Book Review: Lodestone Book One: The Sea of Storms

I present to you, my longest and most thought-out review. Why is it that way? Because this book was just amazing! One of the best books that I have read in the longest. And no, I am not just saying this to make the author feel good. I truly mean it.

Title: Lodestone Book One: The Sea of Storms

Author: Mark Whiteway

Pages: 290

Rating: O for Outstanding

Review: When something is strange to you, your instinct makes you take caution. When entering a strange land, you automatically go into defense mode. A strange world can make you scared, excited and anxious to learn all of its secrets. But sometimes that strange world disappoints you. Perhaps it is too strange. Perhaps the secrets it holds aren’t that exciting. Perhaps the strange world is intolerable. Perhaps this strange world just makes you want to shout out loud about how stupid it is.

This strange world of Kelanni is the exact opposite. It makes you want to explore the whole land. Learn the secrets that it holds. Devour every piece of information that is available and makes you want to beg for more.

I dove into the book with extreme caution. From the synopsis only, I knew that it would be an interesting book but I didn’t know how the writing, characters and the world would be. When I began, my interest grew, but I must admit that I was a bit wary of reading it. I mean, I wasn’t going to stop reading it. I promised myself that I would finish it regardless of how bad it was. But, it wasn’t bad! As the pages went on, I began to understand more of this different land. I began to get these feelings for the characters that showed how much I cared for them. And when the villains were introduced, I began to hate them just like our heroes did.

The Sea of Storms holds many stories in one. It’s a book where five main lives get together. Shann is a simple village girl working day in and day out with her “adoptive” parents. Keris is a Keltar working for the Prophet and is beginning to question what is right and what is wrong. Lyall is a man who is trying to fix what is in his past by changing the future. Alondo is a humble, yet dangerous man, who is a friend of Lyall and an ally in the future quest. And a Chandara named Boxx, the only creature, who has powers to save them all.

What exactly makes this odd group come together? The answer is the past. A strange technology allows a lady from the past to come into contact with the group, letting them know that the one who everyone thinks is right, is not what it seems. And so with this message, the five set off on a quest across dangerous lands, against vicious creatures and meeting questioning people. With a future that seems dubious, they must try to make everything better, hoping that the world they know can be saved and peaceful.

Only telling a little bit of the story is possible. Giving any more information might make one’s head explode with anxiousness to buy the book. What I can tell you more is that every character, from major to minor, is so cleverly written and wisely interwoven, that you begin to think that if someone who was only mentioned once in the background may have a future story at all.

Mark Whiteway’s writing is almost indescribable. It’s simple for children and teens, yet complex so that an adult may love it. The way he writes his characters make you grow emotions for them. His lands makes you want to explore them. He never gives anything up too easy, leaving some of the things up to your imagination. Which is one of the best parts.

He doesn’t say, “this is this and only this!”. He says “this is this but can be this unless you add this… then what happens?” One example is Lodestones. Lodestones are these, rocks I guess it’s safe to say, that there are different kinds and they all do different things. And if you pair two up of different qualities, you get amazing results. But he doesn’t tell you all of the results. He will tell you what each rock does, and sometimes he’ll make you guess what the results would be if pairing two up. Sometimes when you guess it, it is when a character is about to experiment and it proves if you were right or wrong.

But aside from Lodestones, which play an important part in the story, “Lodestone Book One: The Sea of Storms” is a rich and amazing story all in all. The love and passion for writing, all of his emotions, shows in every word of every sentence of every paragraph. I couldn’t help but fall in love with it in the end. It became an instant favorite with an ending that will make you want to buy the next installment, there’s only one thing I can say.

You’re missing out if you haven’t read this book. And for a debut author, that’s pretty epic!

So that was my longest review and I actually love it. Please comment on it and look for another post! It'll have a surprise in it =D Which you all better love or I'm kicking some ass no lie! =D