Synopsis
Mason Quayle is a bard living in a town whose heroes have long since fled. No heroes = no adventurous tales and nothing for a bard to write about. So when the opportunity arises for Mason to go on a real-life quest--a chance to be a hero himself--he takes it. Following in the footsteps of his long-vanished hero father, Mason and his best friend, Cowel, set out on a journey full of misadventure and run-ins with an unusual cast of characters, among them, a retired hero-cum-shoe-salesman, a somnambulist sword fighter, a swarm of unfriendly (and deadly) pixies, a wholesome young witch, and a werewolf hit man. They also stumble upon the answers to the questions that have haunted Mason for the past 10 years: Where is his father? Why didn't he return to his family? Was he really a hero?
Children's Literature
Mason is the son of a hero who has gone off on a quest and has never returned. When his town is threatened by ogres, goblins, orcs, and the only town hero left turns out to be a phony, Mason and his best friend Cowel (and a small bag of gold taken from the fake hero) set out on a journey to hopefully find another hero to save the town. Unfortunately for Mason and Cowel, while on this journey they not only cannot find any suitable heroes, but they are starting to attract a lot of unwanted attention. The story is fun--although it might seem like too young of a novel for readers who are used to more adventure in their adventure novels (even the final town-saving battle is done before the two heroes come back). Even the cover sends signs on the younger young-adult side. However, with random bits of swearing and poetic barding thrown in, young readers will not like this hi-low adventure. Readers also might be frustrated by the fact that the chapters are so long. Some chapters are thirty-plus pages with lots of chapter-like breaks within them. Despite having a good plot line, those who are used to having a mile-marker chapter break to propel them through the book will be disappointed. Reviewer: Joella Peterson