Review of E&N Escape
Posted: 05 Sep 2021, 08:15
[Following is a volunteer review of "E&N Escape" by P.N.Holland.]
Billy and Ricky are assigned to write a historical essay at school about the E&N Railroad. They decide to take a trip on the railroad as part of their assignment and Billy brings along his sister Sarah. At their first stop over at Cliffside, Billy notices a strangely dressed girl with nothing but unique features, the most striking being her purple eyes. The girl introduces herself as Azandra. The train leaves for the Kinsolt trestle which is their next stop, it is at this stop that Sarah loses track of Billy and Ricky. This is where P. N. Holland gets me aboard his jet of imaginations and takes me to wonderland with the E&N Escape. Billy and Ricky literally disappear through a portal at the Kinsolt trestle and they find themselves each in a separate place but in a whole new world. Azandra shows up once again and this time she informs Billy about what had happened. They had time travelled into the future, which was 2066 in our calendar.
Azandra explains to Billy how world war III had caused a major climatic change to the world that led to an array of catastrophes which saw the world being destroyed and the demise of a staggering number of the human population. Azandra blames all this on a wizard called Mohryia. After the world fell apart, a new city called the New Albion was built as a safe haven for the survivors and was under the rule of a certain council called the Galactic council. This council had tried fighting Mohryia and stop him from causing another disaster but had failed, that's why they had recruited the two wizards Billy and Ricky to help them accomplish their mission.
P. N. Holland depicts his characters in a very vivid and unique way making their attributes very pronounced to the reader. You can tell that of the three kids, Billy is the most intelligent. He always comes up with a solution whenever trapped in a situation. For instance, when they went after Mohryia but then ran into the Outlanders and were captured and put into a cell. Billy is the one that suggests that they send Azandra from the cell to New Albion using magic.
The choice of words Holland employs in the E&N Escape is absolutely brilliant. I hate it when a book sounds matter of factly. I also hate it when a book has a lot of expressions and long complicated sentences. But Holland had it all balanced, using occasional long but comprehensive sentences with very well thought about expressions. The E&N Escape being the third book in the Vancouver Island Mysteries series, stands on it's own with a very enthralling and entertaining plot.
I really liked the way P. N .Holland used plot twists and also put his characters in ultimate plight as the story progresses on. It was almost hard to tell what was the right thing for his protagonist to do, in this case Billy, or who was honest enough for Billy to trust. For instance when Mohryia meets Billy and his team in the cells of the Outlanders, he takes them to his sacred hall and tells them his side of the story removing blame from his name. Mohryia tells Billy's team that they had sided with the wrong alliance, which is the Galactic council. You should read the book and find out who was telling the truth between the Galactic council and Mohryia, and who did Billy's team decide to follow.
The E&N Escape is a great piece of work, I did not find anything to dislike about the book. I did not find any errors in the book, It is clearly exceptionally and professionally edited. Enthusiasts of science fiction and fantasy will love this book. I rate it 3 out of 4 stars.
******
E&N Escape
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Billy and Ricky are assigned to write a historical essay at school about the E&N Railroad. They decide to take a trip on the railroad as part of their assignment and Billy brings along his sister Sarah. At their first stop over at Cliffside, Billy notices a strangely dressed girl with nothing but unique features, the most striking being her purple eyes. The girl introduces herself as Azandra. The train leaves for the Kinsolt trestle which is their next stop, it is at this stop that Sarah loses track of Billy and Ricky. This is where P. N. Holland gets me aboard his jet of imaginations and takes me to wonderland with the E&N Escape. Billy and Ricky literally disappear through a portal at the Kinsolt trestle and they find themselves each in a separate place but in a whole new world. Azandra shows up once again and this time she informs Billy about what had happened. They had time travelled into the future, which was 2066 in our calendar.
Azandra explains to Billy how world war III had caused a major climatic change to the world that led to an array of catastrophes which saw the world being destroyed and the demise of a staggering number of the human population. Azandra blames all this on a wizard called Mohryia. After the world fell apart, a new city called the New Albion was built as a safe haven for the survivors and was under the rule of a certain council called the Galactic council. This council had tried fighting Mohryia and stop him from causing another disaster but had failed, that's why they had recruited the two wizards Billy and Ricky to help them accomplish their mission.
P. N. Holland depicts his characters in a very vivid and unique way making their attributes very pronounced to the reader. You can tell that of the three kids, Billy is the most intelligent. He always comes up with a solution whenever trapped in a situation. For instance, when they went after Mohryia but then ran into the Outlanders and were captured and put into a cell. Billy is the one that suggests that they send Azandra from the cell to New Albion using magic.
The choice of words Holland employs in the E&N Escape is absolutely brilliant. I hate it when a book sounds matter of factly. I also hate it when a book has a lot of expressions and long complicated sentences. But Holland had it all balanced, using occasional long but comprehensive sentences with very well thought about expressions. The E&N Escape being the third book in the Vancouver Island Mysteries series, stands on it's own with a very enthralling and entertaining plot.
I really liked the way P. N .Holland used plot twists and also put his characters in ultimate plight as the story progresses on. It was almost hard to tell what was the right thing for his protagonist to do, in this case Billy, or who was honest enough for Billy to trust. For instance when Mohryia meets Billy and his team in the cells of the Outlanders, he takes them to his sacred hall and tells them his side of the story removing blame from his name. Mohryia tells Billy's team that they had sided with the wrong alliance, which is the Galactic council. You should read the book and find out who was telling the truth between the Galactic council and Mohryia, and who did Billy's team decide to follow.
The E&N Escape is a great piece of work, I did not find anything to dislike about the book. I did not find any errors in the book, It is clearly exceptionally and professionally edited. Enthusiasts of science fiction and fantasy will love this book. I rate it 3 out of 4 stars.
******
E&N Escape
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon