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Neiko Adventure Saga #1
Neiko's Five Land Adventure
Winner of the 2012 Indie Reader Approved AwardNominated as "A Great Book for Kids" by fantasy and science fiction reviewer CC ColeWhat if the fate of two worlds were in the hands of one you?The childhood secret of a troubled teen warrior is used against her by her enemies. It turns out what Neiko imagined is real, and she becomes trapped in the same world she imagined by an otherworldly evil that is worse than the devil. Getting home is the least of her problems.The Indians and the Crackedskulls are locked in the turmoil of a war that has raged for centuries, and it is presently in a stalemate. Her enemies, Raven and Bloodhawk, have come up with a scheme to take her down, but in doing so they inadvertently open the door to another universe and to an otherworldly evil. Neiko later finds out that a land she thought she had only imagined is actually real and the dark being is not a figment of her childhood imagination-he is terrifyingly real and she faces him for the first time. To make matters worse, it is now in her world and he has evil plans especially for her. After several standoffs with the malevolent Ramses the Dark Pharaoh in Hawote, she is trapped in Qari by his strange and powerful magic. Trapped in another universe in a place that is not exactly the way she imagined it, and she must somehow find a way to teleport home. That is easier said than done; the odds are overwhelmingly against her and her scorpion-cobra companion as they must travel to find the answer and help but at the same time avoid Ramses' allies, traps, and tricks. Can she come back home and turn the tables on her enemies?Best for tweens and teens 12-17 and the young at heart adult!If you love the hidden worlds and magic of Percy Jackson and Harry Potter, travel to other worlds like Warriors of Virtue and The Neverending Story, and a strong female protagonist with a bow like the Hunger Games, and the comic relief of the Big Bang Theory, you will love Neiko's Five Land Adventure!
- GenresFantasy
405 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 19, 2009
7 people are currently reading
983 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
June 12, 2017
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May 10, 2022
Excellent book!!!!
June 6, 2012
When you read “Neiko’s Five Land Adventure” by A.K. Taylor, you will read a charming and fun story that takes you back to your childhood. At least you will if you are like me and developed different backstories for your toys while growing up. It seems like Taylor did this as well as she grew up in Georgia, and her imagination really comes through and becomes the greatest strength in the book, covering up the various flaws in storytelling.
This book introduces us to Amanda Hawk, who goes by the name of Captain Neiko Kidd when she is not in high school. She is one of the top-ranking officers of an organization called the Desert Storm Falcons, and their arch-enemy is a group called the CrackedSkulls. The son of their leader, Bloodhawk, wants to kidnap Neiko and make her his wife, and throughout the story, they go to great lengths to take Neiko away from her group and her family. Right from the beginning, you can see that Taylor has a very well-developed world going on inside her head, and she has woven her mythology with both Indian and Egyptian culture in a very effective fashion.
There are some fundamental flaws to the novel that bog down the experience, the main one being Taylor’s tendency to tell more than show. Several passages serve as locations to fill us in with so much information that it stops the pacing in its tracks, including the first few pages of the book. It happens to a point where it feels that the characters are led around because the story demands it rather than the characters discovering the story as they go along. However, since I knew that Taylor started the writing of this book when she was 16, it added to its overall charm since it reads like a young girl telling this story to her friends and coming up with more and more details as she goes along. The artwork in the book is also fantastic, giving an anime style that blended well with the storytelling.
If I would ask Taylor to change anything, it would be the age of Amanda / Neiko. I know that, as a 35-year-old man, I still have toys at my desk that I occasionally pick up and play with while I’m writing, but a senior in high school sitting on her floor and playing with her action figures is difficult to accept. Especially if nobody else in the book is making an issue of her playing with toys at that age.
Despite the age issue and the story losing some steam in the second half, overall I found “Neiko’s Five Land Adventure” to be a very imaginative and fun read for teenagers. I’m looking forward to seeing more of this world unfold in future books, and I hope that Taylor allows her characters to take center stage and let them and the reader discover the next story.
This book introduces us to Amanda Hawk, who goes by the name of Captain Neiko Kidd when she is not in high school. She is one of the top-ranking officers of an organization called the Desert Storm Falcons, and their arch-enemy is a group called the CrackedSkulls. The son of their leader, Bloodhawk, wants to kidnap Neiko and make her his wife, and throughout the story, they go to great lengths to take Neiko away from her group and her family. Right from the beginning, you can see that Taylor has a very well-developed world going on inside her head, and she has woven her mythology with both Indian and Egyptian culture in a very effective fashion.
There are some fundamental flaws to the novel that bog down the experience, the main one being Taylor’s tendency to tell more than show. Several passages serve as locations to fill us in with so much information that it stops the pacing in its tracks, including the first few pages of the book. It happens to a point where it feels that the characters are led around because the story demands it rather than the characters discovering the story as they go along. However, since I knew that Taylor started the writing of this book when she was 16, it added to its overall charm since it reads like a young girl telling this story to her friends and coming up with more and more details as she goes along. The artwork in the book is also fantastic, giving an anime style that blended well with the storytelling.
If I would ask Taylor to change anything, it would be the age of Amanda / Neiko. I know that, as a 35-year-old man, I still have toys at my desk that I occasionally pick up and play with while I’m writing, but a senior in high school sitting on her floor and playing with her action figures is difficult to accept. Especially if nobody else in the book is making an issue of her playing with toys at that age.
Despite the age issue and the story losing some steam in the second half, overall I found “Neiko’s Five Land Adventure” to be a very imaginative and fun read for teenagers. I’m looking forward to seeing more of this world unfold in future books, and I hope that Taylor allows her characters to take center stage and let them and the reader discover the next story.
October 4, 2011
Neiko’s Five Land Adventure is an interesting fantasy about strength, courage and the will to always fight for what you believe in.
Amanda Katherine Hawk is no ordinary teenager. In fact, there is nothing ordinary about her at all. She lives a double life that no one suspects. To her friends at school and even to her parents, she is just a high school senior ready to get out and go to college, playing in the band, hanging out with friends and going to church. However, the other life she leads is in no way that simple.
She is Captain Neiko Kidd, the commanding officer of the Desert Storm Falcons, an organization of woodland warriors. She is friends with most of the other Indian tribes who were on the same side. There biggest enemy was with the Crackedskulls, a band of bloodthirsty savages ruled by Raven and his son, Bloodhawk, who are half bird. What makes things worse is Bloodhawk’s obsession to have Neiko as his wife. Many attempts had been made to capture her, but each one failed. Neiko is a target that is hard to defeat.
Becoming more powerful within the Desert Storm Falcons, being promoted to Admiral, Neiko was becoming almost invincible. But Raven finds a mole in the tight knit group who would gladly betray her so Raven and Bloodhawk could defeat the seven tribes and rule everything.
But to find Neiko’s weakness was going to be tough, but then it was remembered that Neiko still liked to play with toys—plastic toy Egyptian pharaohs, to be more precise. She had created her own world with her toy soldiers. Being well versed in dark magic, Raven put a spell on Neiko’s favorite toy, Ramses. But just like all magic, it can backfire. It does when several of Neiko’s toys grow and become real, kidnapping her and taking her into her own imaginary world with their own take over agenda. What will happen to Neiko during her travels in finding salvation?
This story has many different twists and turns that will capture the reader’s attention. Children who love reading fantasy will love the adventure and the world A.K. Taylor creates using powerful Egyptian Pharoahs, half bird creatures, and battles. What is most interesting is how she created a world for an ordinary teenager with Indian background to fight in, learn from, and come into her own.
Amanda Katherine Hawk is no ordinary teenager. In fact, there is nothing ordinary about her at all. She lives a double life that no one suspects. To her friends at school and even to her parents, she is just a high school senior ready to get out and go to college, playing in the band, hanging out with friends and going to church. However, the other life she leads is in no way that simple.
She is Captain Neiko Kidd, the commanding officer of the Desert Storm Falcons, an organization of woodland warriors. She is friends with most of the other Indian tribes who were on the same side. There biggest enemy was with the Crackedskulls, a band of bloodthirsty savages ruled by Raven and his son, Bloodhawk, who are half bird. What makes things worse is Bloodhawk’s obsession to have Neiko as his wife. Many attempts had been made to capture her, but each one failed. Neiko is a target that is hard to defeat.
Becoming more powerful within the Desert Storm Falcons, being promoted to Admiral, Neiko was becoming almost invincible. But Raven finds a mole in the tight knit group who would gladly betray her so Raven and Bloodhawk could defeat the seven tribes and rule everything.
But to find Neiko’s weakness was going to be tough, but then it was remembered that Neiko still liked to play with toys—plastic toy Egyptian pharaohs, to be more precise. She had created her own world with her toy soldiers. Being well versed in dark magic, Raven put a spell on Neiko’s favorite toy, Ramses. But just like all magic, it can backfire. It does when several of Neiko’s toys grow and become real, kidnapping her and taking her into her own imaginary world with their own take over agenda. What will happen to Neiko during her travels in finding salvation?
This story has many different twists and turns that will capture the reader’s attention. Children who love reading fantasy will love the adventure and the world A.K. Taylor creates using powerful Egyptian Pharoahs, half bird creatures, and battles. What is most interesting is how she created a world for an ordinary teenager with Indian background to fight in, learn from, and come into her own.
October 26, 2011
This is a great middle school or read to me book with tons of adventure and lots of characters to associate with. I loved the story line and I think for the most part the author handled the different worlds that Neiko was a part of pretty well. I did find myself lost a few times but the fact that the author used different names for the two worlds helped a lot.
However, that also led to some confusion trying to keep the characters identified. For a middle school book, there seemed to be a lot of ‘main’ characters and it was hard sometimes to keep them straight.
I loved the pictures and the illustrator should get extra kudos for the portrayal of the author’s vision. I read the descriptions of the characters and saw the pictures were so exact they almost leapt out of the pages. Great job.
My recommendation on this book would be to cut down a bit on the host of main characters. If I, as an adult, got confused, I can’t imagine how a 12 or 15 year old would be able to keep track of who was whom. I did love the story line and once I stopped trying to memorize the names of those not specifically interacting with Neiko I got along better with the cast.
The story line was easy to follow, however and the adventure definitely worth the read. I look forward to reading other books by this author and in this series.
http://www.papermustang.com/2011/10/n...
However, that also led to some confusion trying to keep the characters identified. For a middle school book, there seemed to be a lot of ‘main’ characters and it was hard sometimes to keep them straight.
I loved the pictures and the illustrator should get extra kudos for the portrayal of the author’s vision. I read the descriptions of the characters and saw the pictures were so exact they almost leapt out of the pages. Great job.
My recommendation on this book would be to cut down a bit on the host of main characters. If I, as an adult, got confused, I can’t imagine how a 12 or 15 year old would be able to keep track of who was whom. I did love the story line and once I stopped trying to memorize the names of those not specifically interacting with Neiko I got along better with the cast.
The story line was easy to follow, however and the adventure definitely worth the read. I look forward to reading other books by this author and in this series.
http://www.papermustang.com/2011/10/n...
May 29, 2011
Neiko's Five Land Adventure by A. K. Taylor
Are you into fantasy?
Then this book is a must for you! Amanda, a shy young teenage girl, is living her secret life as Neiko in Hawote, a hidden dangerous world. Neiko is responsible to protect Hawote and as a warrior she goes through risky fights and is confronted with various enemies until she learns ...
I will not give more details!
A.K. Taylor did something extraordinary with writing this story: Neiko's Five Land Adventure is a book which can encourage teenage girls to take their lives in their hands. This book can help them to try things which they usually wouldn't dare to think about. Neiko is a model of courage and power and she can easily be a model for all shy young teenage girls.
Accurate and precise descriptions of the main characters, the different lands, the landscapes, the tribes etc. and lively dialogues make it to a pleasure to follow the author through the story. In addition the book is provided with beautiful black and white illustrations; the reader is missing nothing.
This book has the power to transport you to another world!
Are you into fantasy?
Then this book is a must for you! Amanda, a shy young teenage girl, is living her secret life as Neiko in Hawote, a hidden dangerous world. Neiko is responsible to protect Hawote and as a warrior she goes through risky fights and is confronted with various enemies until she learns ...
I will not give more details!
A.K. Taylor did something extraordinary with writing this story: Neiko's Five Land Adventure is a book which can encourage teenage girls to take their lives in their hands. This book can help them to try things which they usually wouldn't dare to think about. Neiko is a model of courage and power and she can easily be a model for all shy young teenage girls.
Accurate and precise descriptions of the main characters, the different lands, the landscapes, the tribes etc. and lively dialogues make it to a pleasure to follow the author through the story. In addition the book is provided with beautiful black and white illustrations; the reader is missing nothing.
This book has the power to transport you to another world!
May 29, 2011
Are you into fantasy?
Then this book is a must for you! Amanda, a shy young teenage girl, is living her secret life as Neiko in Hawote, a hidden dangerous world. Neiko is responsible to protect Hawote and as a warrior she goes through risky fights and is confronted with various enemies until she learns ...
I will not give more details!
A.K. Taylor did something extraordinary with writing this story: Neiko's Five Land Adventure is a book which can encourage teenage girls to take their lives in their hands. This book can help them to try things which they usually wouldn't dare to think about. Neiko is a model of courage and power and she can easily be a model for all shy young teenage girls.
Accurate and precise descriptions of the main characters, the different lands, the landscapes, the tribes etc. and lively dialogues make it to a pleasure to follow the author through the story. In addition the book is provided with beautiful black and white illustrations; the reader is missing nothing.
This book has the power to transport you to another world!
Then this book is a must for you! Amanda, a shy young teenage girl, is living her secret life as Neiko in Hawote, a hidden dangerous world. Neiko is responsible to protect Hawote and as a warrior she goes through risky fights and is confronted with various enemies until she learns ...
I will not give more details!
A.K. Taylor did something extraordinary with writing this story: Neiko's Five Land Adventure is a book which can encourage teenage girls to take their lives in their hands. This book can help them to try things which they usually wouldn't dare to think about. Neiko is a model of courage and power and she can easily be a model for all shy young teenage girls.
Accurate and precise descriptions of the main characters, the different lands, the landscapes, the tribes etc. and lively dialogues make it to a pleasure to follow the author through the story. In addition the book is provided with beautiful black and white illustrations; the reader is missing nothing.
This book has the power to transport you to another world!
January 30, 2012
Neiko’s Five Land Adventure By A.K. Taylor was an adequate book. The start was weak and a bit confusing as we try to sort out exactly who the characters are and what their roles are. It’s rather implausible that a 16 year old young woman would still be so deeply entrenched in the life and fantasy of her toys. This book would appeal to a 4-6 grade range but there are so many wonderful books for this group that I believe that Neiko’s Five Land Adventure would be overlooked. It is wonderful to have a book for this age group with a very strong female protagonist and the drawings are quite good. Once the characters were established and we could distinguish between the real world of Amanda Hawk and the fantasy adventure world of Captain Neiko Kidd, the story line and action were better but to compare this book to Harry Potter, or even the Indian in the Cupboard is a bad idea. I will read the next book or two to see if the author continues to develop her talent and writing skill.
November 11, 2013
I won this book on the recent book giveaway on here. i was SO excited! i finished the book in just 4 hours. and honestly..
i never give 1 star raitings, and honestly? the book sucked. i hate saying it, but i was not impressed. ive been reading for along time now, but this?
One thing i did not like was all the describing, if she would of took most of it out, we would of had a 150 page book.
the creatures in the book didnt talk like i thought they should, they sounded like kids on a playground then "men" and it was all mixed up, and it was hard to keep up with and understand. she dove right in, without taking her time.
im sorry if this is a crapy review, but, well.. i didnt like it. i hope others like it though :D i hope the other books she has writen, i will love :D
i never give 1 star raitings, and honestly? the book sucked. i hate saying it, but i was not impressed. ive been reading for along time now, but this?
One thing i did not like was all the describing, if she would of took most of it out, we would of had a 150 page book.
the creatures in the book didnt talk like i thought they should, they sounded like kids on a playground then "men" and it was all mixed up, and it was hard to keep up with and understand. she dove right in, without taking her time.
im sorry if this is a crapy review, but, well.. i didnt like it. i hope others like it though :D i hope the other books she has writen, i will love :D
February 1, 2013
Neiko's Five Land Adventure was an ok book for me. It wasn't what I thought it would be. To start off it was a bit confusing trying to get a grasp of all the characters. Granted she might have been a bit too old to be playing with the toys she had, though that makes it along the lines of role playing like some adults do, conventions and so on. I actually got this book April 2012, but it sadly is a hard read for me - there are just too many chapters. I'm just not connecting to the story, BUT I never not finish a book unless it is trash. This is definitely a book for a YA, but I will keep reading when I have the time. Praying for a great ending though!
April 5, 2012
Read the full review at: http://sciyourfi.blogspot.com/2012/03...
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews