Pros: It’s unique!
Cons: Confusion
Rating: 4 out of 5
NOTE: Review book provided by publisher/author
Rarity From the Hollow
I found one major aspect of the writing confusing until I finally figured it out (maybe it should have been obvious, but it’s just so unusual). After many conversational pieces, there’ll be a second brief paragraph that looks like conversation but in plain text with no attribution of any kind. What made it even harder to grasp was the fact that they seemed like thoughts of different people. It’s so rare for books to go the full third-person omniscient route that it took me a while to realize that’s exactly what Eggleton was doing. So, whenever there’s something that reads like thought or dialogue but doesn’t have quotation marks, it’s a thought taken from the mind of whoever just had the last dialogue line.
Despite the fact that the main character (Lacey Dawn) is a girl in her early teens, this isn’t a book for that age group. Most of the sex-related humor is pretty harmless (near-constant erections, lots of masturbation, some off-screen sex, and a ton of teasing), but there are some early background pieces that involve child molestation and other types of child abuse. The volume of erections and masturbation got a bit old, but that kind of humor is very reader-dependent.
I found the side characters more interesting than Lacey. There’s DotCom (the android), Tom (the harmless pot-growing neighbor), Lacey Dawn’s parents (they start out abusive and literally get a personality overhaul a short distance into the book), Faith (the dead friend of Lacey Dawn), and Brownie (the dog). DotCom becomes pretty annoying when he undergoes puberty and the constant accompanying erections get pretty old, but he eventually recovers.
I can’t really get into how Lacey Dawn is expected to save the universe, nor what she’s supposed to save it from, since a large portion of the book is occupied with figuring out those two pieces of information. I will say that the book drew me in well enough that I really wanted to know how they would pull it off, and I enjoyed the payoff.
“Rarity from the Hollow’ written by Robert Eggleton, to be fully honest, was much more than expected and a great read – semi-autobiographical literary work full of beautiful and ugly things, adventure, romance, pain and humor…offers very good pace, keeping the reader occupied through whole of its duration succeeding from the start to deliver an exciting story, well-crafted characters put into well-conceived world. Therefore, his book can be recommended to the fans of SF, drama and suspense genre that are searching for something to read from the skillful author, still unknown….”
— Helpful Advice, Top 100 Amazon Reviewer
I’m confused. Are you trying to say that I should have liked your book more because a higher-ranked Amazon reviewer said it was amazing? (The “helpful advice” comment seems to indicate so.) One of the whole points of having multiple reviews is that each reviewer can provide a different view that might help different readers.
ETA: Also, if you have a problem with my review, I hope you’ll tell me so in your own words.
Hi Heather,
I loved your review of Rarity from the Hollow! It was very well written and on-point. My earlier comment was simply part of my ongoing effort to raise money for the prevention of child abuse by the promotion of Rarity from the Hollow. You are already aware that author proceeds have been donated to Children’s Home Society of West Virginia.
I’m very sorry if you interpreted my comment as criticism of your work — it wasn’t. You do a very good job. And, your review has contributed to the project!
You were the first person to discover a formatting problem during the final stage of the printing process of the novel. In the version that you read, the italics for head thoughts were missing. The italics had been in place all the way through the process, but some type of glitch in file conversion (or something like that, I’m not sure) did not pick up the italics for the final print. A statement in the story without quotation marks (because it is a thought) immediately following a speaker in the dialogue should have appeared in italics. These thoughts are attributable to immediately preceding speakers. Other readers had not noticed the missing italics (i.e., your finding of “confusion”) and your review was what prompted us to take a closer look. You review called our attention to the problem. I’d read drafts so many times before that I didn’t pay close enough attention to the final….
Adam Lowe, the owner of Dog Horn Publishing, recently emailed me that Rarity from the Hollow will be republished later this year, but the exact date has not been settled because the Printer is backlogged. The missing italics will be restored.
I am in your debt. The project is in your debt. If it hadn’t been for your review, the fix for the missing italics would be much farther down the road.
A review of Rarity from the Hollow by David Summers, The Tales of the Talisman Magazine, also noted specifically the “…occasionally interspersed first-person thought, not set apart with italics or helpful punctuation….” As was your review, his review also was very positive, exception noted. However, Mr. Summers didn’t review Rarity from the Hollow until two months after yours. As slow as things seem to roll, if you had not reviewed the novel, the fix of restoring the italics would likely be farther into the future.
Thank you very much!
Again, I’m simply doing anything and everything that I can think of to promote this project. Your assistance was very much appreciated and I apologize if my comment wasn’t clear.
Robert
Ah! Thank you for the explanation, and I’m glad I could help with the formatting issue!
Unsolicited Top 100 Amazon Book Reviewer posted five stars today: “…This is one brilliant book and Highly Recommended for all readers – for entertainment and reinforcement of much needed values.” 9-18-15
The second edition of Rarity from the Hollow was released on November 3, 2016: http://www.lulu.com/shop/robert-eggleton/rarity-from-the-hollow/paperback/product-22910478.html. The eBook version was released on December 5, 2016: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017REIA44/ref=tsm_1_fb_lk. The formatting problem that contributed to the head hopping mention above was fixed! It reads so much more smoothly now. Thanks again.
Hi Heather,
Did you receive my email? I would love for you to check out the second edition of Rarity from the Hollow to see if it affects your findings. Thanks
The final edition of Rarity from the Hollow was released to Amazon on December 5, 2016. The eBook version is on sale until the end of May 2017 for $2.99: http://amzn.to/2lF5BPS
For a limited period, the eBook version of Rarity from the Hollow, final edition with the formatting error corrected, an adult literary science fiction adventure, not for the prudish, is on sale for $2.99 and the Paperback is on sale for $16.99. https://www.amazoncom/Rarity-Hollow-Robert-Eggleton/dp/190713395X/ (104 Book Reviews on Amazon). Author proceeds contribute to the prevention of child maltreatment: http://www.childhswv.org/ Project Updates: https://www.facebook.com/Lacy-Dawn-Adventures-573354432693864/
The 2018 Edition of Rarity from the Hollow is Now Available for Any eReader: https://bit.ly/2KNJkI2 Proceeds help abused children. #ASMSG
The 2018 Edition of Rarity from the Hollow Paperback is now on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2LfzP84
Rarity from the Hollow has a new website: https://www.hostingauthors.com/books/RarityfromtheHollow