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A review by rowan86
The Riverman by Aaron Starmer
3.0
Interesting perspective. If this were a generic novel, we would be walking alongside Fiona on this adventure. However, we get Alistair instead.
Alistair is interesting because he is normal. More often than not, the protagonist of a fantasy novel tends to have a special skill/ability/power. Alistair has none of these things (unless, of course, he is the Swimmer, which I suspect he is). He is simply a normal twelve-year-old boy, occasionally causing mischief and not really knowing out to act around girls. He's not particularly smart or imaginative- he's just... normal. We can relate to Alistair more easily. Expectations are not so high. It's easy to put ourselves in Alistair's shoes because he doesn't have any special qualities and we can easily 'mold ourselves into him'.
Don't let the 'middle-grade' category deter you. This book takes a dark turn at the end. The fate of Fiona Loomis is ambiguous. What happens to Alistair? Charlie? Kyle? You'll have to read the next book to find out. In this aspect, I feel that the author used this book not as an actual story but as a world builder. It is merely the prologue to a great adventure and yet is still very engaging and suspenseful. At first, it starts out normal and slow but begins to get darker and creepier with every chapter.
However, I felt that the writer did a poor job of trying to convince us that Dorian is the Riverman.
Also, I'm slightly worried for Alistair's mental health.
Off to read the sequel!
Oh and if you are looking for similar books, check out [b:Wildwood|10431447|Wildwood (Wildwood Chronicles, #1)|Colin Meloy|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1393683769s/10431447.jpg|12905469] it has the same aura (though perhaps more subtle in its darker areas). To be fair, I prefer the Wildwood Chronicles to the Riverman, but it's probably because I like books set in foresty areas.
Alistair is interesting because he is normal. More often than not, the protagonist of a fantasy novel tends to have a special skill/ability/power. Alistair has none of these things (unless, of course, he is the Swimmer, which I suspect he is). He is simply a normal twelve-year-old boy, occasionally causing mischief and not really knowing out to act around girls. He's not particularly smart or imaginative- he's just... normal. We can relate to Alistair more easily. Expectations are not so high. It's easy to put ourselves in Alistair's shoes because he doesn't have any special qualities and we can easily 'mold ourselves into him'.
Don't let the 'middle-grade' category deter you. This book takes a dark turn at the end. The fate of Fiona Loomis is ambiguous. What happens to Alistair? Charlie? Kyle? You'll have to read the next book to find out. In this aspect, I feel that the author used this book not as an actual story but as a world builder. It is merely the prologue to a great adventure and yet is still very engaging and suspenseful. At first, it starts out normal and slow but begins to get darker and creepier with every chapter.
However, I felt that the writer did a poor job of trying to convince us that Dorian is the Riverman.
Also, I'm slightly worried for Alistair's mental health.
Off to read the sequel!
Oh and if you are looking for similar books, check out [b:Wildwood|10431447|Wildwood (Wildwood Chronicles, #1)|Colin Meloy|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1393683769s/10431447.jpg|12905469] it has the same aura (though perhaps more subtle in its darker areas). To be fair, I prefer the Wildwood Chronicles to the Riverman, but it's probably because I like books set in foresty areas.