The Adventures of Willowby Went: Book Review
This is definitely a fantasy novel. Being a Tolkien fan, I found
many days of enjoyable reading here in J.S. Harrison’s
world. This is a place that is crowded with Fairies,
Leprechauns, friendly Trolls and Ogres, Wizards, Knights,
Dragons, Vampire assassins, large evil black rabbits and
ghouls along with Men, Dwarves, Elves and Trofkins.
With an anti-racist sentimism, the author places many
different races together to embark on a journey that may
bring hope to the people of Werdanbabadood and to save
their world from the Evil Wizard, Sardego. This strange
mixture of people go through many trials and adventures to
find the Knights, only to arrive at a time when so few were
able to come to their aide. Regardless of the odds, they
carry on and work together in a desperate effort to break the
magic staff of Sardego and end his war mongering.
Though everyone plays a very important part in the
interwoven web of events, it is the Trofkins, a tree-dwelling
people of writers and lovers of food and mischief, who are
the heroes of the world. This race was thought unlikely to
produce heroes, being a people of many social constraints
and clear definitions of what is proper or not. Yet with war on
their doorstep, they had little choice but place their only hope
in their young chieftain-to-be, the one Trofkin who seemed
the least likely to be responsible enough to accomplish this
dangerous task. Young Willowby goes far beyond any
expectation the Trofkin could have had for even the greatest
of their kind. He proves his worth to himself and his people
and gains the necessary confidence to rule with a fair, yet
just hand.
I very much enjoyed J.S. Harrison’s writing style. It was like
being drawn into a big sitting room with a large fireplace,
where a deep grandfatherly voice tells the story of Willowby
Went. Then without realizing it, I felt sucked into the scenery
and it was if I had become the cameraperson at a real, live
historical event. It was an effort to put aside the book to carry
on with my own tasks!
Keep an eye out for future work by J.S. Harrison folks! I have
a feeling he’s going to be one of the ‘great’ writers of our
era.
Lillian Brummet – Book Reviewer – Co-author of the book
Trash Talk, a guide for anyone concerned about his or her
impact on the environment Author of Towards
Understanding, a book of poetry.
(
)
