4 out of 4 stars
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The World of Ato
"Light brings darkness and darkness brings light. These two would always co-exist."
The Crimson Kingdom. It seems to be an ordinary Kingdom in plain sight but underneath it, mysteries are buried within.
The story starts with Ato, a 15-year-old girl who loves to paint and is often absorbed in her paintings that she even neglects to eat but her friend Reed and his mother Lyra are always there to remind her that there is a world outside her paintings. Lyra became Ato's guardian in the absence of her parents who have not come home from their trip for the past two years. Reed and Lyra keep her company and show how much they love her as much as they can.
One day, as always, Ato is absorbed in her painting until Lyra reminded her of the planned activities that she and her son have made. Ato immediately remembered her promise that they will explore the Ruins of Azure. She met her friend Reed and they explored the Ruins of Azure.
In their exploration, Ato fell in a very dark hole Ato discovered that the Kingdom of Babel lies beneath the Crimson Kingdom. In her exploration, Ato is curious about what happened to the people in the Kingdom of Babel because the belongings of the people who lived there are well-preserved and it seems that the houses are intended to be returned to.
In her exploration, she found an unfinished painting and for some reason, she feels the need to finish it. She finished the painting and while staring it, the dragon she painted magically came to life. The dragon's name is Iro and he helped her to get out of the hole with Reed waiting for her outside.
The following day, Ato painted the place she dreamt of and without warning Iro breathed blue fire to her painting. In her horror, she tried to stop Iro but what transpired after confused her in grand scale. She is inside her painting! She is inside the world she painted! What now awaits Ato and Iro in this new-found world?
The World of Ato is written by Patrick Borosky. It is the first book in the series. The book is composed of 250 pages and has 40 chapters. In the last few pages, the author wrote a short story. The short story would definitely touch the hearts of the readers. I praise the author in pouring his heart and soul in writing not only the novel but also the short story at the end of the book.
The author's view on how the leaders of each country or kingdom led his country is straight to the point and is something I agree of. As the author has said in his book, "A King is nothing without his subjects. The people are the King's children and a King should always ensure the smile of his children." If only every leader of each country ensures the happiness of every citizen, what a sight would that be?!
It is clear that this is just a wishful thinking on the part of the author for most leaders of countries does not seek to serve the happiness of the people but rather runs in office to serve their own interest and interest of the people who supported them in the elections. Such insight is something I rarely see in stories and I like this very much.
Patrick's view that greed can change one in a glimpse of an eye is one of the lessons that this book wants to impart to its readers. The greed of those who are seated in high positions should not be overcome by their duty to serve the general welfare of the people. They should always put the needs of the people and not their own interest.
This book also talks about the struggles of every artist who wants to impart messages in their work but very few understood it or sometimes the work is often misunderstood or rejected. I can feel the emotions of the author in this book because even though you think you have created a beautiful art, book, short story, music, song or painting, not everyone would appreciate it. I can relate to this message because I have experienced the same.
The author's message that in every country, there is light and darkness has touched my heart deeply. The discovery of Ato that some part of the country may be abundant but one part of the country may be suffering from famine or poverty. Poverty force people to do crimes to give food to their family and this problem leads back to the leader's inaction of the problems. This is further worsened by the fact that some people who follows the orders of the leaders abuse the power vested in them is a fact that often happens in real life.
This book has not only magnificently unfold the beautiful adventure of Ato and Iro but also managed to impart wonderful messages to its readers. I praise the author in his creativity and uniqueness in imparting such messages flawlessly in the story.
This book is amazing and I hope I can grab a copy of the next book in the series. I recommend this book to ages 13 years and above because it requires maturity on the part of the reader to understand the story otherwise they can not appreciate it.
I would rate this book 4 out of 4 stars because it has an amazing storyline and messages that would touch the reader's heart.
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The World of Ato
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