Book: Kashka by Ellen Kindt McKenzie
Genre: Fantasy, adventure
Rating: Old family favorite
Other Media: Starting a review with a category out of order? Unheard of! Kashka is actually a prequel to a book we previously reviewed - Taash and the Jesters. With that in mind, I will be doing some comparisons between the two. That isn’t to say that the books aren’t strong enough to stand by themselves. Each is able to stand independent of the other. However, as a set I would recommend reading Taash first because even though it comes later chronologically, things are revealed in Kashka that would spoil certain plot points for the reader.
General Set up: That being said, I’m not going to go too much into the basis for this book. It is set in the same world as Taash and the Jesters and essentially tells the story of the two jesters, Piff and Kashka, in their youth and ‘how it all began.’
Plot: The pacing for this book is slightly different than it’s sequel. The pace is still overall sprightly enough to keep your attention, but there are a couple time skips and the events themselves are spread out over a longer period of time. Also, the author occasionally leaves details that need to be inferred in order for the reader to 100% understand what is going on.
Characters: One of the things I appreciated about this book was the way the author handled the characters of Piff and Kashka. In some cases, as the series goes on and characters grow their personalities tend to warp and they don’t seem to be the same characters you fell in love with in the original. In Kashka the author does a good job of keeping the essence of the characters the same. I also enjoyed getting to know some of the minor characters from Taash better and seeing little Easter eggs from the story to come. The author bounces back and forth from different character’s perspectives to tell the story, but is still able to keep the flow of the story and keep it a continuous whole.
Ending: Obviously, the end of the book is just the beginning of a whole other story. However, despite the daunting task ahead of them, the books ends on a light note with the two main characters seemingly ready to take on the world.
Things to Watch For: I mentioned this in my other review for this series. This book contains elements of witchcraft. Compared with Taash, Kashka has a darker feel to it, overall. Again, I won’t be taking time at the moment to discuss in depth the topic of witchcraft in literature, I just want to let you know that it is present.
Genre: Fantasy, adventure
Rating: Old family favorite
Other Media: Starting a review with a category out of order? Unheard of! Kashka is actually a prequel to a book we previously reviewed - Taash and the Jesters. With that in mind, I will be doing some comparisons between the two. That isn’t to say that the books aren’t strong enough to stand by themselves. Each is able to stand independent of the other. However, as a set I would recommend reading Taash first because even though it comes later chronologically, things are revealed in Kashka that would spoil certain plot points for the reader.
General Set up: That being said, I’m not going to go too much into the basis for this book. It is set in the same world as Taash and the Jesters and essentially tells the story of the two jesters, Piff and Kashka, in their youth and ‘how it all began.’
Plot: The pacing for this book is slightly different than it’s sequel. The pace is still overall sprightly enough to keep your attention, but there are a couple time skips and the events themselves are spread out over a longer period of time. Also, the author occasionally leaves details that need to be inferred in order for the reader to 100% understand what is going on.
Characters: One of the things I appreciated about this book was the way the author handled the characters of Piff and Kashka. In some cases, as the series goes on and characters grow their personalities tend to warp and they don’t seem to be the same characters you fell in love with in the original. In Kashka the author does a good job of keeping the essence of the characters the same. I also enjoyed getting to know some of the minor characters from Taash better and seeing little Easter eggs from the story to come. The author bounces back and forth from different character’s perspectives to tell the story, but is still able to keep the flow of the story and keep it a continuous whole.
Ending: Obviously, the end of the book is just the beginning of a whole other story. However, despite the daunting task ahead of them, the books ends on a light note with the two main characters seemingly ready to take on the world.
Things to Watch For: I mentioned this in my other review for this series. This book contains elements of witchcraft. Compared with Taash, Kashka has a darker feel to it, overall. Again, I won’t be taking time at the moment to discuss in depth the topic of witchcraft in literature, I just want to let you know that it is present.
