Review: A wonderfully intriguing adventure
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 09 1, 2013
Obviously no one has read as many books as he or she would have liked, but of the books that I have read that grabbed my attention from the very beginning and wouldn't let go are: "Wuthering Heights" by Emily Bront, "The Prisoner of Azkaban" by J. K. Rowling, and now "The Forest of Aisling" by D. S. Elstad.The way I felt, as I read Ms Elstad's book, was of walking inside a long corridor in a medieval castle knowing full well that there was something out of the ordinary waiting for me behind a door at the end of that passage. Suddenly, the story changes and becomes almost a common narration of a family trip to a distant, beautiful place: Ireland. Nonetheless, you know better. You feel that at any moment, in a split second, that door will open with a big surprise. All along, you sense that it will happen and... it does. This repeats again and again but, in between, the family trip continues with many more surprises.In the beginning, the weather is charming and the friends are nice even though some family situations are sad. There are also romantic moments. But the story continues until, suddenly, the weather is no longer charming, it is downright frightful, the story grows darker, unusual, rare, to the point that it reminded me of another great series of books that started with "The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge" by Carlos Castaneda. Those who have read the series know what I mean. One wonderful aspect of "The Forest of Aisling" is that it serves as a brilliant introduction, at least to me, to the Celtic Mythology. You can check the names; I did; and they are all there. Along the way you'll find out the meaning of "Aisling," which is beautiful by the way; the story finishes with the same intensity as it started, but this time pointing towards another intriguing culture, the Lakota, with their vision quest ritual or Ihan'bla plus many, many other things. Then you will ask yourself: What next? And guess what? There is a next!Terrific reading, super intriguing; easy, flowing text; it deserves five stars. Jake TaylorPS: I also would like to mention the beautiful cover of this book. It really captures the spirit of the story.