Assessment:

Plot: The slower pacing lends itself well to a slice-of-life approach to the day-to-day activities of the Joy Council. With much of the cast having mythic or otherworldly powers, however, stakes never feel sufficiently raised when otherwise-tense events occur.

Prose/Style: Incredibly dialogue-driven, readers will breeze through this very reader-friendly novel. A lack of descriptive prose does leave fascinating locations and characters from far-off other worlds a bit unrealized.

Originality: A Wish Granted plays with time and different dimensions in fascinating ways. An interesting premise marrying science fiction, fantasy, and religious themes falls a bit flat due to a lack of conflict in both personal relationships and interdimensional duties due to overuse of deus-ex-machina-like abilities by the religious- and mythological-being heavy cast.

Character Development/Execution: Readers familiar with a wide range of mythologies and religions will feel at home among a cast filled to the brim with mythological characters and beings from religions practiced around the world. However, much of the cast remains largely under-developed.

Date Submitted: July 19, 2021