, who briefly play host to Kate and Thomas, seem to live a fairly functional, happy life. But that’s all we get. Taylor, a former Anglican preacher who self-published the first edition of “Shadowmancer” by selling his motorcycle, seems to trust that the evident evil of Demurral will provide an adequate motive for Kate and Thomas to kill the villain. Rather than creating main characters with any depth, Taylor deploys Christian imagery, seemingly hoping that the Holy Spirit will carry the plot forward...
...Whenever Kate and Thomas seem to be at loose ends, a strangely Jesus-like figure, known as the King, appears—direction, reassurance, and food in hand. To convince Thomas to commit himself to the mission, the King appears in a dream, and Taylor writes, “Thomas looked into his eyes, and he realized they were the eyes of the cross, deep blue, warm, all-seeing, all-knowing. He felt naked before him, as if this man knew all about his life. Every secret, every lie, every ugly thought was on display...