Joseph Sheilds is a young man living in England and is having a rough go of things. Hes working a dead-end job at his family's store and up to his eyeballs in debt. His father, who has passed on, was from Spain and he has decided to disappear to there and start his life over, leaving all his troubles behind. He goes to what I can only assume is some sort of flea market, where he purchases a used toaster. Unfortunately, the toaster is his undoing as it catches fire, and he dies.
Joseph wakes up on an island in the middle of the ocean. A place called Hyleberia. He is met by a man named Peter who tells Joseph that he is the Prime Minister of the island. The island is in another dimension and Joseph has been revitalized and is in fact, not dead. From this island the whole world is ran with Peter at the helm. Joseph is tasked with going to school to study for a test to determine what his job on the island will be. He keeps hearing whispers of a Dark Prince and his inevitable return. Joseph makes some friends and all too soon he has got to decide if his new home is worth fighting for. The fate of the island and possibly the world rests on his shoulders.
I was really surprised by how much I liked this story. Not because I thought it would be bad but because its not my typical genre. There is a nice mix of myths, historical figures and weird creatures. If nothing else, you must read this book for the imagination of the author. The setting and the characters are fantastic, and it made me want to visit Hyleberia just to see some of them. I forgot to mention one important character, a sweet, endearing sloth named Gabriel who will play an important role in the life of Joseph. All in all, this is a great book and I very much hope there is a sequel. For a debut book, this author has knocked it out of the park in my opinion. I received this book free from the author for an honest review.
No comments:
Post a Comment