For those of you, who were intrigued by Andi Katsina’s interview posted on this blog last week, this is a review of her fantastical and magical book called Rick & Wylie’s Fantastical, Magical Adventures.
Summary: Every few thousand years, true evil, the likes of which
roamed the earth eons ago, attempts to rise up from the navel of the world, to
once again instill its darkness and establish its reign.
and daughter, Rick and Wylie, who go on a week’s vacation to the island of
Kaua’i, in Hawaii. Due to the actions of an evil wizard, however, they become
separated.
mystical forest. Rick, along with some of his friends, enters the mystical
forest to go in search of his daughter.
Both Rick and Wylie endure trials and tribulations, and are finally reunited in
the forest. Together, they succeed in awakening the sleeping kingdom, a place
that has been hidden from the evil wizard for more than half a millennium.
My thoughts: Don’t we all love fictional worlds, which have their own maps and everything? The cover just doesn’t do justice to this book. But once I opened it, I was sure I would love the book when I saw those wonderful illustrated maps on the front page.
At first, it took me a while to get into the book because there was too much dialogue. I think it is hard to write entirely realistic dialogues and the ones in the book just seemed slightly fake.
However, as I read the book and slowly got used to the style, it led me to a great new world. The writer sure has a knack of building up the right atmosphere and the book is an exciting read. The characters are very well developed and so is the world created in the book. This magical world we enter is very intricate and the various creatures are as unique and creative as the illustrations on the cover. There were parts in the book that seemed unnecessary. There could have been less detail, though it was as if the author couldn’t help talking about the world, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It was a long book, which is why it took me a while longer than I expected to finish reading it.
This is a great book and a recommended read for anyone who enjoys young adult/children’s fantasy fiction.
Tabula Rasa 