Recently I had read a book by a member of the community that was quite an enjoyable read. Many of you may know the book already, but for those like me who have read it for the first time: here is my first impressions and review.
For what I have come to understand, the author made a point to write the story in such a way that the reader is encouraged to take one, two, or three times to read through and each time draw new connections between the characters and their quest. If you haven’t made it through the book already then I won’t reveal too much information about the story as to do you a disservice. The summary is as follows:
“A fully painted 80 page fantasy storybook about loving parents searching for their son in a dark forest. They are Elysia and Amar, guardians of the mountains and of Sacha. They contain a pure light within them which they have passed on to their son and can only hope it will protect him during his coming of age trials. In Search of Sacha is written and designed for all ages. Young adults as well as children and parents will find something to love from this ethereal fairy tale.” – Manuel Guzman
There are a number or allusions in the text of endeavors in the real world: poisoned water that makes one behave strangely, the spontaneous and ever present nature of evil, the call of the wild, dangers of going into the world as a young man, and many more.
My favorite character is Amar because he’s patient and resilient with his wife, determined on his search, and faithful that they will find their son. All good qualities for a strong male role model to have, and especially for Sacha to emulate as he becomes older. The characters are supposed to be fictional and magical, however they are by no means beyond relation. My favorite part of the book was Lady Ravine’s lair and the still waters, the souls beneath the surface were grasping at their ankles as they hovered right atop the water’s surface, illuminated from a tear of Elysia. The pictures are just phenomenal, and they do a fantastic job of giving the reader the best ideas and illustrations as scenes unfold in the story. Below are some examples in this gallery:
The only downsides to the book come with a hidden upsides. Some pages have much more text than others, which could leave the reader thinking the story line is unbalanced. After introspection, I thought this way due to being spoiled with dozens of detailed, full-page artworks that depict important elements and characters in the story. It seems only natural that the text is denser in different areas for this reason.
The other downside of the book is the unconventional font choice. This one is most prominent, but when one begins to read the book it is apparent why the author may have decided to use such an elegant and airy font. It takes a second, but when one’s eyes get used to reading the font they’re glued to the story! Also, it provides much more room for the reader to view the full-paged artworks (above). Not to mention the text seems handwritten or classical which matches the full page artworks.
In summary, the book has an easy-to-follow, fast moving plot with memorable characters. It’s obvious that the author comes from a theological frame of mind, especially with a quote from the Bible in the final page. This in mind, the story is a gripping fantasy about peril and searching for the dear son of two loving parents. The type of reader I would recommend the book to would be a younger, but mature, crowd for there are elements to the story that could be frightening (much ado to the author with the illustrations). Parents can read this to their pre-teen or gift to their early-teen children.
You can give the book a look on his main website, and check out his other projects. Have a nice read!
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Van Allen Bear
