Review: Fantasy With an Emphasis on the Frontier Life
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 19, 2014
“Uprooted” is the story of a pair of brothers who are forced to leave their home after they discover a decaying body in the woods near their home.  The body was in possession of an amulet that the boy’s village fears will draw the attention of “The Jackals,” who are always on the hunt to eliminate the use of magic.I found “Uprooted” to be a quick and easy read.  This isn’t the kind of fantasy novel that has a sword fight on every page, it’s more of a meditation on rural life and family.  At times, I could imagine the characters involved were attempting to build a life on the American frontier rather than occupying the pages of a fantasy novel.  I actually enjoyed this component because it lent the novel a sense of realism.Edwin is a gifted storyteller and there are some very good scenes in this book which display a keen grasp of character development.  I especially enjoyed a chapter where a young boy goes to profess his love to an indifferent girl.  The scene was not overdone and the boy learns a few things that echo in his actions for the rest of the novel.  It’s good to see moments in a novel where actions have consequences.  This is what people mean when they say “the characters need to grow and change.”I was kind of looking forward to a little more action early on, and at times it was hard to identify who the main characters were going to be.  There are a lot of characters in this novel, which indicates that this is a rich and fully developed world.  I did eventually get my answers, and overall this is a compelling start to a new series.  This is a well-crafted, professional novel.  The editing is good, the cover design is good, and I’m looking forward to more entries in this series.