Review of Blockhead
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Elavarasi Charles
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Review of Blockhead
[Following is a volunteer review of "Blockhead" by Kyle J.S. Bardell.]
‘If you can accept a lie, how can you accept the truth?'
Bronco’s full of such deep questions. Her life on the ranch has always been wonderful and simple. Reliable and mature in her blossoming teenage years, she is proud to be capable on her own at taking care of the ranch. Mechanical horses are an easy task. The rare living horse, Stud, might be a pain sometimes. But she is up for the job any day. The only thing she considers unfair is her brother Lockett refusing to grow up and take care of himself. Their mother still coddling him brings a blind rage out of her. Nothing a trip to the nearby forest with her father Jericho can’t solve, though. She looks up to him and ‘the second sun’ that rises in the winter to bring the peace she craves. But this winter, that which brought such peace, is about to bring nightmares. Everything she believed was comfort in her life shrinks into a decorated lie when people from the capital start visiting her home. When the harsh reality of having to leave behind her childlike heart and shoulder a responsibility greater than her life in the mysterious capital bends her down, will she yield? And if she chooses to refuse, is the escape worth the outcome?
Blockhead, a work of dream and passion by Kyle J.S. Bardell, offers a complex and delicious blend of fiction and fantasy to spell the truths of the world we live in. Drawing out of his experience, the author puts the characters in a world and dares us to look away when a harsh fate disguised as choices sweeps them from their feet.
Between chasing butterflies in the field to taking amateur steps in a professional world of cruel authority, the turn our life takes should be unbelievable, but it is not. As said in the author’s note, life somehow makes us ‘comfortable with the uncomfortable.’ Such truth comes hurdling like a stone for the teenagers in Blockhead. What Wolfrum is accepting and used to in Part One of the book should be unacceptable. What Bronco understands in reading a single book overnight in Part Two should be a far reach for the young minds. But it is not. The worst part is when the parents, who’d had the same fate, accept and prepare the children for such a capitalistic fate that breaches its limits to force an artificial purpose of life in young people.
I loved the writing style of the author. Attention to minor details ties us to the picture that is described. The minimalistic usage of fantasy elements, be it Ice Walkers that dominate the winter storms or see-through buildings of the capital, makes the world building more realistic and fascinating. Though the pace is a bit fast and the characters are developed hurriedly within a short number of pages, the anticipation of what happens next keeps us engaged, making the minor discomfort flow over the head. The ending is shocking, abrupt, and disappointing. But it didn’t put me down. The open nature of it halted me in the track of thoughts. It makes it less of a fairy tale than one might expect it to be.
Though it is centered on teen characters, the capacity to handle the theme makes adults the best-suited readers. Deciding to look away from a few typos, I give this book, easily my favorite read in recent times, 5 out of 5 stars. I recommend it to all who love an adventurous story filled with mythical creatures and elements carried by a coming-of-age plotline that you are largely unprepared for.
******
Blockhead
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
‘If you can accept a lie, how can you accept the truth?'
Bronco’s full of such deep questions. Her life on the ranch has always been wonderful and simple. Reliable and mature in her blossoming teenage years, she is proud to be capable on her own at taking care of the ranch. Mechanical horses are an easy task. The rare living horse, Stud, might be a pain sometimes. But she is up for the job any day. The only thing she considers unfair is her brother Lockett refusing to grow up and take care of himself. Their mother still coddling him brings a blind rage out of her. Nothing a trip to the nearby forest with her father Jericho can’t solve, though. She looks up to him and ‘the second sun’ that rises in the winter to bring the peace she craves. But this winter, that which brought such peace, is about to bring nightmares. Everything she believed was comfort in her life shrinks into a decorated lie when people from the capital start visiting her home. When the harsh reality of having to leave behind her childlike heart and shoulder a responsibility greater than her life in the mysterious capital bends her down, will she yield? And if she chooses to refuse, is the escape worth the outcome?
Blockhead, a work of dream and passion by Kyle J.S. Bardell, offers a complex and delicious blend of fiction and fantasy to spell the truths of the world we live in. Drawing out of his experience, the author puts the characters in a world and dares us to look away when a harsh fate disguised as choices sweeps them from their feet.
Between chasing butterflies in the field to taking amateur steps in a professional world of cruel authority, the turn our life takes should be unbelievable, but it is not. As said in the author’s note, life somehow makes us ‘comfortable with the uncomfortable.’ Such truth comes hurdling like a stone for the teenagers in Blockhead. What Wolfrum is accepting and used to in Part One of the book should be unacceptable. What Bronco understands in reading a single book overnight in Part Two should be a far reach for the young minds. But it is not. The worst part is when the parents, who’d had the same fate, accept and prepare the children for such a capitalistic fate that breaches its limits to force an artificial purpose of life in young people.
I loved the writing style of the author. Attention to minor details ties us to the picture that is described. The minimalistic usage of fantasy elements, be it Ice Walkers that dominate the winter storms or see-through buildings of the capital, makes the world building more realistic and fascinating. Though the pace is a bit fast and the characters are developed hurriedly within a short number of pages, the anticipation of what happens next keeps us engaged, making the minor discomfort flow over the head. The ending is shocking, abrupt, and disappointing. But it didn’t put me down. The open nature of it halted me in the track of thoughts. It makes it less of a fairy tale than one might expect it to be.
Though it is centered on teen characters, the capacity to handle the theme makes adults the best-suited readers. Deciding to look away from a few typos, I give this book, easily my favorite read in recent times, 5 out of 5 stars. I recommend it to all who love an adventurous story filled with mythical creatures and elements carried by a coming-of-age plotline that you are largely unprepared for.
******
Blockhead
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: The 13th of Summer by Charlene Pratt
