“Strike the Lilac Scent” by H. C. Turk

This strange novel has a fascinating story line, but it seems the author tried a little too hard to be creative, and thus did not succeed in communicating clearly with readers. Granted, the heroine is a teenager, but the other characters are adults, and yet the conversation is peppered with “golly,” and “ohso” and juvenile humour based on burping and farting and other subjects usually associated with the elementary grades.

A further stumbling block is the convoluted sentence structure, which also obscures our understanding. For example, in the middle of an action sequence this sentence brings the reader’s eye to a complete stop:

“Having left her family behind on Earth to seek a nonsensical, unreal fantasy, she would now deservedly suffer from passively watching her finest friends drown for nothing.”

The dialogue is spirited and colloquial,  but there is a lot of telling rather than showing. Explanatory author comments like, “Melody had a way of bringing a conversation to a halt, usually by tripping it,” need to be demonstrated, not explained to us.

The creativity works in the worldbuilding, giving us a wide-ranging spectrum of planets, environments and alien beings to enjoy. Likewise, the characters, while definitely individuals, are likeable in their weird ways.

Hidden in the confusion is an interesting plotline: a quest of sorts. Part of the fun of the book is figuring out what is going on, but there is never any doubt as to the  basic goal, which is organized into specific objectives, keeping us on the track of what is happening. Once we reach each separate challenge, the problems become clear, the action picks up, and we can enjoy the story and the characters.

This is a novel for those who like to be inundated by the creativity of the experience.

Three stars.

About the Author: Gordon Long

Leave A Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.