Wyborn
Senna has a a bachelor’s degree in Journalism/Mass Communication
from St. Bonaventure University, a Masters in Professional
Writing degree from USC, and is
published by Full Fathom Five Digital. Inspired by metaphysical
studies, Far From
Shandesto is the first
in a series of fantasy novels that take readers on a journey to
different lands where they encounter situations and characters
inspired by new-age subject matter including tarot and oracle decks.
The
story starts out with Holly, Jen, Sophia, and Rob going to the house
of a Gypsie. We're told that four years earlier, three senior guys
from their school disappeared in the woods around the gypsie's house,
and everyone goes into the Gypsy's house to see if she's home. Before
too long, everyone finds themselves transported to Arcanaland, a
universe where the laws of physics are radically different from ours,
and they promptly run into Trath, Alejo, and Will, the three senior
guys who disappeared four years earlier. It also turns out that the
Gypsy is Leticia Elizondo, who had been in Arcanaland many years
before. After they all meet up and get acquainted, they split up and
embark on a journey to find a way back to their world, each group
heading to a different location that supposedly will allow them to
return home.
One
of the most positive aspects of the book is that it thrusts you very
dramatically into the world of Arcanaland; not much time passes from
the very beginning of the book when we see Holly, Jen, Sophia, and
Rob at the school to the four of them discovering the magical, vast
world of Arcanaland as they're met by multiple people. The book also
does a solid job of combining a Harry Potter-like wizarding world
with the talking animals, dimensional travel world of The
Chronicles of Narnia. Sadly, this book had many typos in it, most
of which are missing quotation marks that make it hard to tell if
someone is speaking or not at first glance in some cases, and is just
annoying in other cases. Also, this book promotes many Eastern
religious ideas that are not true, such as on page 125 when Alejo
describes the process of reincarnation in relation to the ghosts of
Lake Etherea. While such ideas might make for entertaining reading in
a science fiction novel, they are completely unfalsifiable in the
real world.
To
make it clear, I'm not into fantasy adventures that involve wizardry,
spells, potions, and magic worlds in general, so it's hard for me to
appreciate what this book has to offer, and the fact that the book
feels like a knock-off brand of the Chronicles of Narnia
doesn't really help me. However, if you are interested in this kind
of novel, then Arcanaland Series Book 1: Far From Shandesto
might be for you.
Final
Grade: B-
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