3 out of 4 stars
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In Pursuit of the Pale Prince is an exciting and an adventure-filled young adult fiction and fantasy novel written by Mark Wallace Maguire.
Twelve years old Arestus lives in The Wood with his sick mother. His father died of mysterious illness a while back and his mother fell ill shortly after.
With only him and his sick mother living together, Arestus is defensive of their home and is surprised and apprehensive when his long-lost uncle Axton arrives. He is a large man with rich and melodious voice apparently born of authority.
However, Arestus’ mother, even in her feverish state, warns him against his uncle and orders him to go to The Haunted Island. Arestus is torn between staying with his mother, riding away with his uncle, and going to The Haunted Island. It is where his father kept an old relic, the one symbol that will unite the northern kingdoms for the war against The Southwen.
First, however, Arestus must find a guide who would lead him across the ‘wolf-infested’ Western Wastes, so that he could hand the relic over to the Pale Prince.
Told in the first-person perspective of Arestus, this is a fast-paced adventure book with one hundred and fourteen short chapters. It is a story about an ordinary boy who performed an extraordinary task to save the northern kingdoms. The premise is quite simple but the plot is unraveled by presenting a series of conflicts that makes the book surprisingly interesting from start to finish.
Settings are vividly described and can be easily visualized, from Arestus’ simple but cozy hut in The Wood, to the dusty and dreary town of Silverton, to the silent and desolate hills of The Western Wastes. Though Arestus in the only character supplied with sufficient backstory, most of the characters are well-developed and are easily distinguished from one another through their manner of speaking, like the reticent Cirin, the voluble Hendelf, and the gentle and mild-mannered Prince Brennan.
On one hand, the most important part of the book, for me, is the depiction of Arestus’ courage. He is young and inexperienced. He is a healer not a warrior. He is practically an orphan, yet, he takes a great responsibility simply because he believes it is the right thing to do. On the other hand, the best part, for me, is the portrayal of Arestus’ resolve. By performing a greatly unpleasant task, without any histrionic speeches or theatrics, he shows that when something should be done, it should be done with conviction.
This is a fascinating book and I enjoyed it a lot. However, there are too many questions left unanswered. So, I assume that there is more to the book than just this part. Moreover, I found the use of sentence fragments a little overdone. Finally, and this is the part I like least, there are several noticeable errors within the entire book including misspelled words (stalwarth), missing prepositions (an end our journey), and typo errors (Mortose instead of Morose).
I, therefore, rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. It is exciting and fascinating. I recommend it to fans of young adult fiction and science fiction. Violent scenes, however, may not be suitable for very young readers.
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In Pursuit of The Pale Prince
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