Original book 80 had to be abandoned when I found out that, even though the story was set in almost a thousand years ago, the narrative voice is, (you guessed it?) FIRST PERSON PRESENT TENSE. Oh, spare me! Anyway… I picked up a different book and am SO happy that it is NOT a realistic fiction and it is NOT in present tense — it IS first person — but the character is not very young and is unique and well educated — the simple fact that the book has a richness in language makes me happy! Will report later when I’m done with it!
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Fairrosa Cyber Library · Books & Thoughts
Fairrosa Cyber Library 
Why do you feel that it’s not okay for a book that’s set in the past to be told in first person present tense? It’s a perfectly valid storytelling choice, as long as it serves the story well and does not feel like a gimmick–and that gimmicky feeling tends to happen when the writing is not strong, not because of the choice of narrator or tense. Sure, there are books that ring false because the writer could not pull off the storytelling in first person present tense (and I grant you that fppt is completely overused in YA), but there are also wonderful books that veer from the long-held tradition of writing historical fiction in third person past tense. It seems unfair to limit every author’s use of the full writing toolbox just because some authors are not skilled enough to use every tool in the box.
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I absolutely agree with you! It’s just… timing! I started reading this book right after two OTHER fppt books and I was definitely hungering for a different device/voice — I WANTED (as a reader, I am entitled to have moods and desires, you know!) to read something different in sentence presentations. I did get back to the book and with a bit of time lag, finding the voice actually working.
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