Bandits of Basswood by E. P. Bellows

Like many Drakes before him, John William Drake was born to be an explorer. When he discovers a book hidden in the ceiling of his family home, his father promises they are about to embark on a grand adventure. But when his father mysteriously disappears, John William moves in with his Uncle Andrew. A year passes with no word regarding his father’s whereabouts. That all changes on John William’s twelfth birthday, when he receives an invitation to change his destiny.

In this unknown land, John William searches for his father. His quest will find him getting help from a hopper and an Empyrean, and will endanger all their lives as they fight off the Bandits of Basswood. Can they escape? What other adventures are in store for John William and his friends? Will he ever find his father?

While I am not a huge reader of fantasy novels, I love stories filled with adventure.Β Bandits of BasswoodΒ certainly has tons of that. From the moment John William embarks upon the search for his father, it is a wild ride of deciphering clues, dodging bandits, and meeting fantastic creatures along the way. It kept me turning the pages and ended where I felt appropriate.

The one challenge for me is that this book had formatting and editing issues. The paragraphs were block style instead of indented, which made for a clumsy and sometimes confusing read despite the double-space between lines. Dialogue from one character would run into the dialogue of another character. In addition, there were typos and grammar errors. As an editor, it is tough for me to simply just read a book, but it went beyond that. Missing opening or closing quotation marks around dialogue, wrong words used, and instances where in one paragraph a word specific to this story would be capitalized and then further down in another paragraph it would be lowercase.Β 

I love the idea behind this story. The characters are unique. The artwork is beautiful. Tidy up the formatting and editing, and it will be a fabulous read.

Rating: πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚Β 

  • ASIN ‏ : β€ŽΒ B08CSBF8M4
  • Publication date ‏ : β€ŽΒ July 10, 2020
  • Language ‏ : β€ŽΒ English
  • File size ‏ : β€ŽΒ 3194 KB

PURCHASE FROM AMAZON!

I received a digital copy of this book from the author through Pump Up Your Book. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.

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