Title: STAZR The World of Z: The Dawn of Athir
Series: STAZR The World of Z
Author: Dr. Anay Ayarovu
Publisher: Stazr
Published: February 2020
Goodreads Blurb: A strange and mystical prophecy was found in the city of Treebarad. On a piece of parchment, old long-forgotten events come back to life, the memory of which was intentionally erased. A mysterious prophecy now gives hope to the twisted ruling race that the power they seek lies behind an ancient gate. On the reverse side of the oracle are coordinates to the location of the Chosen One.
Lael is an introverted and naive writer who grew up with a book in one hand and a quill in the other. All his life, he has lived in a peaceful solitude, reading and writing his short stories and dreaming big of one day becoming a prestigious author. To his surprise and delight he must now become savior of the Stazr people and take the journey to find answers that do not exist in books.
My Thoughts: This book is a mix of high fantasy and science fiction. The lore is pretty heavy stuff and never fully explained, so prepare to be confused. Ayarovu reveals information just enough to give things names, but not enough for the reader to be able to give a full definition. In this way Stazr is as alien and backward for the reader as it would be for an actual human visitor. Even days, hours, minutes and seconds, as well as other numbers, have different names, which requires the reader to learn new words and phrases. In this way the story is quite immersive. Let's move on to the characters.
Lael is the main character and (arguably) hero of the story. I didn't like him. I don't think I was supposed to. He comes into a world he knows little about and imposes his philosophies and ideas on people and situations he has never lived through or experienced in any way, shape or form. He let's "destiny" sweep him along because he figures it will be good as a story later. He relies mostly on harsh logic and societal customs to make choices instead of feeling his way, or even reasoning. For example, he easily straight up and personally murders several people in order to fulfill a prophecy he knows little about and hardly believes in, because it makes him look good to the higher circle that he badly wants to impress. There is no effort to find a way around killing, and hardly any remorse after. This man is broken, and would fit better among robots than feeling creatures. He firmly believes "lesser creatures" (different races) were created only to serve his, and should have no other aspirations or desires than to meet every demand of a Great. Lael disgusted me.
Kharis didn't seem much better. While he seemed to dream of slight changes, he still hardly questioned any authority or societal rules even though he felt it was deeply wrong. Because of his very slight deviation from the norm he is cast out and severely punished. This society is ruled by old men (because apparently there are no women of their race??) who detest communication or compromise. There is clearly a reason they are dying out - any free thinkers are almost immediately done away with. Also disgusting.
I wasn't a huge fan of the characters, but the plot was fine until the last chapter when everything suddenly got super sexual. In a weird vision about the beginnings of their planet (I think?) Lael and another Great are witness to a human couple having sex in a forest, and then green monsters ripping limbs off of humans and raping a woman after tearing off her arm and leg, and then ripping off her jaw. Yuck. The strange sexual turn seemed fairly out of place with the rest of the story, and was fairly graphic. Double yuck. (yuck yuck). In the end I'm pretty sure Lael got his heart ripped out by a green monster, but is still oddly alive, and the group is off to make more terrible decisions.
A Note - I am fully aware that I am not the target audience for this book based on my reaction to it. My review and rating are a culmination of my character, ideals, and beliefs, and should not be seen as ill will toward any author or creator. I would've given this 2/5 trees, but because of the yucky sexual stuff at the end I'm dropping a tree.
Rating: 1/5 trees
Lael is the main character and (arguably) hero of the story. I didn't like him. I don't think I was supposed to. He comes into a world he knows little about and imposes his philosophies and ideas on people and situations he has never lived through or experienced in any way, shape or form. He let's "destiny" sweep him along because he figures it will be good as a story later. He relies mostly on harsh logic and societal customs to make choices instead of feeling his way, or even reasoning. For example, he easily straight up and personally murders several people in order to fulfill a prophecy he knows little about and hardly believes in, because it makes him look good to the higher circle that he badly wants to impress. There is no effort to find a way around killing, and hardly any remorse after. This man is broken, and would fit better among robots than feeling creatures. He firmly believes "lesser creatures" (different races) were created only to serve his, and should have no other aspirations or desires than to meet every demand of a Great. Lael disgusted me.
Kharis didn't seem much better. While he seemed to dream of slight changes, he still hardly questioned any authority or societal rules even though he felt it was deeply wrong. Because of his very slight deviation from the norm he is cast out and severely punished. This society is ruled by old men (because apparently there are no women of their race??) who detest communication or compromise. There is clearly a reason they are dying out - any free thinkers are almost immediately done away with. Also disgusting.
I wasn't a huge fan of the characters, but the plot was fine until the last chapter when everything suddenly got super sexual. In a weird vision about the beginnings of their planet (I think?) Lael and another Great are witness to a human couple having sex in a forest, and then green monsters ripping limbs off of humans and raping a woman after tearing off her arm and leg, and then ripping off her jaw. Yuck. The strange sexual turn seemed fairly out of place with the rest of the story, and was fairly graphic. Double yuck. (yuck yuck). In the end I'm pretty sure Lael got his heart ripped out by a green monster, but is still oddly alive, and the group is off to make more terrible decisions.
A Note - I am fully aware that I am not the target audience for this book based on my reaction to it. My review and rating are a culmination of my character, ideals, and beliefs, and should not be seen as ill will toward any author or creator. I would've given this 2/5 trees, but because of the yucky sexual stuff at the end I'm dropping a tree.
Rating: 1/5 trees
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