The River Runes in Goodreads Self Published Authors

Jul 09, 2011 Kimberly Fujioka rated it it was amazing

In Ken Lindsey’s book River Runes, we enter the city of Caithiir. It is inhabited by humans but visited daily and protected through the river runes by magicians. Jonathan is the protagonist who is an apprentice to a magician. He is coming into his own. Soon he will assume the Master's place as magician of Third Chapel. However a curious newcomer makes his way into Third Chapel by the name of Bixby. He is a faerie. He is naïve and unsupervised. Trouble brews since the overwhelming force of Mother ...more

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Jul 12, 2012 Masquerade Crew rated it really liked it

MARK'S REVIEW

This book has a lot to offer: adventure, magic, characters you both love and hate, and so much more. However, in my opinion, the thing that gives it the most charm is the setting. I love stories of ancient civilizations when towns were built with an outer wall. One particular scene hinted at some of the history of the humans of this particular city, Caithiir—that was one of the better scenes in my opinion.

Where this story lacks is in the quality of the editing. Some scenes were wri ...more

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Jul 01, 2011 Alan Zendell rated it really liked it

Caithir is a human city surrounded by a hostile wilderness populated by faeries, though these faeries are not those of children's tales. We don't know how the humans got there, only that their ancestors were primitive nomads who evolved to their present state over many generations. True to the tradition of fantasy novels, the humans have a medieval technology supplemented by magic, while the faeries' power is entirely magical, albeit of a different kind. Humans and faeries are separated by mutua Caithir is a human city surrounded by a hostile wilderness populated by faeries, though these faeries are not those of children's tales. We don't know how the humans got there, only that their ancestors were primitive nomads who evolved to their present state over many generations. True to the tradition of fantasy novels, the humans have a medieval technology supplemented by magic, while the faeries' power is entirely magical, albeit of a different kind. Humans and faeries are separated by mutual fear and distrust, though the faeries' fear is fueled by an intense hatred whose origins are lost in an ancient racial memory.

In this setting, we meet the two protagonists: the young human apprentice magician, Jonathan, and the irreverent faerie, Bixby, who wishes to rebel against the apartheid that has kept the societies separate. Bixby is young only in relative terms for the immortal faeries, but his inquisitive nature makes him a fine counterpart for Jonathan's knowledge-hungry curiosity. Each has his own obstacles to struggle against, in Bixby's case a matriarchal society controlled by a form of mass hypnosis, and in Jonathan's, a boorish young noble jealous of the young woman who favors Jonathan.

"The River Runes" is a young adult novel that is to true this tradition as well - young people growing into adulthood, finding their way in a confusing world that isn't always friendly or rational. On both sides, it is about people with good intentions who are also victims of their basic natures and instincts, so in that sense, it is about all of us. The two protagonists are not afraid to pursue what they believe is right, though being imperfect, they both make mistakes which are their eventual undoing. I apologize for the mild spoiler, here, but it's essential to my take on the book.

For me, the mark of a well-conceived story is that it admits a number of varying interpretations. Thus, while another recent review of this book praised it for illuminating the evils of separatism and bigotry, I see it differently. Those elements are present, but for me it is essentially about our inability to escape who we are, no matter how hard we try. It's also a reminder, not often found in young adult fiction, that no matter how good our intentions or how hard we work to achieve them, we sometimes err and don't always get what we want, and things can often go horribly wrong. And as I got to know who these characters truly were, I questioned whether the humans and faeries might be best off remaining apart. Some differences are so great that they simply cannot be overcome. I imagine that in today's world of failed marriages and divided families, that is a lesson many young people have already learned. Despite that, even at the darkest hour, there's always a ray of hope for the future.

While I found the story an easy, pleasant read, I was a bit dismayed by the number of errors in the text. I received the book from the author at no cost, so it's possible that my copy was not the final edited version. The book would benefit from a thorough editing, which I believe is especially important when the target audience is young readers. ...more

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