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Another Kingdom #1
Another Kingdom
“What was this place? Was I crazy? Or was I crazy before, back in L.A.? Was my real life some sort of dream? Was this hell reality?”
Austin Lively is a struggling, disillusioned screenwriter whose life is suddenly changed forever when he opens a door and is unwittingly transported to a fantastical medieval realm. Austin finds himself wielding a bloody dagger while standing over a very beautiful and very dead woman. Bewildered and confused, he is seized by castle guards and thrown in a dungeon. Just when he begins to fear the worst he is suddenly transported back to reality in LA.
Did that really just happened? Has he gone insane? Was it all a dream? Did he have a brain tumor? Desperate for answers, sets out to find them and discovers that the mystery can only be unlocked by a strange piece of fiction that holds the truth about the magical kingdom. But he isn’t the only person searching for the missing manuscript, and his rivals will stop at nothing to get it first. To complicate matters more, Austin soon discovers that he has no control over when he passes between worlds, and finds himself out of trust for even the simple things, like walking through doorways.
Stuck between dual realities –charged for a murder he doesn’t recall in one and running from a maniacal billionaire who’s determined to kill him in another– Austin’s monotonous life has become an epic adventure of magic, murder, and political intrigue in both the New Republic of Galiana and the streets of Los Angeles California.
Austin Lively is a struggling, disillusioned screenwriter whose life is suddenly changed forever when he opens a door and is unwittingly transported to a fantastical medieval realm. Austin finds himself wielding a bloody dagger while standing over a very beautiful and very dead woman. Bewildered and confused, he is seized by castle guards and thrown in a dungeon. Just when he begins to fear the worst he is suddenly transported back to reality in LA.
Did that really just happened? Has he gone insane? Was it all a dream? Did he have a brain tumor? Desperate for answers, sets out to find them and discovers that the mystery can only be unlocked by a strange piece of fiction that holds the truth about the magical kingdom. But he isn’t the only person searching for the missing manuscript, and his rivals will stop at nothing to get it first. To complicate matters more, Austin soon discovers that he has no control over when he passes between worlds, and finds himself out of trust for even the simple things, like walking through doorways.
Stuck between dual realities –charged for a murder he doesn’t recall in one and running from a maniacal billionaire who’s determined to kill him in another– Austin’s monotonous life has become an epic adventure of magic, murder, and political intrigue in both the New Republic of Galiana and the streets of Los Angeles California.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published March 5, 2019
158 people are currently reading
1585 people want to read
About the author
Andrew Klavan
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 203 reviews
March 27, 2019
Wow.
No offense to the author, but I was unsure how much I'd actually like this book. I could not really get into the podcast (the original way this story was released), but I tend to like to read books rather than listen to them, especially when they're dramatized. I have sufficient scope of imagination to supply plenty of my own drama as a reader, thank you very much. So, I was willing to give it another chance in book form. So very glad I did.
This is some of the most fun I have ever had with a novel. It seems to cross into every genre—adventure, thriller, mystery, medieval fantasy, comedy, romance. I laughed out loud several times (especially the interchanges between Maude and Austin) and, darn it, at the end I totally cried. I kept turning and turning and turning the pages, almost entirely unable to put the book down.
So what is this quirky book about? It is about what it takes to truly become a man and what it means to truly be a woman. It is about freedom and wisdom. It is about cruelty and valor and intrigue and loyalty. It is about a billionaire (of anagramatical interest) who wants to enslave our world through equality and an emperor in another world who must resurrect a queendom. Austin Lively is our hero who must unravel both plots to (maybe) save both worlds—all the while saving his own hide from assassins wielding guns and swords.
This was just a rare treat—a book that manages to be perfectly entertaining while at the same time leaving the reader with puzzles and ideas over which to chew until the sequel is released. Klavan has said that this will be a trilogy, and I can hardly wait to see where the story will lead us next.
No offense to the author, but I was unsure how much I'd actually like this book. I could not really get into the podcast (the original way this story was released), but I tend to like to read books rather than listen to them, especially when they're dramatized. I have sufficient scope of imagination to supply plenty of my own drama as a reader, thank you very much. So, I was willing to give it another chance in book form. So very glad I did.
This is some of the most fun I have ever had with a novel. It seems to cross into every genre—adventure, thriller, mystery, medieval fantasy, comedy, romance. I laughed out loud several times (especially the interchanges between Maude and Austin) and, darn it, at the end I totally cried. I kept turning and turning and turning the pages, almost entirely unable to put the book down.
So what is this quirky book about? It is about what it takes to truly become a man and what it means to truly be a woman. It is about freedom and wisdom. It is about cruelty and valor and intrigue and loyalty. It is about a billionaire (of anagramatical interest) who wants to enslave our world through equality and an emperor in another world who must resurrect a queendom. Austin Lively is our hero who must unravel both plots to (maybe) save both worlds—all the while saving his own hide from assassins wielding guns and swords.
This was just a rare treat—a book that manages to be perfectly entertaining while at the same time leaving the reader with puzzles and ideas over which to chew until the sequel is released. Klavan has said that this will be a trilogy, and I can hardly wait to see where the story will lead us next.
May 18, 2019
A plot with potential ruined by an aggravating and unlikeable protagonist. Austin is bitchy, self important, and possibly wears a fedora.
Had a bit of a harem anime vibe with some astoundingly misogynistic detours in which our dear lead speaks of possessing a woman and filling her belly with children in a creepy stalkerish unsettling manner. If you're a girl, or any sensible person, skip it.
Had a bit of a harem anime vibe with some astoundingly misogynistic detours in which our dear lead speaks of possessing a woman and filling her belly with children in a creepy stalkerish unsettling manner. If you're a girl, or any sensible person, skip it.
March 22, 2019
This book is what I would call the Fiction-book companion to Jordan Petersons 12 rules for life. Its a call for men and women to accept the challenge of fighting evil, to live a noble and worthwhile life, and to recognize the forces for malevolence that we're faced with when we seek to do good.
It's written in a light-hearted style, which makes it both fun and accessible. I wouldn't say it is going to be great literature -- but it isn't intended to be. It is a fantasy-style book, but not the 1k-pg opus of most of that genre. its more in line with the fun writers of maybe Douglas Adams (though not outright funny, as adams is), or Terry Pratchett. But don't be fooled, the book is dealing with big issues and current events, but in both a light and serious way.
It's written in a light-hearted style, which makes it both fun and accessible. I wouldn't say it is going to be great literature -- but it isn't intended to be. It is a fantasy-style book, but not the 1k-pg opus of most of that genre. its more in line with the fun writers of maybe Douglas Adams (though not outright funny, as adams is), or Terry Pratchett. But don't be fooled, the book is dealing with big issues and current events, but in both a light and serious way.
May 1, 2019
I can't put my finger on it...this is generally the sort if tale I love...but there was just something about this book that rubbed me the wrong way. :/ It felt very preachy in an almost religious way without coming out and saying it.
May 14, 2019
Abandoned at about 30%.
Austin Lively is a struggling screenwriter living in Los Angeles when he steps through a door at his place of employment and finds himself transported to a somewhat-familiar fantasy realm called Galiana. Furthermore, he standing over a dead noblewoman, holding a knife, with guards closing in around him. He proceeds to swap back and forth between Galiana and L.A., trying to figure out what is happening to him.
A washed-out old hollywood-type in this novel opines that he does not think women have personalities. That “each man is the man he is, but every woman is all women … A principle more than a person.” The narrator appropriately dislikes the guy, but I’m not convinced the author doesn’t hold at least some of that opinion. Every woman in the book (each of which gets several paragraphs basking in the femininity of their appearance) is apparently in love with Austin in a complicated way. When an ambiguously-gendered villain starts to sexually appraise him as well, I gave it up. The writing was passable, and I was interested in the plot, but I’m just not into some guy’s fantasy about how all women adore him for no reason.
Also, now I can’t get that “Gotta go to Galeana” car jingle out of my head.
Austin Lively is a struggling screenwriter living in Los Angeles when he steps through a door at his place of employment and finds himself transported to a somewhat-familiar fantasy realm called Galiana. Furthermore, he standing over a dead noblewoman, holding a knife, with guards closing in around him. He proceeds to swap back and forth between Galiana and L.A., trying to figure out what is happening to him.
A washed-out old hollywood-type in this novel opines that he does not think women have personalities. That “each man is the man he is, but every woman is all women … A principle more than a person.” The narrator appropriately dislikes the guy, but I’m not convinced the author doesn’t hold at least some of that opinion. Every woman in the book (each of which gets several paragraphs basking in the femininity of their appearance) is apparently in love with Austin in a complicated way. When an ambiguously-gendered villain starts to sexually appraise him as well, I gave it up. The writing was passable, and I was interested in the plot, but I’m just not into some guy’s fantasy about how all women adore him for no reason.
Also, now I can’t get that “Gotta go to Galeana” car jingle out of my head.
September 13, 2022
Alright, alright, I'm coming back to review, because I can't stop thinking about it and I need to rant. 😝
Things I liked:
~ The unique character voice! I usually do not like those sarcastic/dry character voices, because they can often come off as aloof, cliché, and annoying. But Austin's voice is balanced out with an honesty and openness that you don't often see paired with the snarkiness, and I'm here for it. XD
I also really appreciate how Andrew Klavan just lets his character be the character, without trying to curb anything that the target audience might not agree with or like. It makes all the characters feel very real and true to life. (Don't mind me, I'll just be over here taking notes.)
~ That character arc... 👌I don't want to spoil it, but I always love seeing the journey of a passive character becoming an active character, and the beginning of that arc was executed very well in this book. It didn't feel forced, or sudden, it just kind of snowballed into the climax, where I was left with all the victorious feelings, and had to go check out the second book immediately.
~ The intrigue! The friend who recommended this to me actually told me what happens at the beginning, but I somehow totally forgot. 😝 So yeah, I kept having moments where I was like, "Wait, what did she say was happening here? What's going on??"
~ Seeing the MC's entire family as part of the story was kind of refreshing... even if said family is slightly (or very) dysfunctional. I don't know, the main character is an adult living in Hollywood, and I just did not expect the parents to be part of the picture. (And both of them are alive, and fully dysfunctionally functioning! Whaaat?! 😱) Anyway, I just appreciated that.
Things I didn't like:
~ Lots of language, a bit of slightly graphic violence, and other content that I do not like. I will say, that these things didn't bother me as much as they usually do, and I think it's because none of it was romanticized. Like at all. (After recently reading/skimming a book where the "other stuff" was very romanticized and awful, I could cry sweet tears of relief.)
~ Okay, but I was a little weirded out with that nymph part... not gonna lie. XD
I probably would have given it 5 stars if it weren't for those things. And if I end up liking the second and third books even more, I might want to own this. We shall see.
Things I liked:
~ The unique character voice! I usually do not like those sarcastic/dry character voices, because they can often come off as aloof, cliché, and annoying. But Austin's voice is balanced out with an honesty and openness that you don't often see paired with the snarkiness, and I'm here for it. XD
I also really appreciate how Andrew Klavan just lets his character be the character, without trying to curb anything that the target audience might not agree with or like. It makes all the characters feel very real and true to life. (Don't mind me, I'll just be over here taking notes.)
~ That character arc... 👌I don't want to spoil it, but I always love seeing the journey of a passive character becoming an active character, and the beginning of that arc was executed very well in this book. It didn't feel forced, or sudden, it just kind of snowballed into the climax, where I was left with all the victorious feelings, and had to go check out the second book immediately.
~ The intrigue! The friend who recommended this to me actually told me what happens at the beginning, but I somehow totally forgot. 😝 So yeah, I kept having moments where I was like, "Wait, what did she say was happening here? What's going on??"
~ Seeing the MC's entire family as part of the story was kind of refreshing... even if said family is slightly (or very) dysfunctional. I don't know, the main character is an adult living in Hollywood, and I just did not expect the parents to be part of the picture. (And both of them are alive, and fully dysfunctionally functioning! Whaaat?! 😱) Anyway, I just appreciated that.
Things I didn't like:
~ Lots of language, a bit of slightly graphic violence, and other content that I do not like. I will say, that these things didn't bother me as much as they usually do, and I think it's because none of it was romanticized. Like at all. (After recently reading/skimming a book where the "other stuff" was very romanticized and awful, I could cry sweet tears of relief.)
~ Okay, but I was a little weirded out with that nymph part... not gonna lie. XD
I probably would have given it 5 stars if it weren't for those things. And if I end up liking the second and third books even more, I might want to own this. We shall see.
June 13, 2024
This is my fourth favorite book of all time!!!
So this is my third time reading this book, and to be honest I don’t really expect anyone else to like it. So I’ll say it up front. I love this book and this trilogy but you probably shouldn’t read it.
The story is about a Hollywood washout named Austin Lively who one day walks through a door and finds himself in a tower room of a fantasy castle with a bloody dagger in his hand, a dead woman in the room, and guards breaking down the door. He has no memory of what has happened, why he’s being tried for murder or how to get back home. Meanwhile in LA, things are no less crazy as an evil billionaire is sending his goons after Austin for some rather mystical reasons.
The reason why I love this book so much is because it primarily deals with the problem of the modern man. Because we live in such an age of ease comfort and laziness it’s easier to play video games for eight hours rather than go for a walk in a park, to watch porn and masterbate rather than seek a meaningful romantic relationship and to let your soul wither and die rather than pursue truth, beauty and life. In this book
Austin Lively is the quintessential modern man. He’s done nothing of worth with his life or his soul. He’s depressed, arrogant, selfish and to put somewhat candidly, he’s a wimp. This book juxtaposes the dismal life in LA he has been living with the vibrant, heroic, dangerous and passionate world of Galliana. Through his time in this “other kingdom” he is drawn more and more out of his apathy and into right action for the truth and for others. This even begins to affect how he lives in LA. We see him go from a selfish loser to a man who is willing to lay down his life and soul for others. That is truly heroic!!!
This is the main theme of this book and this trilogy. (Trust me this book is only the start of his journey, and it WILL NOT be smooth sailing) This resonates with me so deeply as it is very easy for me to fall into many of the same traps as Austin. It’s so much easier to take the road of least resistance, law down and just let my own whims run all over me. But a real man does what’s right. A real man takes the hit when others turn to run.
I also love that Klavan is an author mainly known for thrillers and crime novels, rather than fantasy. This means his books doesn’t feel like the latest GRRM or Rothfuss flavor of the week. He’s telling a story truly original in terms of his craft and tone. (This won’t be to everyone’s liking) He also avoids a lot of pitfalls many modern fantasy authors fall into. For example he writes a compelling story in under 350 pages and doesn’t spend half the book on worldbuilding. He keeps the main thing the main thing and I really appreciate that.
Now a lot of people won’t like this book for a couple reasons.
The first is that Austin is the first person POV character and he has quite a bit of attitude. He’s kinda snarky in some ways that may turn off some readers, especially if they’re offended by sarcastic comments. He’s also unlikable in a deeply relatable way and doesn’t change into a noble hero overnight. He screws up and makes cowardly decisions all the time and some people might get frustrated by this.
The second reason is if you only read fantasy for ten POVs, massive worldbuilding and complex magic systems then this really won’t be the book for you. The worldbuilding in this is much closer to a lot of work Stephen King has done than it is to GRRM or Sanderson. It’s sparse and it comes into play when the story calls for it. Personally I love this because it’s intentionally doing something very different from modern fantasy trends. Even if it’s not your first preference I hope readers can look past this.
This is still my fourth favorite book even on a reread. The themes still hit home as does the triumphant moments and the mysteries at the heart of the story. I really hope more people can look past their expectations for what modern fantasy has to look like and give this trilogy a chance. If you let it, I think you’ll find something really special here that you won’t find anywhere else. And if you pick it up, you might just learn a thing or two from the deep themes the author explores.
So this is my third time reading this book, and to be honest I don’t really expect anyone else to like it. So I’ll say it up front. I love this book and this trilogy but you probably shouldn’t read it.
The story is about a Hollywood washout named Austin Lively who one day walks through a door and finds himself in a tower room of a fantasy castle with a bloody dagger in his hand, a dead woman in the room, and guards breaking down the door. He has no memory of what has happened, why he’s being tried for murder or how to get back home. Meanwhile in LA, things are no less crazy as an evil billionaire is sending his goons after Austin for some rather mystical reasons.
The reason why I love this book so much is because it primarily deals with the problem of the modern man. Because we live in such an age of ease comfort and laziness it’s easier to play video games for eight hours rather than go for a walk in a park, to watch porn and masterbate rather than seek a meaningful romantic relationship and to let your soul wither and die rather than pursue truth, beauty and life. In this book
Austin Lively is the quintessential modern man. He’s done nothing of worth with his life or his soul. He’s depressed, arrogant, selfish and to put somewhat candidly, he’s a wimp. This book juxtaposes the dismal life in LA he has been living with the vibrant, heroic, dangerous and passionate world of Galliana. Through his time in this “other kingdom” he is drawn more and more out of his apathy and into right action for the truth and for others. This even begins to affect how he lives in LA. We see him go from a selfish loser to a man who is willing to lay down his life and soul for others. That is truly heroic!!!
This is the main theme of this book and this trilogy. (Trust me this book is only the start of his journey, and it WILL NOT be smooth sailing) This resonates with me so deeply as it is very easy for me to fall into many of the same traps as Austin. It’s so much easier to take the road of least resistance, law down and just let my own whims run all over me. But a real man does what’s right. A real man takes the hit when others turn to run.
I also love that Klavan is an author mainly known for thrillers and crime novels, rather than fantasy. This means his books doesn’t feel like the latest GRRM or Rothfuss flavor of the week. He’s telling a story truly original in terms of his craft and tone. (This won’t be to everyone’s liking) He also avoids a lot of pitfalls many modern fantasy authors fall into. For example he writes a compelling story in under 350 pages and doesn’t spend half the book on worldbuilding. He keeps the main thing the main thing and I really appreciate that.
Now a lot of people won’t like this book for a couple reasons.
The first is that Austin is the first person POV character and he has quite a bit of attitude. He’s kinda snarky in some ways that may turn off some readers, especially if they’re offended by sarcastic comments. He’s also unlikable in a deeply relatable way and doesn’t change into a noble hero overnight. He screws up and makes cowardly decisions all the time and some people might get frustrated by this.
The second reason is if you only read fantasy for ten POVs, massive worldbuilding and complex magic systems then this really won’t be the book for you. The worldbuilding in this is much closer to a lot of work Stephen King has done than it is to GRRM or Sanderson. It’s sparse and it comes into play when the story calls for it. Personally I love this because it’s intentionally doing something very different from modern fantasy trends. Even if it’s not your first preference I hope readers can look past this.
This is still my fourth favorite book even on a reread. The themes still hit home as does the triumphant moments and the mysteries at the heart of the story. I really hope more people can look past their expectations for what modern fantasy has to look like and give this trilogy a chance. If you let it, I think you’ll find something really special here that you won’t find anywhere else. And if you pick it up, you might just learn a thing or two from the deep themes the author explores.
June 25, 2019
I enjoyed the premise of jumping between LA and the fantasy world of Galiana, but every time an interaction was described with a woman, I found myself wondering if it was written by someone who has never actually talked with a woman. They are such OBJECTS rather than people in the story.
I honestly had a moment of thinking, “Man, 13 year old me could have come up with this story. And, apparently, had a similar understanding of girls.”
“Jane sat beside me and cleaned my wound, fussing over me with a womanly care that made me yearn up into her blue-green eyes.”
“The door swung open, and out from the darkness walked a woman into the firelight, a woman like no woman I had ever seen before.”
“It was the way she kept her hands clasped beneath her breasts in a position of such modesty and self-containment. Everything about her—it was all just so incredibly...what was the word? Womanly. So incredibly womanly.”
“It occurred to me somewhere in the back of my mind that I had never seen a woman blush like that before—blush because she was speaking about romantic stuff, I mean. I had only read about women doing that in books.”
And on and on and on. That’s just within the first 65 pages.
It took some effort to stop being shaken out of the story by the language, but I was finally able to. And, again, I like the premise of bouncing between realities/worlds with each helping the narrator struggle through the other. So, 3.5 stars if Goodreads would let me, but I’ll round up since I’d like to read more of this tale to find out what happens next.
I honestly had a moment of thinking, “Man, 13 year old me could have come up with this story. And, apparently, had a similar understanding of girls.”
“Jane sat beside me and cleaned my wound, fussing over me with a womanly care that made me yearn up into her blue-green eyes.”
“The door swung open, and out from the darkness walked a woman into the firelight, a woman like no woman I had ever seen before.”
“It was the way she kept her hands clasped beneath her breasts in a position of such modesty and self-containment. Everything about her—it was all just so incredibly...what was the word? Womanly. So incredibly womanly.”
“It occurred to me somewhere in the back of my mind that I had never seen a woman blush like that before—blush because she was speaking about romantic stuff, I mean. I had only read about women doing that in books.”
And on and on and on. That’s just within the first 65 pages.
It took some effort to stop being shaken out of the story by the language, but I was finally able to. And, again, I like the premise of bouncing between realities/worlds with each helping the narrator struggle through the other. So, 3.5 stars if Goodreads would let me, but I’ll round up since I’d like to read more of this tale to find out what happens next.
April 20, 2019
Keep Calm and "Let wisdom reign." Another Kingdom is a fun portal fantasy with, in my view, more drama, uncertainty and suspense than can be found in Diana Gabaldon's Outlander and C.S Lewis's Narnia series. All personal favorites. Very much looking forward to the sequel.
April 2, 2021
3.75 stars.
This book was fairly engaging and fun, even if it was a bit boring and flat at times. There is a lot of the plot that I still don’t understand, but I think it’ll make sense once I finish the trilogy. I love Klavan and his Daily Wire show, which is really what led me to read this book. Overall, a fun read and I think I’ll finish the series!
This book was fairly engaging and fun, even if it was a bit boring and flat at times. There is a lot of the plot that I still don’t understand, but I think it’ll make sense once I finish the trilogy. I love Klavan and his Daily Wire show, which is really what led me to read this book. Overall, a fun read and I think I’ll finish the series!
November 22, 2022
Books written in the first person are generally written either by someone who is brilliant enough to step into someone else's shoes and see from their eyes without bias, or, it is written by someone who has repressed urges and unfulfilled desires and who writes a book to express those longings. Suffice it to say, Andrew Klavan is not a brilliant writer.
In evidence of this, I happened to skim an autobiography of Klavan and found evidence that it's obviously the latter--e.g., his wife had a tyrannical boss, he is (obviously) a writer, and he suffered from depression because of writing failure, just like the main character.
Whether or not Klavan also has the same sins Austin has, is of course, up for debate, but it is telling that Austin suffers no consequences for his sins, always gets what he wants and always has an easy way out. This lack of consequences is typical of people who want something forbidden and do not see it as sin. Other (decent and good, unlike Klavan) authors write their main characters with character flaws that cost the main character something and which must be purified in a literary crucible before it is overcome. (See again The Hobbit, Harry Potter, the Narnia Chronicles, and of course, The Crucible.)
Let us move on, without further ado, to the review, so that, by reading this, you will be saved time and money by not reading his book.
Typical for fiction, it begins with a change of scene for the protagonist (in quotes, ahem ahem), introduction of new characters, and thrusting of protagonist into an unfamiliar and challenging environment (see Harry Potter, Chronicles of Narnia, and the Hobbit). Also pretty much any trashy novel out there. Following the template for great fiction doesn't mean anything.
Also typical of protagonists, they have some character flaw which they are supposed to overcome throughout the course of the book. Austin (the main character) has several--not character flaws-- but what Christians used to call mortal sins. Ok.
For Austin, he is urged to "be a man" from his first entrance to "Another Kingdom." What this other kingdom really is is the fulfillment of lazy, lustful, nonChristian male fantasy.
Austin is given the role of a hero without any merit, virtue, character, or previous accomplishments to deserve it. Not only is he given the role of a hero, he is given the completely undeserved and brainless love of a beautiful woman, Betheray, who he is meeting for the first time in his life. Klavan distorts reality by claiming that an alternate Austin existed somewhere and giving him vague memories of who he used to be, which doesn't cut it at all for plot or character development. Very shoddy and pathetic attempt to make it work.
Because of that, Klavan conveniently doesn't have to describe the process of Austin earning the love and respect of a beautiful woman. Incredibly, not only is a kind, faithful, courageous, and lovely lady deeply in love with him in the fantasy kingdom, there's also another kind, faithful, and lovely woman (Jane) back in our world deeply attached to the loser he is. And no, he's not actually going out with his adoring friend in real life, because he is self-admittedly too much of a coward to initiate a relationship with her.
Super conveniently for him, he gets to sleep with Betheray in the fantasy world, which , he cogitates, is not actually cheating on Jane, regardless of his mentally expressed purpose to marry her and his knowledge that she is attached to him, because he's not dating her yet, because as mentioned before, he's to much of a coward.
The plot works out well for him, since Betheray is killed off, leaving him monogamous. Let's not forget the scene where lustful male fantasy is on drugs and Austin is treated to a sex party in the woods where he is the only recipient of sexual favors, bestowed by total strangers. No commitment. No reciprocity. Total selfishness.
It's disturbing to read so many gratuitous sex scenes and descriptions of women in the nude from a writer who claims to be a Christian. The first book ends with Austin nearly as much of a loser as he was at the beginning. He was dragged through the plot by a combination of pushing, pulling, luck, advice, luck, bad writing, and magic help. He is not a hero, let alone a real man, in any sense of the word.
Brief summary: don't waste your time reading this sludge. If I could have given it a negative 3 star review, I would have.
In evidence of this, I happened to skim an autobiography of Klavan and found evidence that it's obviously the latter--e.g., his wife had a tyrannical boss, he is (obviously) a writer, and he suffered from depression because of writing failure, just like the main character.
Whether or not Klavan also has the same sins Austin has, is of course, up for debate, but it is telling that Austin suffers no consequences for his sins, always gets what he wants and always has an easy way out. This lack of consequences is typical of people who want something forbidden and do not see it as sin. Other (decent and good, unlike Klavan) authors write their main characters with character flaws that cost the main character something and which must be purified in a literary crucible before it is overcome. (See again The Hobbit, Harry Potter, the Narnia Chronicles, and of course, The Crucible.)
Let us move on, without further ado, to the review, so that, by reading this, you will be saved time and money by not reading his book.
Typical for fiction, it begins with a change of scene for the protagonist (in quotes, ahem ahem), introduction of new characters, and thrusting of protagonist into an unfamiliar and challenging environment (see Harry Potter, Chronicles of Narnia, and the Hobbit). Also pretty much any trashy novel out there. Following the template for great fiction doesn't mean anything.
Also typical of protagonists, they have some character flaw which they are supposed to overcome throughout the course of the book. Austin (the main character) has several--not character flaws-- but what Christians used to call mortal sins. Ok.
For Austin, he is urged to "be a man" from his first entrance to "Another Kingdom." What this other kingdom really is is the fulfillment of lazy, lustful, nonChristian male fantasy.
Austin is given the role of a hero without any merit, virtue, character, or previous accomplishments to deserve it. Not only is he given the role of a hero, he is given the completely undeserved and brainless love of a beautiful woman, Betheray, who he is meeting for the first time in his life. Klavan distorts reality by claiming that an alternate Austin existed somewhere and giving him vague memories of who he used to be, which doesn't cut it at all for plot or character development. Very shoddy and pathetic attempt to make it work.
Because of that, Klavan conveniently doesn't have to describe the process of Austin earning the love and respect of a beautiful woman. Incredibly, not only is a kind, faithful, courageous, and lovely lady deeply in love with him in the fantasy kingdom, there's also another kind, faithful, and lovely woman (Jane) back in our world deeply attached to the loser he is. And no, he's not actually going out with his adoring friend in real life, because he is self-admittedly too much of a coward to initiate a relationship with her.
Super conveniently for him, he gets to sleep with Betheray in the fantasy world, which , he cogitates, is not actually cheating on Jane, regardless of his mentally expressed purpose to marry her and his knowledge that she is attached to him, because he's not dating her yet, because as mentioned before, he's to much of a coward.
The plot works out well for him, since Betheray is killed off, leaving him monogamous. Let's not forget the scene where lustful male fantasy is on drugs and Austin is treated to a sex party in the woods where he is the only recipient of sexual favors, bestowed by total strangers. No commitment. No reciprocity. Total selfishness.
It's disturbing to read so many gratuitous sex scenes and descriptions of women in the nude from a writer who claims to be a Christian. The first book ends with Austin nearly as much of a loser as he was at the beginning. He was dragged through the plot by a combination of pushing, pulling, luck, advice, luck, bad writing, and magic help. He is not a hero, let alone a real man, in any sense of the word.
Brief summary: don't waste your time reading this sludge. If I could have given it a negative 3 star review, I would have.
December 25, 2020
I'm not sure what to rate this book. The writing is good, the story is interesting, and the worldbuilding is... all right (though the fantasy world is very small and underdeveloped). My biggest problem is the abundance of profanity and sexual content, especially when the MC falls in love with two different women at the same time (and doesn't even *think* about the possible repercussions). It was interesting, though, and I will be reading the sequel.
first read 12/01/2020
first read 12/01/2020
April 24, 2019
Oof. Maybe would have been easier to swallow as the podcast, but I had a rough time reading this. Beside the poor writing style, the authors' portrayal of women and LGBTQ characters was very cringe-worthy. If I hadn't been gifted this book (and therefore felt obligated to finish), I would have dropped it after the first couple chapters.
April 25, 2019
Gripping and important
The characters are well developed and wholly lacking any cookie-cutter traits. I, literally, couldn’t let go of the story. I can’t wait for the next book in the series.
The characters are well developed and wholly lacking any cookie-cutter traits. I, literally, couldn’t let go of the story. I can’t wait for the next book in the series.
May 26, 2019
I loved the overall plotline and pacing of the book. However, the more I read, the more I disliked the protagonist. Austin Lively starts off in the beginning of the book as a washed up story analyst struggling to make it in Hollywood. He is unexpectedly forced on the classic, hero's journey when he keeps being transported to an alternate land (Galiana). Why Austin does undergo some character development (he learns to overcome his anxiety and how to be brave) there are some problematic passages regarding Austin's view towards some of the female characters in the book.
Schuyler- portrayed as an overweight, angry lesbian. At one point in the book, Austin/the author describe Schuyler leaving a room as "she turned her elephantine bulk away and thundered to the door" (242). Really, you're comparing a woman's size to an elephant?
"The misty nymphs of Shadow Wood had brought out some natural manly something in me I'd never quite felt before" (206). The details of this "manly something" are never really fleshed out. I thought this was a very corny line of writing.
Jane Janeway- yes, that is a character name in the book. First of all, it's not that creative but once Austin sees past Jane's "mousy" exterior and realizes Jane loves him (and he might have some romantic feelings for her too), these are the thoughts that run through Austin's mind: "It was just Jane being darling Jane. She probably didn't realize yet that one day soon I was going to lay claim to her flesh and spirit and fill her belly with children and redefine her life by the force of my passion" (207). Whoa there, Austin, you sound like those creepy guys on a first date that proclaim how many children they'll have, their names, and don't even bother to treat the woman as a human being with their own dreams and desires.
Another Jane passage: "Jane went on gazing into my face expectantly in that sisterly-motherly-loverly Jane way of hers, waiting for me to tell her my troubles so she could kiss them and make them better. Not for the first time, I reflected what a waste of womanhood it was for her to spend such sweetness taking care of a movie star who didn't give a crap about her" (207). Do you want a mother or a lover, Austin? And true women are only sweet and take care of others?
Betheray- this is Austin's lover in the Galiana universe. After he saves her from being raped, he is turned on by her nakedness (263) but is gentlemanly enough to wait at least 10 minutes before he has sex with her (265). This is insulting to sexual assault survivors!
I read these passages to my husband and he thought it was bizarre as well. By the end of the book, I felt that Austin was a bit of a schmuck. The book ended on a cliffhanger- if there is a sequel I will be hesitant to read it.
Schuyler- portrayed as an overweight, angry lesbian. At one point in the book, Austin/the author describe Schuyler leaving a room as "she turned her elephantine bulk away and thundered to the door" (242). Really, you're comparing a woman's size to an elephant?
"The misty nymphs of Shadow Wood had brought out some natural manly something in me I'd never quite felt before" (206). The details of this "manly something" are never really fleshed out. I thought this was a very corny line of writing.
Jane Janeway- yes, that is a character name in the book. First of all, it's not that creative but once Austin sees past Jane's "mousy" exterior and realizes Jane loves him (and he might have some romantic feelings for her too), these are the thoughts that run through Austin's mind: "It was just Jane being darling Jane. She probably didn't realize yet that one day soon I was going to lay claim to her flesh and spirit and fill her belly with children and redefine her life by the force of my passion" (207). Whoa there, Austin, you sound like those creepy guys on a first date that proclaim how many children they'll have, their names, and don't even bother to treat the woman as a human being with their own dreams and desires.
Another Jane passage: "Jane went on gazing into my face expectantly in that sisterly-motherly-loverly Jane way of hers, waiting for me to tell her my troubles so she could kiss them and make them better. Not for the first time, I reflected what a waste of womanhood it was for her to spend such sweetness taking care of a movie star who didn't give a crap about her" (207). Do you want a mother or a lover, Austin? And true women are only sweet and take care of others?
Betheray- this is Austin's lover in the Galiana universe. After he saves her from being raped, he is turned on by her nakedness (263) but is gentlemanly enough to wait at least 10 minutes before he has sex with her (265). This is insulting to sexual assault survivors!
I read these passages to my husband and he thought it was bizarre as well. By the end of the book, I felt that Austin was a bit of a schmuck. The book ended on a cliffhanger- if there is a sequel I will be hesitant to read it.
June 27, 2019
I legitematly thought this book was written in the 90s or early 00s. Considering how dated some of the plot tropes were, how dated the portrayal of the women, LGBT characters and general themes were. The writing style wasn't awful, but there were a few choices in words or sentence structure that legitematly threw me off and made it a hard book to finish. If it did come out ten or twenty years ago I would have enjoyed it a lot more, but some of the attitudes, the preaching, and the overall "seen it one hundred times before" plot should have been left in another decade.
That being said. I have read worse.
That being said. I have read worse.
June 13, 2019
A wannabe writer in LA is somehow transported into a medieval tech level fantasy world where he is almost immediately arrested for murder. Interesting premise, and I had high hopes for this story, but....
The magic system makes little sense. Between the poor world-building; political, economic, and other cultural elements that make little sense; an inadequately defined magic system; and a protagonist who is a borderline misogynist, I just couldn't get into this one.
The magic system makes little sense. Between the poor world-building; political, economic, and other cultural elements that make little sense; an inadequately defined magic system; and a protagonist who is a borderline misogynist, I just couldn't get into this one.
not-my-style
June 16, 2019Nope. Nope. Nope.
Within the first two pages the narrator, Austin Lively states that the only reason a female character bothered to smile was because she was in love with him AND that another female character was angry and bitter but secretly liked him and that’s why she brushed him off all the time. NO. NO. NO.
Within the first two pages the narrator, Austin Lively states that the only reason a female character bothered to smile was because she was in love with him AND that another female character was angry and bitter but secretly liked him and that’s why she brushed him off all the time. NO. NO. NO.
December 5, 2019
The success of this book depends on how much you expect. There are a lot of things that Andrew Klavan does right.
This is a book which takes place between two worlds, and the conceit of relating them is what the book is mainly about. Klavan writes about Hollywood, where reading books has been relegated to the periphery, where writers go to lose their souls, and where good stories are ruthlessly marginalized. It is a book about the power of a good story, and the navigation of two separate worlds is crucial for that.
Another thing he gets right is the transition from world to world. I have to say that it is difficult to judge a series in progress. Were you to do that with, say, Harry Potter, you may come up very wrong; you have to do all seven books to make the proper judgment there. There are things missing from this first volume, but it is a projected first volume. One of the things missing is a satisfactory sense of the magic involved in moving from one place to another, and so that is not what I mean when I say this is something he gets right. What he gets right is the surprise of the transition from one world to the next, abruptly, often, which gets the reader every time it gets the narrator. That is a skill at timing the events and pacing of the story that Klavan has mastered. If you read the book just for that, you will be very happy indeed.
Klavan seldom lets the pace that he has set for himself drop. There are obviously pauses in the narrative, but on the whole, it reads like a series of uninterrupted chase scenes mostly because it consists of a series of uninterrupted chase scenes. The hero of this story is a scrambler. Let me add that one of the things he gets very right, as might be expected, is also the humor. Klavan is funny. Klavan’s sense of humor is based on good timing and a sense of proportion that always appears when least expected. The wit, the self-deprecation, the banter, all the good things that entertainment has managed to keep for itself in our age, he squanders none of these away.
But many of the things that make for modern entertainment’s cheap illusions also distort this book. Klavan is engaging the culture wars over sex, gender, and traditional roles. He has shrewd insights to offer, and he places them exactly. He is doing the right thing in engaging these through powerful stories: that’s where the traditional side has the advantage, after all. But he squanders some of that advantage by the cartoonishness that he either can’t keep out or prefers to include. Again, the banter, the humor, he occasions in which relationships flower, these things are often yielded to cheap effects. If you are going to write about men and women, about traditional roles, your adversaries advantage is the sentimental, cliched, glamorized, cheaply sexualized approach of movies. I do think Andrew Klavan is in search of better expression, and I appreciate his boldness in taking the subject on: it needs to be. But his imagination is too Disney, too cartoonish, too much visualized in a pornographic age. I don’t mean to say his story is pornographic—though the chaste ecstasy in a pool full of nymphs is the most bizarre attempt at a positive catharsis yet attempted, following hard on the most bizarre and obvious attempt to portray defilement (as a chase scene) ever—but I do mean that this is not a story for your kids, nor is it free of troubling, cheap approaches to romantic love and sexual relations.
Klavan is doing more than just telling about events: he wants to gesture at things, to set up resonances in which meaning is heard. I do not think, however, that what he achieves is enough. There is one thing that he gets really wrong, and that is the complete absence of any real, deep, moving pathos. Dreadful things happen, and they happen like a movie, like a cartoon. It is all on the surface, so much so that even a sword thrust through the body remains on the surface, you might say. Heads are bitten off, and the emotions all pass in a blur, without atmosphere, in good, concentrated, car-chase style. A story should get deep into us, but that is the worst thing that Klavan does, or fails to do. It is all a bit ephemeral. There needs to bet a better sense of place, and by that I don’t mean L.A. The foil for L.A. is not much a foil for L.A., part of it being that the book sometimes seems an long attempt to instantiate the platonic ideal of the car-chase in as many diverse iterations as possible. He does this chase-thing well, but doing that is not enough! The characters are perhaps developing gradually over the course of several volumes, but they are not developing sufficiently over the course of one.
Perhaps I am wrong. The book goes fast. It does go fast indeed, and delivers punches and keeps you reading. Perhaps by the last book, however many are projected, the story will take on depth and luminosity. I hope it does. Perhaps all the chases are from the stage in our hero’s way that requires he escape before earning a pause to rest and think. Klavan knows how to put the parts of his story in order, he knows how to structure the suspense. I hope the other crucial elements of a good story are things his story can get as it goes along.
It is hard to write a good story. I’ve been trying for years and years, without success. I wish I could at least do what Klavan has. But if I had, I would also want people to tell me what is still wrong so that I could get it better. What he is attempting is worth better success.
This is a book which takes place between two worlds, and the conceit of relating them is what the book is mainly about. Klavan writes about Hollywood, where reading books has been relegated to the periphery, where writers go to lose their souls, and where good stories are ruthlessly marginalized. It is a book about the power of a good story, and the navigation of two separate worlds is crucial for that.
Another thing he gets right is the transition from world to world. I have to say that it is difficult to judge a series in progress. Were you to do that with, say, Harry Potter, you may come up very wrong; you have to do all seven books to make the proper judgment there. There are things missing from this first volume, but it is a projected first volume. One of the things missing is a satisfactory sense of the magic involved in moving from one place to another, and so that is not what I mean when I say this is something he gets right. What he gets right is the surprise of the transition from one world to the next, abruptly, often, which gets the reader every time it gets the narrator. That is a skill at timing the events and pacing of the story that Klavan has mastered. If you read the book just for that, you will be very happy indeed.
Klavan seldom lets the pace that he has set for himself drop. There are obviously pauses in the narrative, but on the whole, it reads like a series of uninterrupted chase scenes mostly because it consists of a series of uninterrupted chase scenes. The hero of this story is a scrambler. Let me add that one of the things he gets very right, as might be expected, is also the humor. Klavan is funny. Klavan’s sense of humor is based on good timing and a sense of proportion that always appears when least expected. The wit, the self-deprecation, the banter, all the good things that entertainment has managed to keep for itself in our age, he squanders none of these away.
But many of the things that make for modern entertainment’s cheap illusions also distort this book. Klavan is engaging the culture wars over sex, gender, and traditional roles. He has shrewd insights to offer, and he places them exactly. He is doing the right thing in engaging these through powerful stories: that’s where the traditional side has the advantage, after all. But he squanders some of that advantage by the cartoonishness that he either can’t keep out or prefers to include. Again, the banter, the humor, he occasions in which relationships flower, these things are often yielded to cheap effects. If you are going to write about men and women, about traditional roles, your adversaries advantage is the sentimental, cliched, glamorized, cheaply sexualized approach of movies. I do think Andrew Klavan is in search of better expression, and I appreciate his boldness in taking the subject on: it needs to be. But his imagination is too Disney, too cartoonish, too much visualized in a pornographic age. I don’t mean to say his story is pornographic—though the chaste ecstasy in a pool full of nymphs is the most bizarre attempt at a positive catharsis yet attempted, following hard on the most bizarre and obvious attempt to portray defilement (as a chase scene) ever—but I do mean that this is not a story for your kids, nor is it free of troubling, cheap approaches to romantic love and sexual relations.
Klavan is doing more than just telling about events: he wants to gesture at things, to set up resonances in which meaning is heard. I do not think, however, that what he achieves is enough. There is one thing that he gets really wrong, and that is the complete absence of any real, deep, moving pathos. Dreadful things happen, and they happen like a movie, like a cartoon. It is all on the surface, so much so that even a sword thrust through the body remains on the surface, you might say. Heads are bitten off, and the emotions all pass in a blur, without atmosphere, in good, concentrated, car-chase style. A story should get deep into us, but that is the worst thing that Klavan does, or fails to do. It is all a bit ephemeral. There needs to bet a better sense of place, and by that I don’t mean L.A. The foil for L.A. is not much a foil for L.A., part of it being that the book sometimes seems an long attempt to instantiate the platonic ideal of the car-chase in as many diverse iterations as possible. He does this chase-thing well, but doing that is not enough! The characters are perhaps developing gradually over the course of several volumes, but they are not developing sufficiently over the course of one.
Perhaps I am wrong. The book goes fast. It does go fast indeed, and delivers punches and keeps you reading. Perhaps by the last book, however many are projected, the story will take on depth and luminosity. I hope it does. Perhaps all the chases are from the stage in our hero’s way that requires he escape before earning a pause to rest and think. Klavan knows how to put the parts of his story in order, he knows how to structure the suspense. I hope the other crucial elements of a good story are things his story can get as it goes along.
It is hard to write a good story. I’ve been trying for years and years, without success. I wish I could at least do what Klavan has. But if I had, I would also want people to tell me what is still wrong so that I could get it better. What he is attempting is worth better success.
September 29, 2021
Really enjoyable page turner, a strange mix of semi-noir detective thriller and fantasy that really works. I’m looking forward to the sequels to see where this story goes. Thanks to Toby for giving me this Christmas present.
August 9, 2023
I admit, I’m the target audience for this book. Screenwriter finds himself in a Hitchcock-esque thriller, with the trouble of falling in and out of a fantasy world.
5/5 I adored Another Kingdom. It feels like Neil Gaiman without trying to imitate Neil Gaiman.
5/5 I adored Another Kingdom. It feels like Neil Gaiman without trying to imitate Neil Gaiman.
July 27, 2022
Very entertaining and enjoyable double-story! The back-and-forth between settings was seemless and wonderful, the mysteries and tension and epic moments within both setting were amazing as well. I'm surprised how well this worked for me - especially being such a change of pace from my normal reads.
Definitely going to continue with the trilogy when I can.
Definitely going to continue with the trilogy when I can.
July 1, 2019
Austin Lively -- unsuccessful Hollywood screenwriter whose career is somehow managing to decline even more -- gets caught up in a thriller, as every time he walks through a doorway he has a chance of appearing in a fantasy world. There, he might be a chosen champion, but there are odd intersections between his life in the real world and what's going on in the fantasy kingdom. Soon, he's a suspect for murder in two worlds, racing to solve two different mysteries, and having to figure out what he truly believes in ...
I was surprised by how catchy the writing was after the first chapter. The mystery sucked me in, and while neither the Los Angeles nor fantasy kingdom parts seemed particularly fleshed out, the character of Austin felt pretty solid. Most of the other characters ended up feeling very cardboard-thin, though -- to be fair, that's not an unknown issue in thrillers.
But in addition to fairly thin characterization, there were some aspects of how people (mostly the women) were characterized that proved to bother me as the novel went on. Austin had a regular set of friends that he interacted with; the only two we see much of were Jane and Schuyler. Jane is a woman who hides how attractive she is but doesn't hide how much in love with Austin she is; she is someone who wants to be a wife who is taken care of, and in return is incredibly gentle and nurturing and mothering. Austin, though, is "not enough of a man" to make a move on her as the novel begins; this insult to his manliness comes from Schuyler, a plus-size lesbian who is in love with Jane and thus has a chip on her shoulder when it comes to Austin. The other LGBTQ+ character in the novel is a gay androgynous assassin who was abused as a child (whether that's in there to suggest the homosexuality or the willingness to kill).
From Austin's beginning the novel as "not enough of a man," he has an arc where he begins to think for himself and decide what he believes. This leads to a horrific-sounding scene where he comes back to the real world, runs into Jane, and thinks to himself, "She probably doesn't realize yet that one day soon I was going to lay claim to her flesh and spirit and fill her belly with children and redefine her life by the force of my passion." I ... if it hadn't been pretty late in the novel, I don't know if I could have gotten past that. Austin's development as a "man" comes after he encounters in the fantasy kingdom his ideal woman, a woman so beautiful that Austin is lost for adjectives until he realizes he could describe her as ... "womanly." Yes, "womanly."
By the end, it was also pretty clear that there were some not so subtle politics hidden in it. The villains in the fantasy kingdom are those preaching of building a better life, of allowing every person their say; this democratic impulse is shown by mobs cheering on the execution of those accused of fighting the state. The "good guys" are those that want to bring back the queen, who want wisdom to rule and let everybody go their own way. The villains in the real world are those trying to build a better world. Libertarian paradise for all!
So, definitely a mixed bag. If you happen to agree with its politics/characterizations, you'll probably really enjoy it; if you don't, you may still like it but by the end it's pretty heavy handed and there's no longer much mystery left to explore.
I was surprised by how catchy the writing was after the first chapter. The mystery sucked me in, and while neither the Los Angeles nor fantasy kingdom parts seemed particularly fleshed out, the character of Austin felt pretty solid. Most of the other characters ended up feeling very cardboard-thin, though -- to be fair, that's not an unknown issue in thrillers.
But in addition to fairly thin characterization, there were some aspects of how people (mostly the women) were characterized that proved to bother me as the novel went on. Austin had a regular set of friends that he interacted with; the only two we see much of were Jane and Schuyler. Jane is a woman who hides how attractive she is but doesn't hide how much in love with Austin she is; she is someone who wants to be a wife who is taken care of, and in return is incredibly gentle and nurturing and mothering. Austin, though, is "not enough of a man" to make a move on her as the novel begins; this insult to his manliness comes from Schuyler, a plus-size lesbian who is in love with Jane and thus has a chip on her shoulder when it comes to Austin. The other LGBTQ+ character in the novel is a gay androgynous assassin who was abused as a child (whether that's in there to suggest the homosexuality or the willingness to kill).
From Austin's beginning the novel as "not enough of a man," he has an arc where he begins to think for himself and decide what he believes. This leads to a horrific-sounding scene where he comes back to the real world, runs into Jane, and thinks to himself, "She probably doesn't realize yet that one day soon I was going to lay claim to her flesh and spirit and fill her belly with children and redefine her life by the force of my passion." I ... if it hadn't been pretty late in the novel, I don't know if I could have gotten past that. Austin's development as a "man" comes after he encounters in the fantasy kingdom his ideal woman, a woman so beautiful that Austin is lost for adjectives until he realizes he could describe her as ... "womanly." Yes, "womanly."
By the end, it was also pretty clear that there were some not so subtle politics hidden in it. The villains in the fantasy kingdom are those preaching of building a better life, of allowing every person their say; this democratic impulse is shown by mobs cheering on the execution of those accused of fighting the state. The "good guys" are those that want to bring back the queen, who want wisdom to rule and let everybody go their own way. The villains in the real world are those trying to build a better world. Libertarian paradise for all!
So, definitely a mixed bag. If you happen to agree with its politics/characterizations, you'll probably really enjoy it; if you don't, you may still like it but by the end it's pretty heavy handed and there's no longer much mystery left to explore.
February 19, 2021
I must admit that I had no idea how good this book was going to be. I'd never read Andrew Klavan before. I had looked at the reviews for this particular book and based on what most people were saying, I decided to give Another Kingdom a shot.
I was not disappointed.
Another Kingdom grabs the reader from the get-go. From the beautifully written opening, the story carries you along through two different yet parallel worlds. The rhythm of the story is so well executed that you never find yourself drifting or bored from page to page. The characters are both interesting and quite colorful. They are not merely background folly, but rather integral components in propelling this deeply-layered story forward with a purpose.
This is book one of a series so be prepared for the story to end with more than a few loose ends to tie up. With that, I'm going to conclude by highly, HIGHLY recommending Another Kingdom.
I was not disappointed.
Another Kingdom grabs the reader from the get-go. From the beautifully written opening, the story carries you along through two different yet parallel worlds. The rhythm of the story is so well executed that you never find yourself drifting or bored from page to page. The characters are both interesting and quite colorful. They are not merely background folly, but rather integral components in propelling this deeply-layered story forward with a purpose.
This is book one of a series so be prepared for the story to end with more than a few loose ends to tie up. With that, I'm going to conclude by highly, HIGHLY recommending Another Kingdom.
January 1, 2020
Ugh. Had high hopes for this book as I thought the premise sounded fun and interesting. However, the writing and protagonist are pretty awful. Stupidly absurd, redundant, and laced w/ uncomfortable and misogynistic musings about female characters.
In addition, the author describes characters' bizarre physical features ad nauseam as if the reader has short term memory problems and can't recall the main characters from paragraph to paragraph.
And, writing something like this: "Wren Yen's eyes shifted toward us inscrutably, brightened inscrutably, and shifted inscrutably away," is not cute, it's a high school student trying to reach their 10-page minimum essay requirement with 14 pt. font, double spacing, and UNNECESSARY words.
In addition, the author describes characters' bizarre physical features ad nauseam as if the reader has short term memory problems and can't recall the main characters from paragraph to paragraph.
And, writing something like this: "Wren Yen's eyes shifted toward us inscrutably, brightened inscrutably, and shifted inscrutably away," is not cute, it's a high school student trying to reach their 10-page minimum essay requirement with 14 pt. font, double spacing, and UNNECESSARY words.
January 19, 2020
First, it hurts me a little inside to give Andrew such a low rating so I think I need to explain. Normally, I speed through his books at breakneck speeds and can’t wait for more. This one was rough on me. I really loved the plot of the story, but what I couldn’t get past was all the language. That’s definitely not my cup of tea. I found it hard to read. Plus a few other things about the character that weren’t my favorite. I’ve only ever read his YA books, and I was under the impression this was a YA book. So if language and more “adult” type writing don’t bother you, I think this would be a good one. I was just disappointed compared to what I’ve read from him before.
January 1, 2022
I gotta say, the woke reviews that keep complaining about stupid things, made me want to read this even more. It's a great book and I'm looking forward to reading the next two. I learned that I'm more into fantasy than I am real life, and as this book takes place in both worlds, I'm hoping to find a book from The Klavan that's just set in fantasy.
December 16, 2021
I have mixed feelings on Another Kingdom. There were parts that I really liked - I thought the idea of the story was intriguing and the jump between LA and Galiana kept things interesting. But there were so many off-putting aspects that by the end I was left with a meh feeling. And that's a shame, because it had potential to be quite good.
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