The Narrowing Path

The Narrowing Path #1

by David J. Normoyle

Only the strongest, smartest and most ruthless will survive.
Every six years, the world draws nearer to the sun. In Arcandis, those who want to live must claim the limited places in the Refuge, a series of underground caverns cooled by the sea.

The teenage boys of noble birth are sent out into the city to demonstrate their wits and strength. Some prove themselves in combat, others display their empire building skills, still others attempt to kill off their rivals. Out of over a hundred, only six will be selected by the leaders of the great families and allowed a place in the Refuge. The rest will perish, one way or another.

Not only is thirteen-year-old Bowe younger and weaker than most of the other boys, he has no family to support him. He is expected to die on the very first day of the narrowing path. Instead he begins a journey no one could have anticipated.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Dystopia, Science Fiction, Fiction, Amazon, Adventure

260 pages, Paperback

First published April 9, 2013

About the author

David was born in Australia, but moved to Ireland at an early age. The early globe crossing must have gone to his head, as he has since backpacked through and lived in numerous countries. He grew up on a farm as the eldest of nine unruly siblings, but since his escape, he prefers city living. His electronic engineering degree is currently gathering dust while he tries new and strange pursuits such as novel writing.

Reviews

[Lynxie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picture The Hunger Games and The Maze Runner smooshed together, in a slightly fantastical world... that's a good description of The Narrowing Path.

But this story does go deeper than either of those two books/movies into the silo structure of Arcandis' society. Like Divergent, the population is divided into segments. Four ruling houses, the ascor, and a second-class citizen class called escay. There's even secret societies and factions and plotting between the ascor houses that comes into play throughout the book. All the political and social nuances of a thoroughly thought out world.

The book sees a 13-year-old Bowe Bellanger enter Arcandis' version of the Hunger Games (one that's held every - sexennium - six years.) the Green Path. Not unlike The Hunger Games, the Path sees the young men aged between 12 and 18 from all the ascor houses forced to fend for themselves and kill each other to secure one of six positions of safety with the ascor houses. The safety is sought because every six years, the moon takes their planet too close to their sun and everything on the face of the planet will perish, unless hidden within the caves cooled by the ocean - this is called the Infernam, but, there's only limited room.

So, we've got our protagonist and our plot, what about the cast of supporting characters? Well they're rather diverse and varied. This was a strong plus for me. Some were stereotypes like The Hunger Games, the fighter, the weakling etc, but others were strong characters in their own right.

I liked Sorrin, the peg legged, Master better. His ability to call a fight thoroughly enjoyable, and his skills were used well to further the story. Sindar was another I liked, the thief, while somewhat stereotypical, was still a good quality character within the story line. The plot held plenty of twists and turns, some I guessed, others I didn't. All in all, it was an enjoyable, quick read with interesting tweaks on the Dystopian young adult story format.

Some other reviewers have commented on the brutality and gore of the book. To me, it felt right. The brutality is a result of the society, where brutality and death is a normal part of their life. If David had of shied away from the brutal killings, I feel he would have done the story a disservice. This is certainly aimed at Young Adult audiences, but if you are going to give this to a young, young adult, perhaps read it first to ensure they could handle the death scenes.

This is only the first book in a trilogy, one that I intend to complete.

**Note: I was provided an electronic copy of this book in return for an honest review as part of What Tomorrow May Bring**

[Experiment BL626 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not expect how violent and gruesome the book was going to be, especially not one where the protagonist is a 13 years old. I read many YA dystopian books, but The Narrowing Path was certainly one of the most violent I’ve ever read.

The book echoed Lord of the Flies and, for a more contemporary example, The Hunger Games. Case in point, the prologue showcased a macabre scene of dead kids. Fortunately, the imagery was brief and not as graphic as it could have been. However, it was only the beginning of the horrors to come because more kids would die throughout the story. If I was a bleeding heart kind of reader, I would have bled to death and beyond because so many died.

I was disgusted. I was horrified. I was depressed. Dark emotions swirled in me as I witnessed the survival game the boys of noble birth, cleped Greens, were forced to participate in. A part of me wished I remained as confused as I was in the beginning so I did not have to face the cruelty in crystal clear vision.

The Writing

It was a dizzying experience in the beginning because the story had a learning curve due to the lack of exposition. It expected readers to learn what was going on and what the made-up words mean by piecing context. Eventually I understood things, and part of the things I understood was the “life’s an unfair bitch” full of insurmountable shit that Bowe faced.

The Characters

+ the protagonist

I really felt for Bowe. I pitied him so much that I felt like I have used up every piece of my body and soul to do so because by the end I felt hollow.

Nonetheless, sometimes the kid frustrated me. I admit I could cut him further slack because anyone else in his situation would have committed suicide because, hell, his family, the Bellangers, did and his adopted mother, Chalori, did too. Bowe had been brainwashed, excuse me, socialized to think the noble’s way, a.k.a. the Green Path, was the only way to live, and to undo harmful socialization, to challenge everything he had been taught was right, is a long process demanding patience. Not to mention that he was only 13 years old and each day could be his last day of being alive. Talk about PRESSURE. Nevertheless, the wait tired me and I did not enjoy how he was forced to learn his lessons the hard way, the bloody way, the “friend dies on you and allies betrays you” way. The book practically gave the concept of childhood innocence a big “Fuck You.”

I did like how he managed to keep his compassion and learned empathy despite the betrayals and bloody deaths that regularly, regularly splattered him. I liked how these things were viewed as weaknesses by everyone else yet they turned out to be his strengths and his way to survive. I liked that Bowe fought against the idea that survival meant conquering people, killing enemies, and walking a path of blood.

+ everyone else

Regarding the other characters, the cast was so large I still had a little trouble keeping track who was who by the end of the book. Nonetheless, I did not fail to recognize how diverse the cast was and how dimensional each character was. Hell, I even had sympathy for a few of the antagonists, including the ones who ended up betraying Bowe, coming from a reader who abhor betrayals and typically wishes for a quickly realized, painful and lasting comeuppance. It spoke volumes about the story’s ability to make me empathize the characters.

+ the love interests

However, I did not particularly like how the female characters were portrayed, in particular Bowe’s love interests. Bad enough there was a love triangle and Bowe haven’t fully understood what it means to take an interest in girls and to be in love because he was still a growing boy. I hated how Bowe fought with Iyra every time they met even though she had been nothing but helpful to him, saving his damn ass many times. I hated how he threw elitism in her face because he could not face his own true feelings for her, reminiscent of a boy harassing a girl in his fucked up way to show his like for her. While it indicated how Bowe still had great room to mature, when I juxtaposed his treatment of Iyra against his treatment of Zofila, I discovered a small but noticeable current of sexism in the nascent romance and I worried for what the future could hold.

While I like that Bowe was at least nice to Zofila, here’s the thing: she was a fucking damsel in distress as opposed to Iyra who was fucking kickass. Through Zofila, readers learn that while the boys of noble birth were forced in a survival game, the girls of noble birth were forced in one of their own. The only way girls of noble birth could survive was by whoring themselves out to ascors, the officially recognized nobles, who would care enough for them that when the time comes for the sexennial apocalypse the ascors would remember to take the girls to the Refuge with them.

Meanwhile, Iyra needed no help from anybody despite being an escay, a.k.a. a proletariat, who was supposed to be more disadvantaged than her upper class peers. In fact, immediately upon her introduction in the story and to Bowe, readers learn she was a member of The Guild, a secret society made up of escays in which to mention their name was to invite death.

Thus, on the table, what we have is a protagonist who was a jerk to a girl who had agency and needed no rescuing, Iyra, but a gentleman to a girl who did not and needed to be rescued at the end, Zofila. See my worries, now? I strongly hope that Zofila will take control of her destiny in the sequel, Bowe to make amends to Iyra, and Iyra to keep on being her kickass self and teach him to be a gentleman to all girls, no matter their class.

The Plot

The story felt long but it was sure as fuck never boring. I really appreciated that the plot spaced out its dark scenes because the story made me easily heavy hearted. I also appreciated that even when shit hits the fan, things never dropped down to a depressing as shit level where I thought it was better for Bowe to commit suicide and save himself enormous suffering.

The thing I didn’t particularly like was the lackluster ending. Success was attained at very the last minute but it wasn’t due to anything ingenious on Bowe’s part as it was pure luck and it wasn’t truly a success as much as it was a case of delaying the inevitable. There was no celebratory scene afterward, either. It was like “he’s still alive,” the end, and now we wait for the sequel. *blink* *blink*

In Conclusion

I rate The Narrowing Path 3-stars for I liked it. Despite a dizzying beginning and lackluster ending, the story engrossed me. What I love best was the marrying of the survival game and the political machination. The quality, the complexity of the story, was easily on par of an adult fantasy.

I totally would recommend it for readers who want a hardcore, read brutal, YA dystopian. I also recommend that if you do pick up the series, go ahead and connect to the characters but avoid forming attachments.

[Coco.V]

FREE on Amazon today (10/30/2017)!

[Ria Bridges · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s hard to read the first 1/3 of this book and not make Hunger Games comparisons. A group of teenagers pitted against each other in a monitored and timed brutal competition, and the survivor(s) are assured prestige and a place in the world to come. These days, it’s hard to write a story with those elements appearing at any point without people drawing those comparisons, thanks to the popularity of The Hunger Games. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, if that’s what the author’s going for, and if that’s what readers want to read.

But happily, there’s far more to this novel than something that just feels like it’s trying to ride the coattails of a popular franchise. The Narrowing Path follows the story of Bowe, last of the Bellanger family, at an age where he can begin on the Green Path and force his way to salvation by eliminating competitors. This isn’t just some brutal scheme to keep people in line or control the population. Bowe is fighting to become an ascor, one of society’s elite, and earn his place in the Refuge so that he can survive the approaching heat of the Infernam. If he doesn’t, then the only option is death. But Bowe isn’t happy with the Path before him, and he seeks to change it, subvert it, and forge a new Path for himself and those close to him.

Normoyle’s writing is pretty good, and he can paint a clear word-picture of what’s going on. The characters he writes are fairly distinct, though the increasing cast of characters toward the end sometimes made it tricky to keep track of who’s doing what and why. Once or twice characters were introduced who really added nothing to the story, leaving me with another name to keep track of and nothing more. Perhaps they become more important later on in the series, I’m not sure, but at least here, they don’t do much besides have their name known and be part of what Bowe is trying to accomplish.

The society set up in Arcandis is an interesting one. It’s highly stratified, with ascor being the elite of society and escay being the bottom ranks. Escay can rise through the ranks by becoming marshals (your basic law enforcers), and then getting raised to ascor for loyal service, but it’s rare. Ascor look down on escay, seeing themselves as far above the concerns of the rabble. It’s not an uncommon society to play with in novels like this, really, but what I found most interesting about it was the way society was shaped by the Infernam, which is the period of intense heat that comes every six years.

However, it’s not perfect, and there are some discrepancies that don’t quite add up for me. It’s Ascor who typically end up with guaranteed or near-guaranteed places within the Refuge, but a Green’s rise to ascor is, well, along a narrow path. Very few of Bowe’s peers typically become ascor and get to survive. The rest get killed. The majority of escay die by just not being able to afford Refuge. But the population sizes don’t really reflect that. Yes, ascor men typically have multiple wives and there’s probably a whole lot of breeding going on, but the ascor should very quickly outnumber the escay, and most escay would likely be ones in direct service to ascor (who could thus get into the Refuge more easily) and any children under 6, who haven’t experienced the Infernam yet. You’re likely end up with no escay not being in service to ascor, and their families having been in service for generations. And that doesn’t seem to really be the case as presented by the book. Not unless the people we see in The Narrowing Path represent about half the entire population of either group.

I find population problems to be a common one with dystopian and post-apocalyptic fiction, and they don’t seem to bother most readers, so I may be the exception here that actually finds this somewhat irritating. I also admit that this discrepancy could well be something addressed in a later novel. There are plenty of hints dropped along the way that indicate far more going on that just what’s on the surface, and while some of them get only a passing mention that seems disproportionate to their potential impact, it does leave things wide open for a greater exploration of some ideas in the future.

Similarly, the issue of food doesn’t really get addressed either. Food-producing farms are mentioned, and it’s logical to think that 6 years of growing seasons could result in a surplus to stockpile if you get lucky and control things well enough, but if the world becomes too hot for humans to survive in without either dying or going deep underground, that’s going to take a toll on the world’s ability to produce crops. I can’t imagine people emerging from the underground caves and going right back to planting and plowing. It would take time for things to cool down again, for the land to recover enough for crops to be grown once more. And yet this seems to be enough of a non-issue that Bowe find people selling carved trinkets at an escay market, which indicates the leisure time to throw into decorative items.

So while the issue of the Infernam is definitely one that is shown to shape society at large, there are a lot of holes in the story when it comes to practicalities.

I’m a bit on the fence about gender presentation in this book, I admit. On one hand, the story is told from the perspective of a teenage boy in a tough situation, in a society where gender roles are pretty rigidly enforced, so it’s not like I expected Bowe’s group to have a whole load of women in it. But from what I recall, there were a total of 4 women with names in this entire novel: 1 who killed herself, 1 who did nothing but glare from a distance, 1 who helped Bowe and whom Bowe had a thing for but felt horrible about it because of class differences, and 1 whose biggest role was to regret that she was too ugly to get a husband and so would probably not get into the Refuge. That’s it. It’s not exactly overflowing with positive tropes; even Iyra, arguably the most interesting and involved female character, was primarily there to further Bowe’s goals and be a romantic interest. That’s not good.

It’s easy to argue that this kind of gender presentation is fitting with the society that was being written about, and that’s true. It was. But more and more I’m agreeing with people when they say that’s not an excuse; the author is the one who creates the society, and thus the author is the one who bears the responsibility for what casts of characters like this imply. You don’t have to have every female character be a kick-ass superheroine, but when the character who does the most is mostly there to confuse Bowe’s sexual morals, it doesn’t come across very well.

I do, however, have to give Normoyle some points for inverting the “being thin is the only way to be beautiful” stereotype for women. Here, girls who are well fed and have some curves to them are considered more attractive than ones who are thinner. Makes sense, considering the ascor’s abundance, and I did like to see that aspect being dealt with.

Another sticking point, and one that felt prevalent throughout The Narrowing Path was, for me, the fact that Bowe does not act at all like the 13 year old that he is. If he was 16 or 17, I might believe it. His patterns of speech, his behaviour, his ability to see and manipulate complex patterns, the way people follow him and his ideals, none of it comes off like a person who only relatively recently hit a double-digit age. It’s difficult to see people a few years older take him as seriously as they did (especially in a cut-throat competition), let alone the adults who so easily bowed to his logic and grasp of politics. It just wasn’t something I could believe. Not without Bowe having shown ridiculous amounts of promise early on, which clearly wasn’t the case since everybody, including Bowe himself, expected to die on the first day. He comes across as far older than he actually is, and the only way for me to make it seem less incongruent was to mentally picture him as being in his late teens rather than his very early teens.

So in the end, The Narrowing Path was a decent beginning to a series that’s definitely more YA than adult, though it does have some darker themes running through it and it doesn’t shy away from blood and violence and despair. It has its strengths, and a lot of the flaws that I mentioned are ones that I don’t notice so much while reading as I notice them in retrospect, when examining the novel specifically for review and critique; it’s easy to fall into the story and ignore the little bits that don’t get addressed or don’t make sense because Normoyle’s writing is, as I said earlier, pretty good. But that doesn’t mean the problems aren’t still there. I can recommend this to people who are fans of YA dystopian and post-apocalyptic fiction, because it is a fun read and it is still good; for the genre and the intended audience, I’d say it’s on par with a lot of other offerings out there, and so is probably worth taking a look at if you have the chance.

(Received for review as part of the SPFBO.)

[Sacha Valero · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is an interesting, but not well written book, and in desperate need for another round of editing (this has been sitting on my Kindle for a long time so that might have been addressed). I prefer show over tell, and this book has a lot of tell. A lot.

The plot is simple, but barbaric. Every six years the Infernam arrives, and the surface of the planet becomes so hot that essentially everything, and everyone that doesn't head below the surface to the Refuges, is burned alive. With only so much room in the Refuges, only so many people can fit.

Now here's where the barbaric part comes in; young boys who are part of the Ascor (nobility) must take part in the Green Path, and are sent out into the city in a kill or be killed blood fest. There are other ways to be chosen such as being good at business or the like. The winners are chosen by the Guardians to become part of their house.

There were originally four families, and our MC is the last surviving child from his house, all the others committing mass suicide because they'd gone so far into debt that they couldn't repay it. Our MC is raised in another house, and if you win, you aren't necessarily chosen by your own house, so you must change your family name.

Right from the start, before they are sent out on the Green Path, a boy is chosen to be murdered in an effort to show how brutal it is. Our MC was supposed to be the boy killed, but another got drunk the night before and said some things he shouldn't have.

However, many people, including the three Guardians (Kings) are out to make sure he dies. He manages to outmaneuver them most of the time because he's clever, and along the way we meet some interesting characters, and this is what really made me continue reading (so much so that I bought the second book).

The problems I have (other than the quality of the writing) is that there are things that just don't seem plausible.

1. Other than the four castles, every other structure is built from wood. So every six years the entire city must be rebuilt.
2. If everything burns where do the trees come from?
3. There are beggars everywhere. Wouldn't they be dead?
4. The city is filled with Escay (think peasant without the farm). Why are there so many of them? They outnumber the Ascor by massive margins.
5. The city is by the sea. The temperature rises to essentially human cremation levels (1200 – 1400 Fahrenheit), yet water boils and evaporates at 212 degrees Fahrenheit. Is there a rainstorm of biblical proportions that occurs?

[Tina C · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is not of the normal genre that I tend to read, that being said, the quality of the writing propelled me to finish the book.

The author's character development provides for the reader an ability to empathize with the circumstances that they are experiencing. There are multiple plots intertwined in this work and the author does a great job of tying them together.

If you are a fan of this genre, it is well worth the read.

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story

Really intriguing concept for a dystopian society. This is the first book by Mr. Normoyle I have read. It was such an interesting and intense read and I look forward to the next in the series. I love "underdog" stories. The protagonist, Boyle, plays his role to the hilt. Really great story.

[Keith Bornmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story.

The characters are interesting. The storyline is a little bit difficult to follow. The setting and the dangers and parameters of that setting are a little bit confusing. this book reads like a complicated chess game

[Lindberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent first book in series

The author has built a very believable world filled with most interesting cast of characters. The story gets your intrest early and.holds it straight thru to the end. I can't wait to read the next in the series.

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

The narrowing path

Enjoyed these wiley greens creating their own destiny. A bit hard to keep track of all the characters in some points but want to read the rest of the series. Thank you David for some great character and story development

[Fons · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this a very middle-of-the-road fantasy. In its place I could name you 4 or 5 series that are comparable in theme, but better in execution. Enjoyable, but a pass on future parts of the series. 3 stars.

[Liza · Rating 4 out of 5]

It draws you in.

I have a very hard time getting into survival fantasy novels. The beginning of this book was a tad bit difficult for me to get into due to the pacing. However the story does pick up with a variety of characters along the way. I might look into Book 2.

[Joel]

While the plot was interesting, the worldbuilding was atrocious. Unfamiliar words and terms thrown in without context or explanation, a protagonist who's classist, and multiple errors (sentences missing words) in the opening chapters led to a quick DNF.

DNFed at 4%

[Patricia Grigg · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one went in different directions than the reader expects it to go. All in all it was a very interesting story. Well worth the read. Thanks for a good read David.

[Bob Pilkington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb

Really enjoyed this story had a good build up and a tense climax. Definitely looking forward to reading the 2nd book

[David Murray · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was OK, But it didn't capture me enough to move to book 2

[Christine Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it

Excellent story with plenty of intrigue, action, suspense and even a hint of romance set in a creative new world.

[Medusa Redden · Rating 5 out of 5]

A darker world that entraps your imagination and draws you in. This book reminded me of The Crucible and Dune.

[Kylie Bee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad, but it doesn’t have me seeking out the follow up books. Pretty run of the mill YA fiction.

[323370666 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good for a teen book. I enjoyed it.

[Joshua Mogerman · Rating 1 out of 5]

Amateurish

Characters not fully fleshed out many grammatical errors in the begging of the book. Just not a great read I do not recommend it

[Alicia Huxtable · Rating 4 out of 5]

Different

This story was different to others I've read. Good different. I quite enjoyed it and am looking forward to the next one in the series

[Mulberry]

DNF YA

[Samuel Tuckfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read a long time ago and I did enjoy it, a good action political story is always up my ally

[Thistle · Rating 5 out of 5]

(Book received for free for review from Fiction Addiction.)

A year ago, there was one single self-published book I liked and a pile of ones that I hated. This year it seems almost the reverse!

The Narrowing Path is self-published, but it's darned good. One of the most enjoyable books I've read in a long time, and nearly error-free in editing. I spotted maybe ten typos or other mistakes total (eight of them in one single short chapter, I think somehow it must have fallen through the editing process somehow; there were basic mistakes like "The sun was bright, so he shut his mind for a moment."). Outside of that one problem chapter, the mistakes were very minor (like a space before a period at the end of a sentence). I think most readers wouldn't even notice them (other than that mind/eye word switch).

But! The story! Wow. Take Hunger Games and make it more serious and more brutal. I'm not at all saying that it's a knock off of that series, but the similarity is there.

Narrowing Path takes place on another planet. That planet has the misfortune of having a very large moon, large enough that it messes up the orbit. Once every six years, the planet moves too close to the sun for people to survive. They've built caves under the ocean which are just barely cool enough to let people survive that two week period, but they're in no way big enough for all humans on the planet to enter.

There are four main families in the country the story takes place in. Men rule the families, have multiple wives, and thus many children. So, in the months before the sun burns everything, they send all teenage boys off to walk the Path.

To survive the Path, the boys (Greens) have to succeed in some way -- in business, in "war" (fighting in an arena), or in leadership of men (their fellow Greens). Problem is, the society is a very strong caste system, and most of the boys live their whole life up to that point in their family's complex. They never deal with the outside world, other families, or the majority of the population (the poor).

A quarter into the book and I was worried. I was loving this world so much, I was concerned that the book would end and we'd never find out what the girls had to do (they don't walk the Path). The poor too, they can't ALL be killed off every six years... But yay, by the end of the book it was all explained! (Which lead to one of the very few things I disliked: Female teens were called "Greenettes". It makes sense, but... ugh. I hated that name.)

So the plot of the book follows one of the boys. Through the couple months before the planet gets broiled, his eyes get opened, he learns the truth of the Path, loses his naivete, and has to figure out how to save not just himself, but others he's picked up along the way. Talk about character growth!

This was one brutal book (and a YA book, no less!). The kids were killing each other, plotting, etc. And the adults (who had all survived the Path in previous 6 year periods) gleefully took advantage of the kids at every turn.

And did I mention only three teens out of all that "generation" (6 year period) would be picked by the adults to be saved? (And each of them could pick one other to come with them, which added interest to the 'leadership' branch of the Path -- imagine a kid having six defenders, but they all know only one will be picked by him in the end! Assuming the leader is even picked to begin with!)

This was a brutal, dark book, and I loved it. There was a small romantic subplot, and while I usually dislike those, this one seemed really realistic for a 13 year old boy and I actually enjoyed it. I can't wait for the next books in the series! Highly recommended (except for followers of mine who don't like books that put children in danger -- this is very much not for you!).

[Crystal ✬ Lost in Storyland · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

Bowe is a likable character. He's intelligent and loyal to a fault. Even if it means putting his life at risk, Bowe will stand up for his friends and his beliefs. In fact, Bowe's naivety is his primary flaw. Maybe he was largely ignored as a child -- the story doesn't delve much into his childhood -- but it takes Bowe a while into the Path before he starts seriously trying to climb the ranks. In the meantime, I had to watch as he learned the brutal reality of the Path the hard way. Though it's glorified as a competition where the best of the noble boys emerge, it's in reality a game where teenage boys fight to the death to gain recognition from the leaders of their families, and Bowe loses good comrades over the course of the competition. It is because of the violence of the boys towards each other that I hesitate to recommend this to middle-grade readers despite Bowe's youth (he's thirteen).

Naivety can be forgiven in a character though, especially one as young and sheltered as Bowe. What really makes it hard to fully sympathize with Bowe is his unfounded prejudice towards the ecsay, the commoners. Though ecsay save him from certain death multiple times, he refuses to recognize them as the intelligent, admirable people that they are. One such example is in the case of the 'love interests'. Bowe is attracted to a smart, capable ecsay (Iyra) but treats her roughly because he thinks it's perverted to like an ecsay. On the other hand, he feels sympathy for the noble girl Zofila, your typical damsel in distress, and treats her kindly, though he has no romantic interest in her. I can only hope that he learns to accept the ecsay in the later books because his fate seems to be inextricably entwined with theirs.

Writing-wise, the story is shaky. The story jumps straight into the plot without building the context. As it is, I had to figure out the terminology and world on my own as the story progressed. Even then, I wish that the world had been better developed. I know that there are other countries in the world, but their relationship with Bowe's country remains unclear. I would also like to know more about the social hierarchy and culture. It would have been especially useful if the former had been developed early on, as it helps explain Bowe's predjudice towards the ecsay. While I know that his environment taught him these beliefs, it still comes as a surprise when a typically benevolent boy talks down to people because of their class. Hopefully, future installments will reveal more about the world Bowe lives in.

What keeps the story together is how the plot never fails to keep moving forward. Though the beginning is hard to follow, once I got into the story it captivated me from start to finish. It does seem as though Bowe is blessed with good fortune because he gets out of some pretty sticky situations thanks to his allies. Nevertheless, he has the makings of a strong leader emerging within him, and he has a group of unique, compelling comrades supporting him. I look forward to reading the next installment and seeing where he goes from here on out.


--
For more of my reviews, visit my blog Imaginary Reads.

[Angie Holland · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great book. Really enjoyed reading this and can’t wait to get started on the next book.

[Karen Siddall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thirteen-year-old Bowe is the last surviving member of the Bellangers, one of the four ruling families of Arcandia. Soon after his birth, the entire clan which was on the cusp of financial ruin committed mass suicide/murder. Somehow, the baby Bowe, survived or was missed only to be discovered by leaders of the other families as they surveyed the tragedy inside the Bellanger mansion. One leader takes the baby back to his family to be reared by one of the childless wives of the harem as her own.

Every six years, the course of the moon (Helion) causes the planet to come so close to their sun that every living thing on the planet would burn up if they did not seek safety in a series of huge caverns that extend under the ocean. However, the capacity of the caverns are not infinite, and to keep the population size suitable for their sexennial retreat to safety, young teenage males of the ruling families are tested with 8 selected for entry to the “Refuge.” All the others are left to burn up and die or kill themselves.

“The Green Path” is the 50 day test of the boys’ skills, ingenuity, and potential usefulness to the families. Some are good fighters. Some excel at building alliances and trading. Others are assassins and seek to kill off the competition. At the end, each family will select one boy who will then make his own selection of another ‘green’ to accompany him into entry into the family and the safety of the caverns for the 2 week period of the Infernam.

As the only surviving member of a lost house, Bowe has always known that he was to be killed the first day of the test and, consequently, is ranked at the bottom of the list of boys for selection. At 13, he’s at the youngest age of the competitors and unskilled as a fighter. When another boy is suddenly killed on the traditional first day of the test, Bowe begins to understand that he may be able to find a way to survive. The game, and the action, is on.

The author has developed an interesting world with a harsh environment and rigid traditions for his characters to populate. There are some mysterious subplots which give the main storyline an added robustness. These subplots are not reconciled but lead us to book 2, The Treacherous Path.

One thing I really liked is that the author pretty much kept action, dialogue, and reaction true to the age group. Yes, the characters faced a horrible situation – one that they were trained from birth to expect, fear and agonize over. They had to do grown-up things and make grown-up choices earlier than what we would expect but when confronted with a girl his own age in a romantic situation, Bowe stuttered and stammered, blushed, and wondered what to say like most boys of that age and experience level.

The story will keep you guessing as to who will live and who will “fall from the path,” die. (Spoiler: The author is not afraid to kill off major characters.) It is fast paced and intriguing. I think it will hook you from the very beginning and have you staying up past when you should have shut down your Kindle for the night.

[Gwynn White · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this gem of a book on Netgalley and was struck by the cover: definitely intriguing. The blurb clinched the deal, luring me in.

Unable to resist The Hunger Games feel of it, I immediately requested it and am delighted to say that it delivered on all its promises. I started reading in the evening and found myself still awake at three in the morning when I turned the last page on my Kindle. I was so impressed that I filed it into it's own category under the author's name. I only ever do that if I intend reading more of an author's work. The rest of the books get shoved into a genre category.

Okay . . . so what made it so good?

The book is definitely dystopian (thoroughly brutal in fact) but it has a high fantasy setting! Anyone familiar with my blog will know that fantasy and sci-fi are my first loves. That said, one of my reading delights this year has been the discovery of some great cross-over books that mash different genres together - like this one - making for a fascinating read. As far as I can see, it's mainly indie-authors who are daring to write like this, and David J Normoyle has done it very well in The Narrowing Path.

The plot kicks off without too much backstory or preamble and we are in the world of Arcandis, following the fortunes - and misfortunes - of Bowe Bellanger, our young hero. I was instantly sucked in even though the first few pages bombarded me with names and titles and quite complicated aspects of Arcandis life. I admit, it could be an overwhelming beginning, but I was so intrigued by the action that I barreled through it and was hooked.

Bowe Bellanger is a delightfully flawed hero with a giant-sized heart. He captured my sympathy instantly and although sometimes he made some really stupid decisions as he battled to stay alive on the 'path', I was rooting for him all the way through. Be warned though, this book is not for the faint-hearted: deaths - gruesome ones - occur every few pages. In that aspect it makes The Hunger Games look like a church picnic.

Bowe also has some strange ideas about girls. But given his background and age, I found it quite acceptable. He is the perfect gentleman to the high class damsel in distress, but cannot cope with the tough, kick-butte peasant girl (whom he secretly fancies) who helped save his life a few times. I suspect this is going to be an area explored by Normoyle in subsequent books and I imagine young Bowe is going to learn some short, sharp lessons about dealing with women. I can't wait to read about them.

From that, you can guess that I will be reading the next two books in the series: The Treacherous Path and The Collapsing Path. You can bet on it.

So how many stars for The Narrowing Path? A solid four star read!

[MrEkitten · Rating 5 out of 5]

Disclosure: I was given a free copy of this book in a collection "What Tomorrow May Bring" in exchange for an honest review. We could review any number of books, and I decided to start with this one.

First - This is a 4.5/5 star story in my eyes. I can understand why some might give it 4 stars as the plot has been widely done lately, but I have to say I was very pleased with this story. You pretty much have seen the pieces before, (it's a dystopian coming of age story with rigid social/political cliques), and you kind of know what the end result will be, but this author was able to stop his story from being a clone. He put the pieces together in a fitting way that made me feel I wasn't "ahead" of the characters, which I hate, or that I had "been there, done that".. In fact, there is one part/secret that I swore was going to be a reveal (and maybe it is in the sequel) that I was going to say "duh", but it didn't happen... yet. (I still think it is a 'duh' thing, but I'll have to say that in my next review, not this one.)

Second - You can tell the author has fleshed out his world before you have read 3 pages. He immerses you right from the start and doesn't hold back. After reading the first few pages, and getting my bearings, I did go back and start again to make sure I had a solid footing. I like it when an author does this. It makes me feel as if the world has always been there and I am catching the characters mid-stride. As I continued to read, I kept thinking of all the ideas the author was throwing that would make for a great sequel, or trilogy (This was before I find out there was plans for one). So rich a world, so much to explore.

Next - As I am reading, I have to admit, there were a couple of editing issues, one in particular that I think is a misprint about who is speaking, but the way the story keeps moving makes up for it in spades.

I read the whole story in under two days. With my busy schedule, I find it hard to find time to read as much as I want. But I kept my tablet with me to keep reading this one everywhere I went. One page here, 3 pages there.

I am looking forward to the sequel, and can only imagine where the story will go. There is a lot to draw from, and a lot of set-up done. Excellent work.