Wergild

by J.L. Hickey

Adrian is a small framed scholarly teen, born and raised in a world where warriors and brute strength define one's worth. Living under the large shadow of his father, Pherick, the village's beloved guildsmen and head trainer, Adrian finds himself labeled as an outcast from society, finding solace and the only thing he's good at, writing.

The Novella tackles some heavy topics such as, religion, reality within the theory of simulacra, that steadily delves deeply into a meta-fictional narrative that honors the relationship between gods, authors, and their fictional creations.

For those not caught up on the multiple layers one can pull from the narrative, the story arc itself is filled with adversity! A lovable and flawed protagonist must unravel the conniving plot of a fast talking and forked tongue Uncle, who looks to be plotting some sort of plan to tear apart his family.

44 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 10, 2013

About the author

Joe lives in Saginaw, Michigan where he has a Bachelor's Degree in Creative Writing through Saginaw Valley State University. Joe has written and is currently self publishing his first novel entitled The Deity Chronicles: Origins.

His recent release, The Secret Seekers Society and the Beast of Bladenboro was released 12/31/12 and had already been a huge success (at least in his eyes lol).

He also dabbles in literary short fiction, and poetry.

Reviews

[Caryn Watson Watz Books and Teasers · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a short story but the ideas behind are awesome and the way the storyline flowed was pretty good to. If you were to make this book longer im not sure it would have worked as well he fitted everything in and it ran smoothly from beginning to end. It's not something I have ever read before but so glad I have had a chance to read it now and it has left me thinking on a few different things that i would never have thought of before.

[Fiona Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definition of Wergild -
Weregild (also spelled wergild, wergeld, weregeld, etc.) was a value placed on every human being and every piece of property in the Salic Code (Salic Law). If property was stolen, or someone was injured or killed, the guilty person would have to pay weregild as restitution to the victim's family or to the owner of the property.

This short story can be read on 2 different levels. The first is as a good short story.

As a short story the author manages to draw the reader in very quickly. His descriptive work is amazing. You can almost imagine exactly what the author saw when he was writing this.

The story itself has several different elements to it, involving death, revenge, honor, betrayal, and a tiny bit of love too. It also has elements of creativity in that the main character is also writing a story.

Adrian, the main character, has never been interested in taking after his father, a warrior. Instead he takes after his deceased mother, inheriting her love of the arts and writing. He has spent years writing a story which, as we find out at the end, is destined to be something far more than just a story. Or is it?

The story Adrian is writing brings forward the second level. This 'story within the story' brings forth far deeper elements to the reader.

The main theme is that of religion. This is something I don't know a lot about, if I'm honest. But I believe it opens up the possibilities of discussion on religion, and would be a good addition to local book clubs or to those readers who enjoy books which make them think about how we came to be.

This is yet another example of the skill of the author. It is on a totally different spectrum to that of the book I previously read of his, The Secret Seekers Society and the Beast of Bladenboro, which I also loved. The fact that he can write such totally different stories shows what a talented person he is. I look forward to reading future stories from this author.

This is a story which will make you think, make you question your beliefs, and by the end has you willing Adrian to do the right thing, regardless of what he has been told in the past. Can he do that? Read the story to find out.

[Richard Knight · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wergild starts off very well, with interesting characters and good dialogue, but I found the ending didn't fit the attitude of the protagonist at all, even after going through some trying circumstances. The story concerns a young artist who is pushed into a terrible ordeal due to his wretched uncle, who is my favorite character since he's such a scoundrel. A lot of the story, which is much more of a short story than a novella, concerns the time period itself and the concept of what the gods, or the creator, have to do with the daily lives of mankind. This theme is played out in a story within the story written by the protagonist, who has the potential to change the world some day with his words.

That said, there is a bit too much philosophy going on in this story, which slows down the otherwise pretty good pacing. I would have liked if that aspect--the questioning of theology and the troubling times of the story--had been put on the back burner, and the compelling narrative itself had taken center stage, but oh, well. I will say that I did enjoy the overall story arc and the growth of the protagonist (Even if it's not entirely consistent), so this story definitely has that going for it. The author is very talented and knows his stuff around crafting a story, so I will definitely read more of his work someday. He is quite skilled.

[Justine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book free from the author in exchange for an honest review. Wow! This novella was deep. It brought up a lot of good questions and possible answers to those questions. This book really gets the readers thinking caps on and gears grinding. All of the "deepness" was cleverly disguised behind a short story, that will definitely pull at heart strings. At the same time I wanted to yell at the characters because I could start to predict what was going to happen and I didn't like the foreseeable future.
Another great read by the master J.L. Hickey. I would recommend this novella to book clubs, because I feel like there is a lot to learn and discuss from this story. Also I would recommend this to any readers who like to read stories with "deep" messages and hard to answer questions.

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second book that I have read that was written by J.L. Hickey and it will not be the last!

Once in a while you run across a book that really makes you think; the author is trying to say something about the importance of life and family, not just something to help you escape for an hour or two.

I read this twice and the second time was even more meaningful. Protecting family, knowing who to trust; even if someone close to you has power and accomplishment someone or something will use that against them or you. This could change the path of your own future and the lives of everyone around you by one stroke of a pen or a knife. Everything can change, nothing is written in stone, only paper.

[Debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

A novella packed with big and deep messages! It may be read easily in one sitting but the meaning and messages will stick with you! It makes you think!