Review of The Wellington Alternate

[Mutai Marshal]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Wellington Alternate" by Oliver Dace.]

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2 out of 4 stars

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The Wellington Alternate by Oliver Dace is a magical realism book set in New Zealand. It follows the story of a group of four women caught in the magical world of surreal entities. The main character is Marinette Dace Nadean, an 18-year-old lady trying against all odds to chart her destiny. She tries to avoid her fate after being eaten by an egg. This occurs during an expedition of Fiction hunting, her family's century-old tradition of preserving numerous fantastical beings known as Fiction. Instead, she longs to use her passion for books as a different means to support her family in realizing their goals. Her aunt Mandy is always on her case, trying to convince her to use her talents as a Fiction hunter. Will Marinette stay true to her instincts, or will she bow to her aunt's pressure?

This novel brings together a number of themes. There is the theme of friendship, family ties, loyalty, and a little bit of romance. It also gives a strong presence of strong independent women who have extraordinary powers. The four women, Marinette, Josefina, Mandy, and Arissa, help to bring out the different aspects of the human character. Merinette represents stubbornness and the courage to challenge the norm, while Mandy is the ever-pushy personality trying to get people to do what she wants. Arissa represents hard work and determination, while Josefina represents a free spirit. All these characters helped to bring the book to life.

The only thing I liked about this book is that it displayed four strong female characters. They are all independent and play their parts in making their presence felt and appreciated. I especially loved Arissa's resolve to become a collector despite not being born as one. She worked hard to prove her worth.

There are several things that I didn't like about this book. I understand that it is magical realism, but I had a difficult time connecting to the flow of the book. For almost half the book, I felt lost in understanding what was happening. The author should have taken the time to narrate why Fiction hunting was vital and what they were to help bring the book to a good start. This aspect made the book feel off. Another issue I had was the weird description of events about body contortions. At one point, I felt my skin crawl imagining the spirals on bodies. This was heightened due to my issue of trypophobia. Overall, the author does have an interesting story, but the delivery is lacking. If the author explained the idea of what "eating Fiction" and "catching Fiction" is, this would have been a great book.

The book has several grammatical errors. It was not professionally edited. This added to the number of dislikes about this book.

I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars. I cannot give it a higher rating due to its absurdity and difficulty in understanding the premise. I cannot give it a lower rating because the author had an idea, but he was unable to bring it out clearly. I believe this can be corrected via a simple chapter explaining what everything means.

I recommend this book to people with wild imaginations and those who don't mind seeing beyond the ordinary. Lovers of magical realism will also love this book. It is most suitable for young adults and above.

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The Wellington Alternate
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[Amy Luman]

I am sorry that the errors were so distracting, but I think I couldn’t overlook the fact that the book had such a slow start. Like you, I enjoy strong female characters, but probably not if it’s the only thing to recommend the book.

[Sarah Sonbol]

Sometimes, authors try to create mystical worlds to the degree that the reader finds it difficult to follow the storyline. Sorry for your experience with the book and thanks for your honest opinion.

[Mutai Marshal]

I am sorry that the errors were so distracting, but I think I couldn’t overlook the fact that the book had such a slow start. Like you, I enjoy strong female characters, but probably not if it’s the only thing to recommend the book.

Yea. Errors can be so distracting. Correcting the highlighted issues will make it an interesting book. Thank you for commenting.

[Chiwendu Ikechukwu]

This book looks interesting from the review above. And the storyline is my kind of story. Adding it to my shelf for future reading ASAP.

[Patty Allread]

I enjoyed your review. The author must have quite the imagination. I was taken aback at the idea of being eaten by an egg! I hope Dace can refine his communication so readers can understand his work better.

[Enxhi66]

The Wellington Alternate is a New Zealand Magical Realism novel where, ever since an egg had devoured her, eighteen-year-old Merinette Dace Nadean wants to escape her destiny. She longs to be an academic instead of continuing in her family's century-old position in maintaining the various surreal entities called Fiction.

Merinette, as stubborn as she is, refuses, eager to prove that she is more than the talents she was born with. She wants to turn her love for books into an alternative way to help her family rather than confronting the surreal head-on. And, when an opportunity arises in a dingy car park, Merinette will do anything to achieve her goal

[Ikechukwu Blessing]

Magical stories can be two-sided most of the time since it not definitely practical, it can cause the reader to get bored.

[Shadreck Rogers]

Books about magic a rare and this one sounds like my cup of tea.

[NetMassimo]

Magic realism is tricky because the story needs to be evocative and someway poetic and at the same time grounded to enable the readers to understand what's happening. In this case, it seems like the author needs to work more on the right bits to obtain a good balance. Thank you for your honest review!