I ran across a book, Torn by K.D. King, that’s about humans on other planets in the solar system. I don’t know about you, but this is one heck of a topic. The imagination and prep needed to create a story like this is insane….it’s every OCD bookworms dream.
Anaria Okam breathes war. She lives for vengeance. Wekari, an enemy planet, took the most precious thing from her –her mother. Though her mother lives in body, she is broken in spirit. Since the time Anaria could understand words, her father, ruler of the planet Loden, instilled in her the need to seek vengeance and destroy Wekari.
While trading goods on the neutral planet of Atlzo she spots the enemy, Marshall Kalil Umba, leader of the Wekarian armies. Seizing an opportunity, she follows him. As she gets close to him, her body lights with need. Then the embers of desire cause her whole body to glow.
Kalil, of the space ship Destruction has finally found his mate. He realizes she is a warrior from the enemy planet of Loden. He captures her. Now he must make her trust him, love him, and leave everything she has ever known.
In Torn, you have two planets at war with the other and a girl, Princess Anaria, caught in the middle. Her father, King Rwok, has bred into her to be a soldier and make the enemy pay. Throughout the years she was never told exactly why they are at war; she just does what she’s told without question. During a mission, something happens that she’s never experienced before, she glows. Deciding to break the law, she heads to a planet that holds the archives of the universe to find out what it means. But she wasn’t expecting the very reason she glowed to be there waiting for her, and to steal her away on his ship. She also didn’t expect to learn all the secrets and history behind the war….and to fall in love with the enemy.
The characters were very raw to me. I know most of that has to do with it being a relatively short book, there’s not enough time to really build anyone up. Torn is like riding a skateboard; you’re going so fast you can’t really see your surroundings to get a good grasp of where you are. Poor Anaria has only a page or two to come to terms with the truth of her history, it’s rather quick and easy. Then with Kalil her enemy and savior, who plays a huge role in this story, you get a small glimpse of who he is, but you’re left wondering if it’s only your imagination. Other characters are much the same as these two main characters, not a lot of details are given for them but you see their part play out in the story nicely. You just don’t have much character building.
Torn had lots of promise, but it sped by far too quickly to give the plot time to grow and be the beautiful piece of art it could have been. You don’t learn about the worlds or their particular belief’s or way’s of life, you learn they are either neutral or not, and that’s all. The equipment used on the ships is never really explained either. At one point, a bath is called for and poof it’s there, then salts are asked and poof you have salts, and then bubbles and well poof there’s bubbles but you never learn how it’s done. Most of the story is this way, it’s mentioned, it’s not explained, and it’s just there. I’m a little sad about that. If K.D. King had made this book a little longer and spent more time building the story, it would have rocked. It’s not bad, it’s pretty good actually, but it comes across as a rough draft with lots of pieces yet to be finished. Especially since there’s a TON of typo’s and missing words and wrong punctuation on every page. Normally, I don’t pick at these errors, a misspelling or two doesn’t harm the story, but it’s practically every page and it’s quiet annoying.
I’ve read many erotic romances, and most were fairly erotic, not something I’d go ‘holy moly that’s explicit detail’, but the phrases and wording used in this book makes it pretty hot. It’s not nasty, or disgusting, or over the top. In fact, most of the time it’s rather general, but the author throws a few zingers in and your left saying ‘wow’ out loud. I thoroughly enjoyed the style used, it’s not so overly done that it’s boring; just enough is given to keep you wanting more.
I would love to read other works from K.D. King; I see lots of potential and imagination. My only hope is that Torn isn’t the end of this story, there’s so much that could still be done with it, it would be sad to just let it end here.
I’m working on giving short stories and novellas more of a chance. But this is exactly my problem Jackie…sometimes you find such great imagination and characters and they never really bloom like you want them to.
I’m very much intrigued by this read though. It sounds really good, despite the dreaded “skateboard-riding” like experience (excellent observation by the way). I think I shall check out K.D. King.