Official Review: Realm Journey by Ben Schneider
Posted: 23 Jul 2019, 09:03
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Realm Journey" by Ben Schneider.]
4 out of 4 stars
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In Realm Journey, written by Ben Schneider, readers follow the epic adventures of a brave medieval knight as he sails through mysterious wormholes to impede an evil, other-worldly invasion of his native kingdom of Topoli, which is already suffering under the bloody reign of the shady King Felix IV. Sir Xandar faces arduous battles and struggles to escape the attack of a deadly vessel called the Death Bell. The main character needs to find the Dolphin Key, an artifact that can block the wormholes and impede the savage Haybians from raiding his world.
The novel's best aspect, in my opinion, is its set of remarkably well-developed characters. The charming and intrepid Sir Xandar is a lovable and heroic protagonist. But I also grew particularly fond of Pencerous, an all-around good guy who was simultaneously a sage, a talented alchemist, and a cutting-edge scientist. Additionally, I enjoyed the delightfully subtle love triangle involving the protagonist and two multidimensional, strong female characters – Priscilla and Jia. The story has a great rhythm to it, and I was pleasantly surprised by the ending. But no spoilers are allowed!
The author’s writing style is elegant and engaging, and he masterfully mixes medieval fantasy and science fiction. Kings, knights, squires, drawbridges, and citadels get woven together with cosmic energy, wormholes, and parallel universes to create an imaginative plot. I had great fun looking for the exact meaning of words such as adze, baldric, coif, dais, loincloth, and solleret.
But most of all, I thought Schneider did an excellent job of portraying the medieval characters’ sharp-witted reactions to the wonders of science and space-time travel. The underlying good humor is an important feature that consistently adds color to the story. For instance, I laughed at Xandar’s witty remarks about knights becoming obsolete because guns – “a much smaller cannon” that “a man can easily hold in his hands” – will be invented shortly.
For the reasons above, I rate Realm Journey 4 out of 4 stars. I found it to be an imaginative and fun novel to read. It was also well edited. Although I did find a few minor errors in it, mostly related to comma usage, they did not detract from the reading experience. I cannot think of a noteworthy negative aspect to mention regarding this book. I highly recommend it to fans of medieval fantasy adventures, regardless of their age, especially if they also like a bit of science fiction. Readers who prefer more realistic novels might not like it so much.
******
Realm Journey
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
4 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
In Realm Journey, written by Ben Schneider, readers follow the epic adventures of a brave medieval knight as he sails through mysterious wormholes to impede an evil, other-worldly invasion of his native kingdom of Topoli, which is already suffering under the bloody reign of the shady King Felix IV. Sir Xandar faces arduous battles and struggles to escape the attack of a deadly vessel called the Death Bell. The main character needs to find the Dolphin Key, an artifact that can block the wormholes and impede the savage Haybians from raiding his world.
The novel's best aspect, in my opinion, is its set of remarkably well-developed characters. The charming and intrepid Sir Xandar is a lovable and heroic protagonist. But I also grew particularly fond of Pencerous, an all-around good guy who was simultaneously a sage, a talented alchemist, and a cutting-edge scientist. Additionally, I enjoyed the delightfully subtle love triangle involving the protagonist and two multidimensional, strong female characters – Priscilla and Jia. The story has a great rhythm to it, and I was pleasantly surprised by the ending. But no spoilers are allowed!
The author’s writing style is elegant and engaging, and he masterfully mixes medieval fantasy and science fiction. Kings, knights, squires, drawbridges, and citadels get woven together with cosmic energy, wormholes, and parallel universes to create an imaginative plot. I had great fun looking for the exact meaning of words such as adze, baldric, coif, dais, loincloth, and solleret.
But most of all, I thought Schneider did an excellent job of portraying the medieval characters’ sharp-witted reactions to the wonders of science and space-time travel. The underlying good humor is an important feature that consistently adds color to the story. For instance, I laughed at Xandar’s witty remarks about knights becoming obsolete because guns – “a much smaller cannon” that “a man can easily hold in his hands” – will be invented shortly.
For the reasons above, I rate Realm Journey 4 out of 4 stars. I found it to be an imaginative and fun novel to read. It was also well edited. Although I did find a few minor errors in it, mostly related to comma usage, they did not detract from the reading experience. I cannot think of a noteworthy negative aspect to mention regarding this book. I highly recommend it to fans of medieval fantasy adventures, regardless of their age, especially if they also like a bit of science fiction. Readers who prefer more realistic novels might not like it so much.
******
Realm Journey
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
