Book Reviews: Adventures, Fantastical and Real
Two adventure books feature in the blog this time around. One is somewhere in Faerie, and the other is in this world as it was a couple of centuries ago. The Bane of Ashkirith, by Ariel Paiement From the beginning of this YA novel, we’re immersed in a strange world where archeology, adventure, and myth intertwine. That in itself is perhaps not new (we’ve seen it in the Indiana Jones movies, of course), but what is new is the setting for this kind of tale: this is a detailed imaginary world where archeological discoveries, technology, myths (and later, magic) are all bound up in the made-up cultures. There are surprises. There is danger. There is truth to be uncovered and millennia-old lies to be debunked (and you can be sure that the status quo will not look kindly upon the debunkers). There are strange animals: some cute and some mysterious. There are new civilizations to be found, and the reader is taken along on the journey. I also liked how the echo of Lovecraft is wor...