Thursday, September 17, 2015

Book Review: Everville: The Fall of Brackenbone by Roy Huff


Everville: The Fall of Brackenbone, by Roy Huff
2015, 225p, YA Fantasy
My Rating=4 Stars
Source: Received a copy from the author for an honest review



Two very different worlds, Easton Falls University and the magical realm of Everville are in dire need of a hero. Owen Sage embarks on an epic journey of monumental proportions to save these worlds all while fighting to keep the world within himself intact. This quest is not for the faint of heart nor is it for the weak of mind—only the bravest will succeed. Discovering the well-kept secret of The Fourth Pillar of Truth is only part of the feat. Owen will have to outwit the ever-powerful villain Governor Jahal and overcome countless other challenges along the way. Amongst all of the dragons, giants and grand chaos, will Owen's acquired skills and wisdom be enough to save both worlds or will peril be the ultimate fate of all?

This is the fourth book in the Everville series and the author reassured me it could be read as a stand alone. There are, of course, references to past events, but I didn't feel completely lost and feel that it does, indeed, work well on its own. However, I do feel like I would have gotten more out of it if I had read the first three books. 

The book switches back and forth between a fantasy world and modern day Earth. It was a little confusing to me at first and there were times throughout that I would forget who certain characters were but there was enough context surrounding conversations and events to remind me whether they were good or bad. There were times that the story moved quickly and I would have liked to see more character development, rather than being told that a certain character made massive changes.

There's quite a bit of action and adventure and the story moves quickly so it held my interest the entire time. Owen, a college student, is the main character and the hero of the series. He is told at the beginning by Cleophas, his mentor, that he has accomplished much but his toughest tasks are still ahead of him. His task in this book is to locate the Fourth Pillar of Truth (there are a total of seven). It's not an easy task and he needs help from many other people to accomplish his mission.

This book is full of amazing insights and observations and I highlighted tons! This is a book that will hold the attention of both children and adults. The ending left me wanting more and I'm excited to see where this series will go next!!


Roy Huff is a research scientist, author, and teacher who overcame the hardship of a family plagued by severe poverty and mental illness. After graduating high school as Valedictorian a year early, he moved to Hawaii at the age of seventeen with only $100 in his pocket to start a new life.

He has since earned five degrees in four different disciplines spanning liberal arts, history, education, and geoscience. He has worked on projects such as forecasting volcanic emissions from the Kilauea Volcano and training on geostationary satellites for NASA's GOES-R Proving Ground. He has co-authored upcoming peer-reviewed research in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society (BAMS), but his foray into creative writing did not occur until the age of thirty-four when he began writing a creative paper for an English class while working concurrently on his fourth and fifth degrees. That paper later became the first chapter of his first book, which grew to be an Amazon number-one international epic-fantasy bestseller. Subsequent books in the Everville series have also gone on to become bestsellers and continue to win awards for both cover art design and content.

It was the success of his Everville series that garnered the attention and management of the "Literary Lion", Peter Miller, who has represented such greats as National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize nominee, Ann Pearlman, the niece of renowned Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Dr. Alveda King, and collaborated with iconic film stars such as two-time Oscar winner Tom Hanks.

Roy Huff remains an optimist. He enjoyed weathering the eye of Hurricane Hugo at the age of twelve, skydiving, and marathon running but still dreams of climbing Mt. Everest, circumnavigating the globe, traveling into space, and discovering the secrets of the universe. His interests are eclectic and range from the arts, extreme sports, economics, hard science, movies, traveling, and the outdoors. Roy Huff remains committed to promoting education, applied science, individuality, and creativity. He grew up on the East Coast, but has lived in Hawaii for more than half his life where he currently resides and creates new worlds with the stroke of his pen.

1 comments:

Unknown said...

Sounds super fantastic :)

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