Tagged: david litwack
The Daughter of the Sea and the Sky by David Litwack
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
After centuries of religiously motivated war, the world has been split in two. Now the Blessed Lands are ruled by pure faith, while in the Republic, reason is the guiding light—two different realms, kept apart and at peace by a treaty and an ocean.
Children of the Republic, Helena and Jason were inseparable in their youth, until fate sent them down different paths. Grief and duty sidetracked Helena’s plans, and Jason came to detest the hollowness of his ambitions.
These two damaged souls are reunited when a tiny boat from the Blessed Lands crashes onto the rocks near Helena’s home after an impossible journey across the forbidden ocean. On board is a single passenger, a nine-year-old girl named Kailani, who calls herself “the Daughter of the Sea and the Sky.” A new and perilous purpose binds Jason and Helena together again, as they vow to protect the lost innocent from the wrath of the authorities, no matter the risk to their future and freedom.
But is the mysterious child simply a troubled little girl longing to return home? Or is she a powerful prophet sent to unravel the fabric of a godless Republic, as the outlaw leader of an illegal religious sect would have them believe? Whatever the answer, it will change them all forever… and perhaps their world as well.
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook as part of the blog tour in exchange for an honest review.]
What I find interesting is that in David Litwack’s world of religious extremes (blind faith on one hand and clinging to reason on the other hand), one little girl finds a way to bring both together toward a common goal. Both sides clearly are committing atrocities and are scarily dystopian toward their citizens, so by the end of the book there’s still quite a long way to go but things are getting better. And that’s really the beauty of the world-building in this book: it mirrors our own society in a lot of ways, particularly with the current events going on in the Middle East. Finding common ground is a start, both in the real world and in fiction, and David Litwack portrays a slow transition both for society and the main characters in a realistic way.
The characters were quite interesting in their own ways. Helena is dealing with the death of her father alone because her mother ran away to bury her head in the woods at a farm for artists. Jason is struggling because he’s never been given the opportunities of Helena, having worked a job after school for so long to pay for university and get a decent job. Then everything changes when Helena and Jason help a girl whose boat crashed on the reefs and she claims to be the daughter of the sea and the sky who must be forgiven by the wind. The character of Kailani is interesting but I feel like it had a little more potential because of the way the book ended. Maybe a clue or something about whether or not she truly is a prophet.
David Litwack’s writing keeps improving with each book, but the narrative of this one seemed a bit off. His actual writing was nice; lots of descriptions, easy flow, etc. But the story itself felt like it was building up toward something that was changed in the climax, leaving readers a little disappointed. Maybe it’s something personal, but I kind of wanted more at the end of the book. More of an explanation for Kailani, more of the circumstances surrounding her journey explained, etc. I try not to be too thrown by surprise endings, but this one did affect my overall opinion of the rest of the book.
In short, if you’re looking for a good science fiction/fantasy mash-up book, look no further. The Daughter of the Sea and the Sky wasn’t necessarily the book I’m the best suited for but I still found a lot about it to love.
I give this book 4/5 stars.
My Interview with David Litwack
David Litwack is the author of (amongst other books) Along the Watchtower, a story of a wounded soldier’s long journey to recovery. He alternates between a fantasy prince Frederick struggling to save his kingdom and Freddie the soldier relearning how to walk. It’s a touching tale so I was very glad to do an interview with him in conjunction with the blog tour by Masquerade Tours. Read for our discussion about research, future projects and writing about PTSD.
What was the inspiration behind Along the Watchtower?
I’ve always been fascinated by how our view of reality is subjective, how each of us brings our own experiences and biases into play. But when we’re ripped from our normal lives and placed in extreme circumstances, our reality becomes fragmented. Such is the case with hospitals and war.
A couple of years ago, I became engrossed in the online game, World of Warcraft, thanks to my son. I’m on the east coast and he’s on the west, so we’d meet every Wednesday evening in the virtual world of Azeroth, where our avatars would go on quests together. I was struck by how immersed I became in the mood of the game as we wandered through castles and crypts, solving riddles and vanquishing demons. For a short period of time, I could totally buy into the alternate reality.
The gaming experience has a dream-like quality to it. And I began to wonder: how would this experience affect the dreams of someone whose reality has been fragmented by the trauma of war? These concepts—war, hospitals, and the fantasy world of online gaming—came together in Along the Watchtower.
Along the Watchtower by David Litwack
(Cover picture courtesy of Masquerade Tours via email.)
A Tragic Warrior Lost in Two Worlds…
The war in Iraq ended for Lieutenant Freddie Williams when an IED explosion left his mind and body shattered. Once he was a skilled gamer and expert in virtual warfare. Now he’s a broken warrior, emerging from a medically induced coma to discover he’s inhabiting two separate realities. The first is his waking world of pain, family trials, and remorse—and slow rehabilitation through the tender care of Becky, his physical therapist. The second is a dark fantasy realm of quests, demons, and magic that Freddie enters when he sleeps.
In his dreams he is Frederick, Prince of Stormwind, who must make sense of his horrific visions in order to save his embattled kingdom from the monstrous Horde. His only solace awaits him in the royal gardens, where the gentle words of the beautiful gardener, Rebecca, calm the storms in his soul. While in the conscious world, the severely wounded vet faces a strangely similar and equally perilous mission—a journey along a dark road haunted by demons of guilt and memory—and letting patient, loving Becky into his damaged and shuttered heart may be his only way back from Hell.
[Full disclosure: I received a free paperback from David Litwack so I could review this book in conjunction with the blog tour. As always, this is an honest review.]
Having previously read David Litwack’s work I was expecting a novel that was mostly high fantasy or maybe even a combination of science fiction and fantasy. What I didn’t expect was a high fantasy story running in conjunction with a very real heart-wrenching story.
Freddie has had a crappy life. Both of his parents and his older brother are dead and he was severely injured in Iraq by an IED. Most of his squad died but he lived so in addition to his physical injuries there’s some pretty huge survivor guilt mixed in with PTSD. Add to that the fact that his developmentally disabled brother went missing because of him years ago and you’ve got the makings of a Shakespearean tragedy. You’d think a book with a plot like this would stray into opera level dramatics but it never does. David Litwack’s writing has improved since There Comes a Prophet so he gets just the right amount of emotion without ever becoming too sappy or cheesy.
His characters are very much three dimensional. Both Freddie and his alter ego Frederick are three dimensional characters facing (obviously) similar challenges. In the dreamworld all of Frederick’s challenges are a metaphor for what’s going on with Freddie in real life, from his rehabilitation to his growing feelings for his physiotherapist. Now a book like this could very easily stray into the territory of sexism because it would be easy to portray both Becky and Rebecca merely as background characters who help the hero reach his goal. That’s very much not true. Becky is a complicated woman with her own demons to look out for and she’s a very determined and competent physio. You can’t ask for much more than that where a romantic relationship is concerned: two people with their own problems come together slowly and try to work those problems out while acknowledging that some scars may never fully heal.
The plot isn’t fast-paced by most people’s standards but this is definitely a character driven novel. You’ll cheer for Freddie to succeed after going through so much and you’ll feel his pain as your own. He’s a very vivid character and his world of rehabilitation is brought to life by David Litwack’s amazing writing. Most people have never had physiotherapy but I have so I can tell you that the scenes between Becky and Freddie are pretty darn accurate (especially the attitudes of the medical staff). And to top it all off, this book ends on a satisfying note. Not all loose ends are tied up but enough are so that you’re pretty sure what happens to Freddie after the story.
Basically, this is just a good book. I’m so glad I joined the blog tour for it!
I give this book 5/5 stars.
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Spotlight: There Comes a Prophet by David Litwack
A world kept peaceful for a thousand years by the magic of the ruling vicars. But a threat lurks from a violent past. Wizards from the darkness have hidden their sorcery in a place called the keep and left a trail of clues that have never been solved.
Nathaniel has grown up longing for more but unwilling to challenge the vicars. Until his friend Thomas is taken for a teaching, the mysterious coming-of-age ritual. Thomas returns but with his dreams ripped away. When Orah is taken next, Nathaniel tries to rescue her and ends up in the prisons of Temple City. There he meets the first keeper of the ancient clues. But when he seeks the keep, what he finds is not magic at all.
If he reveals the truth, the words of the book of light might come to pass:
“If there comes among you a prophet saying ‘Let us return to the darkness,’ you shall stone him, because he has sought to thrust you away from the light.”
Q: Which is better: fantasy or science fiction? A: Why decide? Just have both genres rolled into one awesome book!
There Comes a Prophet by David Litwack is one such book. It takes place in a society that, long ago, was incredibly technologically advanced. But when the Temple of Light gradually took control, technology was forbidden because of the evils it caused in the world (nevermind that it did a lot of good too). Enter our three protagonists: Orah, Thomas and Nathaniel. They have been given the key to restoring long-lost knowledge to their world. But of course societies don’t change overnight and neither do people.
The ‘rebellion’ is not your typical YA novel rebellion. It doesn’t start suddenly because of the actions of a couple of teenagers. This, combined with the history of David Litwack’s world, is what makes There Comes a Prophet so believable. David Litwack obviously understands how people and societies work, therefore straying away from typical fantasy/science fiction clichés.
If you love fantasy or science fiction (or both!) you’ll love There Comes a Prophet.
There Comes a Prophet by David Litwack
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
A world kept peaceful for a thousand years by the magic of the ruling vicars. But a threat lurks from a violent past. Wizards from the darkness have hidden their sorcery in a place called the keep and left a trail of clues that have never been solved.
Nathaniel has grown up longing for more but unwilling to challenge the vicars. Until his friend Thomas is taken for a teaching, the mysterious coming-of-age ritual. Thomas returns but with his dreams ripped away. When Orah is taken next, Nathaniel tries to rescue her and ends up in the prisons of Temple City. There he meets the first keeper of the ancient clues. But when he seeks the keep, what he finds is not magic at all.
If he reveals the truth, the words of the book of light might come to pass:
“If there comes among you a prophet saying ‘Let us return to the darkness,’ you shall stone him, because he has sought to thrust you away from the light.”
[Full disclsoure: David Litwack sent me a print book in exchange for an honest review.]
There Comes a Prophet was definitely not what I expected—in a good way! In what seems to be epic fantasy in the beginning, I expected your typical coming of age story: young hero is reluctantly thrust into a war between two races because his mentor is killed/powers are discovered and ends up saving the world after a long and arduous journey. The reality of David Litwack’s science fiction/fantasy was so far from my prediction that I feel quite foolish now. No, instead of a young hero there are three young friends who don’t seek to rebel against the vicars in the beginning. But then something happens that changes Thomas and Nathaniel must bargain away his freedom in order to save Orah from the same fate.
Nathaniel’s completely selfless bargain is the catalyst for the three friends’ journey and along the way, they encounter people who can see the vicars for what they really are. And what they find at the ‘end’ of their epic journey changes them and their world forever, but not in the instantaneous rebellion way you would expect. David Litwack certainly isn’t an author that falls into the cliché trap and he has realized that societies don’t suddenly change overnight. The ending has a wonderful plot twist and my favourite part is that not everything is resolved yet the ending is satisfying. A surprising number of authors can’t pull this off, but David Litwack has.
My favourite part of There Comes a Prophet was the world-building. The rise of the Temple, the fall of technology and the change back to the old ways is a fascinating story. The information is parceled out in small chunks throughout the novel, so it doesn’t feel like an info-dump at all. Some of the dialogue was a little stiff (even for fantasy), but it didn’t detract from the overall quality of the novel.
I give this book 4.5/5 stars.