Scan barcode
A review by nooralshanti
The Goldenwealth Light by Scott McCloskey
5.0
An excellent, fun, YA fantasy set in a well-built world. It's a portal fantasy where the main character Theo doesn't quite fit happily into his own world and then he finds himself transported to a completely different one. The world of Quaylund is well-built and has all kinds of interesting quirks and characters. The characters are pretty well-written and the plot moves along nicely, compelling the reader on to the next chapter. I had a hard time putting it down for important things like sleep, work, and the like.
Although it's clearly written for a younger audience I didn't find the writing to be at all predictable or 'childish' and I was able to enjoy it quite a bit as an adult.
There were many little aspects of the world building and the final conflict in the story that took me by surprise and were refreshing and new. Although it has many ideas and aspects that, on their own, may sound like they have been done countless times before, the author blends them together in a unique way in this book. In that way it's like Harry Potter.
It ends on a cliffhanger, but it's not like those are not allowed and I didn't find it too abrupt. In this case the cliffhanger did its job and makes me want to go read the next one.
There was also a nostalgic feel to it, just like the author describes in his foreword. He really nailed that feel of a little kid discovering a fantasy world.
Overall, excellent. I would recommend it to all lovers of fantasy, young and old.
Although it's clearly written for a younger audience I didn't find the writing to be at all predictable or 'childish' and I was able to enjoy it quite a bit as an adult.
There were many little aspects of the world building and the final conflict in the story that took me by surprise and were refreshing and new. Although it has many ideas and aspects that, on their own, may sound like they have been done countless times before, the author blends them together in a unique way in this book. In that way it's like Harry Potter.
It ends on a cliffhanger, but it's not like those are not allowed and I didn't find it too abrupt. In this case the cliffhanger did its job and makes me want to go read the next one.
There was also a nostalgic feel to it, just like the author describes in his foreword. He really nailed that feel of a little kid discovering a fantasy world.
Overall, excellent. I would recommend it to all lovers of fantasy, young and old.