Pilgrimage

by Carl Purcell

Six months of living in a rundown, cheap motel room has done nothing but sink Roland, a bitter middle aged alcoholic, further into the abyss of despair. His short-tempered cynical ways make his other equally vile bad habits look like a walk in the park by comparison, but a chance run in with a sorcerer on the night he’s to have his last drink is about to turn his lackluster life on its head. The only problem is; old habits die hard.

Griffith, a young apprentice sorcerer, is on a mission: Travel across the Australian countryside to get to Salem. With the troubled Roland by his side, Griffith soon discovers that Roland’s penchant for self-destruction is only the beginning of the battles they’ll face. Their problems go from bad to worse when a bloodthirsty figure from Griffith’s past tracks them down.

In order to reach Salem, both men will have to contend with ghosts from their pasts or risk losing their lives.

271 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 1, 2014

About the author

Carl Purcell is an Australian, Sydney based author. He has written two contemporary fantasy novels and is the co-writer of the popular Australian comic series Winter City, which began in 2012 and met with critical acclaim. His work has also been featured in the Australian speculative fiction magazine Aurealis.

More about Carl, his work and his endlessly rambling thoughts can be found on his blog, his twitter, or on Facebook.

Reviews

[Alyce Caswell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Purcell immediately triumphs in sinking the reader into noir aesthetics and Roland's voice is strong and his journey to redemption a believable one. There's a lot of potential here but it felt like the author was swerving away from some of the more interesting aspects of the story in order to remain focused on Griffith and Roland. All in all, a diverting and promising work but the author still has a little way to go before she gives us a more polished piece. I especially loved reading about familiar Australian settings. :)

[Ben Carpentier · Rating 4 out of 5]

First things first, for some reason there is a 1 star rating given to this book. The date of the rating is before the book was released, so I would take that rating with a grain of salt.

This is the second of Carl Purcell's published books. Though many expected a sequel from his first book, this story is unconnected from Sorceress' Blood, though it may be in the same universe. Pilgrimage is again a modern day fantasy novel, involving underground magic in the modern world.

But that is pretty much where comparisons between them end. Rather than jetsetting around the world, Pilgrimage takes place in about a 200km stretch of regional Australia. The protagonists are male. There are no children involved: the story is much more adult too. Where Sorceress' Blood was a short book full of action, Pilgrimage takes its time, much like a long walk through slow country towns. Although it still has action scenes (and they are still the strength of the author's writing talent), the book aims to develop a richer plot, deeper backgrounds, and an overall more mature feel. It deals with issues of loss and grief, beliefs and conviction, innocence, ignorance and courage. It's not about twists and surprises, it's about developing and telling stories about people. What exactly it has to say about these things is a little more difficult to pin down. I feel if the book had claimed a piece of moral ground more strongly, it would have felt like it really had something to say, not just a story to tell.

The story's maturity is both a blessing and a curse. Where Sorceress' Blood had the feel of a pithy, pulpy action story and hit its mark, Pilgrimage reaches for greater things. The story it wants to tell is its strength. Purcell clearly has a penchant for stories, and this is a good one. It has movement, it has growth, it has change. The foundational story pillars that hold up this book are sturdy.

Unfortunately, while improved from his first book, the writing in some places does not reach high enough to build atop those pillars. The book's use of language is its biggest obstacle in reaching the lofty height of quality the story establishes. I don't mean to punish the book or the author for setting high goals. This book is worth more than what I paid for it. But it could have been worth as much as any New York Times bestseller. With the quality of the story it contains, if the language used in Pilgrimage were cleaner and equal to the story, and if the moral had been better claimed and pursued, it could be a piece of high literature.

[Tay LaRoi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pilgrimage is a mature, thoughtful and surprisingly funny magical journey through the Australian Outback that brings something new to the Contemporary Fantasy genre.

Roland has been living in a rundown motel for the past six months, spending his time drinking away painful memories and getting into bar fights. Griffith is on his way to Salem to find a powerful sorcerer and happens to get held up in the very bar Roland is drinking in. With Roland’s help, Griffith thinks he can safely make it to Salem and help Roland in the process, but tolerating each other becomes the least of their worries once they start making magical enemies.

Pilgrimage is a rare book. I’ve only ever read one other similar to it (see my review of Rairty from the Hollow). It’s not very often you see contemporary fantasy clearly written for adults tackle themes such as guilt, innocence and the loss there of, and conviction. If they do, such themes are set on the back burner to give grit and action the spot light. Not that there’s anything wrong with that formula, it’s was just interesting see someone present such themes front-and-center in a fantasy novel. Such heavy emphasis on the themes of a story is usually reserved for realistic fiction.

In addition, the characters are brilliantly complex and complement each other perfectly. One’s strengths pick up where the other’s weaknesses leave off and they both have very fleshed out, three-dimensional strengths and weaknesses. It would have easy to make Griffith always right and make his non-violent philosophy triumph in the end, but it doesn’t. Neither does Roland’s approach of punching his way out of every situation. The two have to learn to balance their approaches and see that there is a time and place for both, making their personal conflicts very believable, despite the fantastic circumstances, and mature.

Despite its somber tone, “Pilgrimage” still had me laughing quite a bit. Some of the dialogue between Roland and Griffith can be funny, but most of the humor came from Lord Pentdragon, the first antagonist we see. It’s hilarious to watch how seriously this man takes himself and how seriously other people take him when, in reality, he’s a bit of a joke. His scenes were some of my favorite simply because of how over-the-top and ridiculous he was.

The only fault I could see with “Pilgrimage” was the writing. It wasn’t bad, per se, it was just weak. Since “Pilgrimage” had such a great story, great characters, and well-developed themes, I felt like it deserved better writing. There were also a handful of typos. While they didn’t make passages impossible to read, they were certainly distracting.

Over all, if you’re looking for a good fantasy adventure, but you’ve grown weary of teenagers and Chosen Ones, “Pilgrimage” is a good read, regardless of its writing. I just hope Purcell finds the time to go back and clean up those typos.

As posted on http://tabbyafae.com/pilgrimage-by-ca... on June 26 2016

[Pat · Rating 3 out of 5]

From the premise, I expected more of this book. I did enjoy the rural Australian setting, a part of the world I know little about. The characters were OK, but the one that aroused my interest the most didn't appear until near the end of the book. Mr. Purcell's writing style was adequate but did not sweep me into his world. I was quite impressed with the nature of the most evil villain, but didn't understand how he came to be that way (motivation?). All in all, the book has promise but could have been better.

I received a complimentary copy of this book in order to review it.

[Stacey Purcell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pilgrimage is the second novel by authour Carl Purcell. It's a modern fantasy piece and a story about the friendship between two characters on a journey across rural New South Wales.

Pilgrimage is an exciting read, I couldn't put it down from the moment that I picked it up. It has characters that are deeply flawed... but this makes them interesting.

I think if one likes contemporary fantasy books, you'll like this novel.