Bran Hambric : The Farfield Curse (by Kaleb Nation)

BRAN HAMBRIC : THE FARFIELD CURSE
by Kaleb Nation
Release date : August 2009

Bran Hambric was found locked in a bank vault at six years old, with no memory of his past. For years, he has lived with one of the bankers, wondering why he was left behind — until one night, when he is fourteen, he is suddenly confronted by a maddened creature, speaking of Bran’s true past and trying to kidnap him. Bran finds that he is at the center of a plot which started years before he was even born: the plot of a deadly curse his mother created…and one that her former masters are hunting for him to complete. Haunted by the spirit of his mother’s master and living in a city where magic is illegal, Bran must undo the crimes of his past…before it is too late. (taken from BranHambric.com)

MY THOUGHTS : An interesting idea that I, unfortunately, found poorly treated. I thought the installation took too long, and the plot only began in the third part of the book. Which is a pity because once the action started, I was easily taken by the story. But to get there, I felt like I had to struggle through incomprehensible descriptions of places, magical powers and characters, and repetitive cliches. I found the writing average, and thought that the dialogues were poorly led, sometimes boring and sometimes also repetitive. There are at times some touches of humour and irony that would have done well had they been more frequent. Basically, I found the whole book heavy and long.

Some points are still original, and the fact that magic is forbidden is interesting. Bran's life was sad and dull (Bran lived in a family equivalent to the Dursleys, even though he doesn't live under the stairs but in the attic) and the sudden appearence of magic, the existence of gnomes and a fantasy world works really well.

I was not hooked, and reading this first book of the series didn't make me curious to read the sequels.I think the plot would've deserved to wake up earlier and with greater force...