Beyond Barlow

Beyond Barlow #1

by Jason R. Koivu

Ford Barlow is banished from his home and the clansmen he loves after a tragic mistake that forces him into joining a band of thieving boys. Adventure and fun abound and it seems Ford has found a perfectly fine new home until a mysterious massacre chases the boys away from their beloved woodland hideaway, through a magical and dangerous forest, and into the arms of conniving bandits. These vicious men and his inner conscience push Ford to the brink of his moral limits in Beyond Barlow.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction

Audible Audio

First published September 15, 2017

About the author

Jason R. Koivu was born and raised in New England, where bedtime stories gave him a love of books. He went on to study journalism and literature at Fitchburg State College, wrote screenplays in Los Angeles, and eventually found his niche in the fantasy genre, returning to the stories of his youth.

Koivu's writing partner

("This is Sir Ian Sir Ian. He's helping me write my latest. Thus far, he hasn't done a hell of a lot of writing and I haven't had a single turn on that pillow.")

Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/hw8zp9w

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jason_r_koivu/

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Reviews

[Jason Koivu]

2/21/2020 - Ebook version FREE on Amazon (world-wide) through the 23rd: https://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Barlow-...

11/12/19 - Just in time for the second book's release, the audio version of the first book in the Beyond Barlow fantasy adventure series has been released on Audible! https://tinyurl.com/ujajfst

4/10/18 - HUGE ol' giveaway going on right now! My publisher set up a Goodreads giveaway for 100 ebook copies of Beyond Barlow that just started today and runs until the end of the month. To date this is your best chance to get a copy without spending dime one! Get yours here: https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sh...


1/19/18 - Have Kindle Unlimited? If not, they offer a 30-day free trial (after which you have to cancel it or they charge $9.99/month). If'n you did have it, right now -for the rest of the 19th- you could get yourself a copy of Beyond Barlow, the fantasy adventure that follows a young man's trials and tribulations (oh those tribulations!!!) with a band of outlaws in a magical forest. Will he survive being pushed to his moral limits? Find out for yourself! https://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Barlow-...

In other news, I did this really fun interview with a guy who conducts them as if he were a robot speaking with the main character of your book. I heard about it and was intrigued enough to want to give it a go. I think the result was pretty good. Take a look: https://coldhandboyack.wordpress.com/...


12/1/17 - While there haven't been many reviews here on Goodreads so far, there have been a few posted online, which is great...especially since they're positive!

Great debut novel, I look forward to reading the rest of the series... - Jessica A. Scott of Indie Eden Book Club

Once the action got going, it pulled me in and didn’t let go. The story was so full of twists and turns that I had trouble putting it down. - Jasmin, Amazon user

A really fun read. It felt a lot like Pillars of the Earth... - Jeffrey, Amazon user


11/7/17 - Kind of exciting news: Beyond Barlow is being read for a book club! They specifically read new releases from new authors, which is awfully nice of them. I believe this is the first time one of my books has been chosen for such an honor, so that's a neat "first" to check off the list!


9/26/17 - This is a new experience for me, having a publisher who holds the reins to my book. Not having control of or even knowing when things are happening has been difficult to get used to. For instance, I had no idea when Beyond Barlow's ebook version was coming out. Well, without word or warning, I discovered today on my own that it is now available. Guess I shouldn't complain, because this is a good thing! So, Kindle users, get your copy here! --> https://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Barlow-...


9/9/17 - Originally I was told that my book was releasing on Sept 14th and that people who pre-ordered it would receive it around that date, give or take a day. But now I discover that pre-orders are already arriving! That's fine by me. I don't know or care what the reasons are for this. I just thought I'd pass on that if you do order the book, apparently you'll get it sooner than expected. Hoooray! Order it through the publisher and get a discount: http://www.blackrosewriting.com/sci-f...


8/29/17 - It's hotter than holy hell here in California's Central Valley. Seems like a good day to stay inside and get some book work done. On Friday I received my author's copies of Beyond Barlow, which was quite exciting! When you work on something for this long and it's finally finished, the feeling is...hard to describe. I'd would liken it to giving birth (and it sure was painful at times) but I don't want to bring down the wrath of moms. Anyhow, now it's time to send out the advanced reader copies!

[Dan Schwent · Rating 4 out of 5]

After an unfortunate accident, young Ford Barlow goes on the lam and joins a group of young bandits, the Wayward Boys. Will Ford ever leave his new life behind and go home to Barlow to meet his fate?

I have to say I didn't go in it without a bias. J-to-the-K and I are so tight we're partners in a fictional detective agency ("Book Bros Unite!"). The year was 2016 when Jason Koivu first told me about this book at the Goodreads Summit. The mighty Bill Kerwin was also there. "Huckberry Finn meets Lord of the Rings" was how he described it. He eventually sent me a copy and then I lost it during a remodel. I unearthed it last week and here we are.

The prose was denser than I expected, possibly because it's been a LONG time since I read any straight up fantasy. I got used to it, though, and was soon drawn into Ford's plight. Stuck with an angry stepmother, Ford returns from his first battle only to find tragedy has struck. Then tragedy strikes a second time and Ford's off in the wind. People who follow Jason on social media will be happy to know the Koivu wit is present, although not so much that it detracts from the more serious moments.

The Wayward Boys reminded me of Peter Pan's Lost Boys with some Lord of the Flies thrown in. It's all fun and games, robbing people and sleeping rough, until it isn't. Big Jay said it was a prequel to the tale he really wanted to write and I'm guessing Ford will factor heavily into that one. This story is part fantasy, part coming-of-age tale.

That's about all I have to say. Beyond Barlow shows that good fantasy doesn't have to be all dragons, elves, and doorstop-sized volumes that don't go anywhere. Four out of five stars.

[Bill Kerwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jason Koivu’s Beyond Barlow is the story of a journey, crowded with action and incident. It is the adventure of Ford Barlow, a boy come to manhood, a “woodcutter’s giant of a boy,” but although the book has much in common with boy’s adventure tales like Treasure Island and Kidnapped, the suddenness—and occasional viciousness—of its violence set it apart as a story for adults. Still, the forest through which Ford travels is not a Lord of the Flies landscape of naturalistic horror, but rather a real forest, with lessons to teach, a bounty to give, and mysteries to explore.

Ford, barred from home due to an unfortunate accident, soon meets up with The Wayward Boys, boy thieves each distinguished by a notable characteristic: Kellyn the leader, Duff the strong one (“a barrel-shaped ghoul of a boy”), Chandler the smart one, Jakes (born farmer and lover of animals), Cook the cook, Runt the runt, etc. The gang experiences both successes and hardships (more hardships in the winter), and Ford becomes part of the Wayward Boys. Eventually, after many adventures, they encounter a vicious band of career criminals, and find that their way of life—indeed, life itself—is in danger.

There are many things to like about this book, but my favorites are Koivu’s use of genre and the forest his imagination creates.

Koivu uses genres as the best writers do, as colors in his writer’s palette, as tools for producing an effect. The reader knows he is in a land of fantasy because the magistrates of the villages possess strange made-up names and the forest contains a few creatures, both reptile and mammal, which seem foreign to our world. The ghastly and the ghostly are also part of the story, particularly later on, but these gothic touches are merely devices for intensifying the alien impression left on the boys by the most remote parts of the forest. Koivu—as it should be—feels no compulsion to explain his ghosts--or explain them away, for that matter—but instead lets them remain a part of the forest’s abiding mystery.

It is the forest itself that is my favorite part of Beyond Barlow. The Wayward Boys are most likable, not in their thieving or scheming, but in their explorations of the forest, the games they play within it, and the challenges it forces them to face. Jason Koivu, in a brief biography on the back of the book, tells us that he spent his early years in New England “swimming, fishing, and frolicking in the forest.” I for one am not surprised. His forest doesn’t seem at all like a writer’s atmospheric or symbolic creation. No, this is an honest-to-god forest, a true, breathing enveloping forest, one that convinces the reader it will exist long after The Wayward Boys are gone.

[Michael Fierce · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was provided a paperback edition by the author for review. My review is completely my own and not altered by any association.

Well this is a tough one to review. I disliked all the characters especially the main one, Ford - so many times I was just hoping he would act or react differently than he did. My favorite character by far was Stinky the dog at the beginning of the story. While I strongly believe the story would have been a far better tale if it were to have been centered around Ford and Stinky, and though I strongly disliked particularly mean sequences I felt were taken too far, and though there was no true plot from beginning to end really, I admit I was compelled to read this just about as fast as I possibly could to get to the end and see if Ford ever developed any true remorse or redeeming qualities. That need to know + Jason's very strong writing skills especially for a debut makes him a writer to watch and though I will probably finish this series out I am even more excited to see him write about a more naturally heroic character I can get more into. *Especially since Jason belongs to the Sword & Sorcery group not the Grimdark group! ⚔️😅⚔️

Thanks, swordbrother!

[S.E. Lindberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book blurb attracted me to Jason R. Koivu's Beyond Barlow since I am a fan of Heraclix & Pomp. Turns out his summary is spot on.

"Somewhere between Huck Finn and Locke Lamora" -- Forrest Aguirre, author of Heraclix and Pomp

Beyond Barlow is Intellectual Grimdark: Readers typically differentiate stereotypical High Fantasy (elves, dwarves, wizards with pointy hats with a slant toward happy adventuring) vs Low Fantasy (more "realism" & "earthier" milieu, with a focus on humans defending trenches at the battlefront or crawling through crypts to save a maiden or rob a god). The latter encompasses sub-genres like Sword & Sorcery and the contemporary-named Grimdark.

Beyond Barlow has no explicit sorcery, and lies somewhere between medieval fiction and today's Grimdark. Yet it feels different, and this difference can be a plus or a detraction for readers. It all boils down to the conflict. Most adventures of Dark Fantasy tap into simple conflicts of Hero(ine) protagonists vs evil villains/creatures. Beyond Barlow works the more obtuse Hero vs. Self (or arguable Hero vs. Nature) conflict; this development can be slower to develop and more obtuse than the former.

The book follows Ford Barlow who is an impulsive, violent teenager who struggles to fit in with his family in a comfortable way. The story tracks his coming of age as he learns to kill in battle; he causes several brutal accidents leading to his departure from Barlow (his family's hamlet). He joins the Wayward Boys, and his teambuilding with the gang has all the hallmarks of Golding's Lord of the Flies.

Themes of "family matters" persist across every chapter; i.e., what does it means to belong to one? What is your role as a member? The opening chapter, for instance, has Ford going to battle with his dad, step-brother, and dog Stinky. At first, I thought this was a foundation for a Ford-vs-other-clan narrative, but subsequent chapters amplified Ford's feelings of mis-belonging.

Ford is continually haunted by visions of his father, a woodcutter. The following chapters focus on his bonding with a band of thieves. Plenty of drama unfolds as the wanderlust boys survive by thieving food, braving cold winters, and looting crypts. The characters Runt and Ham echo Ford's relationship with his step-brother Leo; they were my favorite of the bunch.

Its uniqueness may also make this less accessible. Ford isn't really honorable (though he does mature a bit)... the situations he experiences are very grim, and without a clear villain, it leans toward intellectual fiction. The series continues with the sequel The Rue of Hope, which interestingly calls out magic. So we can speculate that the tone shifts towards dark Sword & Sorcery in the next installment.

Blurb for The Rue of Hope:

Murder in the streets. Murder in the houses of the holy. The violent deaths of prominent figures have the populous on edge. Now, amid fire and flood, the revolt is on. The castle is taken, the lord is on the run, and the city is crumbling. With society on the verge of collapse, impulsive street-fighter Ford Barlow finds himself in just as much turmoil. Not only is he juggling his own problems, but his slippery rogue friend is embroiled in a string of high-profile assassinations. Mercenary work for a mage meant to distance him from his troubles only highlights his selfish ways and drives him back into a crumbling world of scandal and betrayal. Magic, adventure and murder combine in this fantasy-mystery!

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Writing a review for this book is difficult. I was given a review copy so I want to praise the work and lift it up, but the story just didn't work for me. A main character I didn't particularly like coupled with his bad decisions made reading this slow going.

It boasts an awesome cover though. Dark, brooding, and mysterious; very simple with little detail. Not sure who the artist is.

From the start you are dropped right in the middle of an armed conflict between different factions. Ford Barlow and his brother Leo are green and they both experience this conflict with open fear and open eyes.

Ford is at that awkward stage between man and child; his growing strength and bitter anger outweigh his judgment. Quite a bit of his bitterness stems from a stepmother who barely tolerates his presence. This relationship is very reminiscent of Jon Snow and Catelyn Stark of GOT; with a completely different and unexpected conclusion.

Ford's time away from Barlow reminds me quite a bit of Peter Pan. Ford stumbles across a tribe of boys living deep in the woods, surviving by thefts from the surrounding villages these children eke out a meager existence. Relying on each other's strengths to survive.

Magic is mentioned and strange creatures are sometimes seen and spoken of in hushed tones. There is also a scene of a supernatural tragedy and the pursuit thereafter, but magic doesn't play a major role in this story.

My conclusion:

The writing is fine with minimal typos for a first novel. The pace was slow and meandering. This seems to be more of a character study than an adventure. While Ford is relatable, I didn't find him too likable. I certainly didn't like his choices, and the characters introduced at the end of the story I liked even less. I will certainly read Rue of Hope, the second book in the series, but I am in no rush.

[C.A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked Jason R. Koivu's Beyond Barlow. His writing reminds me of G.R.R. Martin's. I would have given this book 5 stars but i felt it could have been cut by 20% to strengthen the storytelling.

The story of a young man on the run. He falls in with a gang of genuine cut-throats, and loses himself for a while. I was not too happy about his decision at the end of the book, (i won't spoil it for you,) but i feel that after all he's been through, the boy has become a man. Whatever he decides to do next will certainly be a surprise.

[Whitney]

Oliver Twist, but more violent with more cursing. Woods, villages, swamp, cave, unpleasant seaside town. My favorite characters all get killed.

[Derek]

Koivu flips the script and occasionally the table on the usual picaresque / bildungsroman. The adventures of Ford and the Wayward Boys is more on the The Lord of the Flies end of Youth Adventure than on the Robert Louis Stevenson end. Not that it is Youth Adventure at all.

The sharp insight here is that capital-a Adventurers aren't the well-adjusted ones from good homes and plenty of prospects. They're the outcasts with issues. And "adventures", broadly spoken, involves hunger and want. Idyllic freedom is glorious but collapses in an instant, and the road that Ford and the Wayward Boys travel is toward outright thuggery and a vicious calculus.

This is a book where Goodread's scale of "did not like" to "it was amazing" does the book a disservice: one can greatly appreciate watching this disaster unfold as the Boys get drawn into one hardscrabble 'adventure' after another and seeing how the web of allegiances and dependencies plays out. Its climactic ending made me physically tense and have to set it aside multiple times. This is a book with hard-to-look-at depths.

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed reading the story about Ford. Exciting. Recommended.

[Sadie Forsythe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Technically, I didn’t agree to review this book. I accepted The Rue of Hope and Koivu was kind enough to send Beyond Barlow along too, so that I could start the series at the beginning. I mention this because I’m pretty much done with Young Adult novels, avoiding the genre when I can. While Beyond Barlow is about a young adult, I wouldn’t necessarily call it a YA book. Despite that, I didn’t go into it excited to read about a 15ish-year-old boy. But I wanted to start at the beginning.

The book is well enough written and it’s not a bad book. However, I took a long time to read it because I kept avoiding it. It’s just unremitting mishap and misery from start to finish, and you feel very early that that is going to be the case. I found nothing in the story to enjoy or look forward to.

While Ford isn’t a bad guy, he’s not all that bright and despite often trying to do the right thing, I found him a little sociopathic at times. He wasn’t a character I could relate to. Similarly, all the side characters are grey at best, most villainous and with a tendency to suddenly disappear or die. Add to this the fact that all the events of the book are sad or anger-inducing or simply unpleasant and the reader is left with nothing to look forward to. One unsavory character said on page 239, “A man needs a bit of fun, and all we’ve had is shit and misery.” And that’s exactly how I felt about reading this book.

Again, it’s not badly written. It’s not a bad book. Some people enjoy such things. I’m just not one of them. All in all, I didn’t hate it so much that I won’t read the next book. But I didn’t enjoy it enough to look forward to it either. Especially since with a title like The Rue of Hope, I can’t really expect any more lightheartedness out of it either.

[Rani · Rating 2 out of 5]

Won in a goodreads giveaway. I started out enjoying this one and then just kept wondering where it was going. It didn't seem to have a steady direction and then when it did, it wasn't a twist I enjoyed. It was a well written book and a fun adventure style read. Just not for me.