Review by AnnOgochukwu -- Manasakd by Kelly May Andrews

[AnnOgochukwu]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Manasakd" by Kelly May Andrews.]

---

4 out of 4 stars

---

Share This Review

---

Manasakd by Kelly May Andrews is a thrilling fictional fantasy novel based on a magical realm where: animals can talk; and shadows can act independent of their owners; and magical creatures -believed to be myths in the ordinary world, the slip world- exist, although merely by the believe of the special people who have access to this realm, people who are Manasakd. On entering the Manasakd realm, every new Manasakd has a mentor and a soul animal appointed to him or her. A soul animal is a companion and it enables it's owner function at their best; while a mentor is the personal trainer appointed, by the land to the new Manasakd. Also, a mentor's power grows as his or her mentee's grows; hence being a mentor is an honor as well as a reward. Interestingly, new Manasakd never remember their first time in the Manasakd realm.

Manasakd are special persons who have accessed all parts of their human brain, parts which normal people never know how to use. They are able to discover their Mana, which is a magical force in every Manasakd, that opens the mind and makes each person unique- giving them special abilities, and making them irresistible to other people. Manasakd also have vices (flaws) which they have to learn to master, such as: anxiety, anger, jealousy, self doubt, amongst others. Manasakd are divided into various classes: Mythics, Storms, Empaths, Visionaries, Healers, Intellects and Dreamers. Each of these classes have special abilities which are unique to the class, and each live in different lands which is designed to suit the nature and abilities of the class of Manasakd. They all have to work together in order to keep the land alive and flourishing. For instance: the Storms regulate the weather; the Dreamers think up unimaginable and amazing ideas; the Intellects proffer methods for realizing the ideas of the Dreamers; the Healer's heal the land and the people as well; while the Mythics keep the peace in the land. And so forth goes the symbiotic relationship among the Manasakd lands.

The story is told from the first person perspective of the different characters in the book, all Manasakd of varying ages; starting with Kaleb's, a 12 year old who is at a child psychologist's, Dr Beckett, for his regular session. Anxiety lives in Kaleb. The session takes an unusual turn when Doctor Beckett, who Kaleb respects and admires a lot is arrested by a couple of cops in company of Dr Sao, who Kaleb obviously dislikes. At the station, Kaleb is left alone in the interrogation room; and to escape his current situation, he slips into -and we are introduced to- the Manasakd realm. When in the mythic land, Kaleb meets a little girl, Tali, for the second time. He believes her to be his mentee, his first ever; and they already have an unsaid mutual understanding, maybe friendship . From here the story takes an interesting turn as Tali gets separated from Kaleb. She makes unplanned visits to the various Manasakd lands and encounters persons from each land; anyone she meets is excited -on discovering that she is 'Tali', a long awaited legend- and proudly declare that he or she is to be Tali's mentor. Tali's entry and journey through the Manasakd lands is the subject of the novel; and it creates a lot of confusion (as predicted by the legends), of which resolving is the aim of the novel.

Manasakd exposed to me, a different dimension of imagination of unknown worlds and powers; this is what captivated me most about the novel and kept me reading. The first time I visited the Manasakd realm and it's magical nature, I fell into what I call a 'smooth nap' ; I had a mellow dream that I was in a magical place and that whatever I wished for happened. When I woke up I was all smiles and dreamy. This describes for real how fantastic and magical this book was for me. I loved the characters and how realistic they were (some of them pleasant and some unpleasant). Kelly May Andrews did a good job in portraying the undeniable nature of human beings -by showing that despite all their special abilities and powers, the Manasakd's still had flaws like every other human, and were interdependent on one another for survival and continuity. I also loved the diction and the imagery of the novel. The twist of events and the following confusions are all crowned with a happy and dramatic resolution. And as much as I wanted to unravel the truth behind the mystery in the novel, I didn't want the story to end, so I took it slowly. I loved everything about, Manasakd and I rate it 4 out of 4 stars. I would have loved to add an extra start, giving it a perfect five star.

The book seems properly and professionally edited in my opinion, and except for few punctuation errors (especially with the quotation mark), I saw no other type of error. The author also has a unique way of introducing chapters, using the names of the characters instead of numbers, which is nice for a change.

Manasakd is an interesting easy read; and I believe every class of person can read this book, regardless of age or religion. However I think it would be most appealing and interesting to young readers (I believe it would make a perfect bed time story), young adults and to all fantasy lovers. Persons who dislike, or are apathetic to magic and human psychic powers are advised to steer clear of this book.

I excitedly await the sequel to this amazing book.

******
Manasakd
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

[Marty_Kelly]

Very nice review, Ann. I read this book recently too and would be glad to continue the series.

[AnnOgochukwu]

Very nice review, Ann. I read this book recently too and would be glad to continue the series.

Thank you.