Book Thoughts: Hillserpent Academy by Richard Denney


Move over Harry, Owen is on the scene now! This short novel is a magical romp with an American Harry Potter twist. Mr. Denney does not try to hide this, in fact he mentions Harry a few times in the book.

I read the ebook version which has 80 ebook pages. In a very short time we have mayhem, murder, witches, werewolves, vampires and a little romance thrown in. Owen Davinforth is our protagonist and I am not sure I liked the character's personality; he is quite sarcastic and cynical,  but this may be Mr. Denney's intention. However, Owen has been through a lot, at least in as much as we know about him through book one. I am hoping that as the series progresses I will like him better. I know Mr. Denney through his YouTube videos and I can hear Owen's voice through him. It makes this character more vivid for me.

I don't rate books with a system, but I enjoyed the read. With this book you enter the story, bang, bang, bang things happen, lots of things happen, and you get out. Mr Denney confesses that his writing is all about the story you get a little character development and a little description, but the story takes the front seat. I am OK with that. You get through the story quickly; you feel stunned when you reach the end. Then a little later, scenes and characters start popping in your mind! It is a phenomenon I noticed with his first book I read A Girl's Guide to Falling in Love with a Zombie. With me anyways, Mr. Denney seems to find a way to do this. Maybe it's magic?

Hillserpent Academy is available as a paperback and ebook for Kindle from Amazon. The ebook form for other eReaders is available from Goodreads.