Chance's Take on Books

Since I've written a novel speculating about life and the hereafter, I thought I'd read other takes on the subject. The Land of Later On offers a unique proposal for the afterlife experience, and a cycle of reincarnation that differs from the religious that espouse such types of soul recycling. The writing flowed and was well edited. The characters were fleshy with added spice of music appreciation and nostalgic romance. In essence, this was an interesting and well crafted story.

As plot and pacing goes, the substance was stretched to novel length, making it seem a bit thin in places. It could have used more plots and subplots, additional conflicts, etc to make a novel. At times I felt I was reading a shaggy dog story. Some novels pull off shaggy dogs, but the meandering must be made amazing, which was lacking here. A bit too straight forward and lacking of gold nuggets or pearls. That said, when the goal was reached, the author pulled out a surprise, and for that, I was grateful. 3.5 stars, but I can't say it lifted to a four for me, which was frustrating due to the potential of several characters that were drawn, pointed the way like a road sign, then forgotten. I would have liked to have known them....instead of the neat and tidy ending which seemed to be the author dwelling on a gimmick. Give me a messy, fun ride over dotted eyes any day, and I'd give a 4 or 5 star rating.....