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This is the debut book of fellow Wattpad author, autumn_sunfire. It is the first book in The Ceristen series.
Fred Thorne must shoulder the full care and protection of his sisters after a fire leaves them homeless and friendless. He sets out to follow the last advice given to him by his great-aunt: Take the girls to Menevace, to the refuge home. But the road to Menevace is fraught with bandits, famine, and unknown dangers. The Journey follows the three Thorne siblings through rejection, captivity, and an increasing downward spiral of guilt as Fred fails time and time again to protect his family from the dangers of a hostile world. Can the Thornes find a place of rest and safety? Will their journey ever end? Dangerous cities, breathtaking creatures, and an incredible adventure awaits in this debut novel by Verity A. Buchanan.
This is a very long time coming xD Though honestly, probably best that it come out now. Why?
I probably would have griped about this not being in a more modern style a couple years ago. Now I see it as its style, and although I will say if it wasn't by you I may not have read and that I can see a lot of people being turned off... It's your style. It was consistent through the book, it made for a light, fast read (not in an insulting way), and it just kind of worked for the book?
Still not a fan of the style, but that doesn't mean I disliked the book. I liked it. Style probably kept me from loving it, but I still liked it. Enough so that yes, I will be buying others. And trust me, if it hurt me to read, I would just act like I had too many other things to read to buy it xD
This may seem like a very whack way to go about the review, but I think it's important for others to know because it is a very niche style. Probably more for people who genuinely love and treasure the older fantasies, something I only read for the story and not for an appreciate for the art craft of its style. Like, if you truly adore the way that people like Tolkien write, you'll probably appreciate Ver's style way more than I ever could.
Now, to just the story itself and not the writing style... In a world where many fantasy stories are epic and world ending and out-of-this-world fantastical, The Journey is just very personal. You see bits of magic, but none of these main characters are slinging spells. They aren't fighting against any other foe except the hardships of life and the butthole-ness of people. In a weird way, "the journey" is both their greatest foe and their greatest ally, pushing them until they almost break yet making them become a much tighter -- maybe larger -- family.
It is a breath of fresh air to have these characters who you are just experiencing growing. As a high-action fantasy fanatic, it did sometimes feel a little too unexciting, but I could also appreciate how it always had something going on for the family (I just have my preferences and really wanted some magical fighting xD).
Almost all my gripes are about execution, but it's just very reminiscent of the older styles, and you can see Ver's love for those in her writing. So although I think there are better ways to make things come across for a wider, modern audience... She has her niche and she sticks to it well, and I cannot insult her on that. I will even give her leeway on her semi-colons -- which I hate being overused in modern writing -- because it does fit the older writing she is recreating (I am never gonna live this down... Keep in mind, I still disagree in modern, Ver <.<).
The only other gripe I have is sometimes I feel like the book needed to be a smidge longer to give more time to Sandy? Sometimes she really felt like an afterthought, and I liked the premise of her character, so it was disappointing. It did come full circle, and I like how it tied in with Fred, but it just didn't feel as earned as Fred's growth.
But yes, I definitely recommend this book who appreciate the older, more classical fantasies who also want that more personal journey of a family just trying to survive against the world.
Now if I can just meet this Mordred some people won't shut up about...
