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Warriors of Aralan #4
Finding Hope
An alternate cover edition can be found here.
Branwen’s fourteen-year-old daughter Rhoslyn, is intrigued when she comes home one day to find three strangers in the house, arguing with her parents. Who are these men? Two of them appear to be the same age as her father, but one of them is younger—much younger, about her age. He turns out to be Allister, Rhoslyn’s cousin, and he with his father and uncle have come all the way from Norwynnd. Needless to say, Rhoslyn and her best friend Bradyn get off to a bad start with Allister when they find him unusually secretive, and instead of deterring Rhoslyn with his bad attitude, Allister unwittingly encourages her curiosity. She knows he has a secret, and she’d determined to find out what it is. To complicate matters, a dark-skinned man from Calima, Aralan’s closest neighboring country, appears the day after Rhoslyn’s relatives, bringing with him a new religion, and it looks like he’s going to be there a while due to his broken leg. While he’s there he insists on telling others about his faith, and Rhoslyn doesn’t know what to think. Why is her cousin so secretive? Why does this man from Calima think she needs God? And most of all, why have her relatives from Norwynnd come to Linfort now, after all these years?
Branwen’s fourteen-year-old daughter Rhoslyn, is intrigued when she comes home one day to find three strangers in the house, arguing with her parents. Who are these men? Two of them appear to be the same age as her father, but one of them is younger—much younger, about her age. He turns out to be Allister, Rhoslyn’s cousin, and he with his father and uncle have come all the way from Norwynnd. Needless to say, Rhoslyn and her best friend Bradyn get off to a bad start with Allister when they find him unusually secretive, and instead of deterring Rhoslyn with his bad attitude, Allister unwittingly encourages her curiosity. She knows he has a secret, and she’d determined to find out what it is. To complicate matters, a dark-skinned man from Calima, Aralan’s closest neighboring country, appears the day after Rhoslyn’s relatives, bringing with him a new religion, and it looks like he’s going to be there a while due to his broken leg. While he’s there he insists on telling others about his faith, and Rhoslyn doesn’t know what to think. Why is her cousin so secretive? Why does this man from Calima think she needs God? And most of all, why have her relatives from Norwynnd come to Linfort now, after all these years?
122 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 24, 2016
8 people want to read
About the author
Katelyn Buxton
13 books95 followersHello and welcome!
If you’ve chanced across this page, odds are you’re wanting to know a little more about this "Katelyn" person you found on the Internet. Well, the truth is, I’m just like any other author. I spend my days dreaming about stories and falling hopelessly, head-over-heels in love with my characters. I'm the author of the Warriors of Aralan series, as well as a sci-fi standalone called Tè Nan Lezar, and a couple of nineteenth-century-inspired serializations titled What Is and Could Be and To Live and To Breathe.
When not pursuing a literary career, I can be found with my nose buried inside a book I didn’t write, baking cookies, taking photos, learning French, watching movies, and spending time with my friends and family. My passion is to always give God the glory through my writing in hopes that these stories will touch some lives.
If you’ve chanced across this page, odds are you’re wanting to know a little more about this "Katelyn" person you found on the Internet. Well, the truth is, I’m just like any other author. I spend my days dreaming about stories and falling hopelessly, head-over-heels in love with my characters. I'm the author of the Warriors of Aralan series, as well as a sci-fi standalone called Tè Nan Lezar, and a couple of nineteenth-century-inspired serializations titled What Is and Could Be and To Live and To Breathe.
When not pursuing a literary career, I can be found with my nose buried inside a book I didn’t write, baking cookies, taking photos, learning French, watching movies, and spending time with my friends and family. My passion is to always give God the glory through my writing in hopes that these stories will touch some lives.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 15, 2021
Finding Hope is unique among all the Warriors of Aralan installments that I have read in that it does not attempt to tell a grand, epic tale. Instead, Finding Hope is essentially a character study set within the world of Aralan—the study of a complex and hardened but essentially goodhearted young man named Allister. Allister is physically and emotionally abused by his much bigger and brawnier father and maternal uncle, both of whom have sunk into malice after the untimely death of Allister’s mother. While Allister does not feel comfortable partaking in his father’s and uncle’s wicked schemes, he does so because he feels like he does not have a choice.
Brawnwen’s Quest, Beyond the Mountain, and Fires in the Nights all contain grand quests, which the heroes partake in so that they can save all of Aralan from a grievous fate. While rather different in nature, Journey to Freedom and Eye of the Storm both also contain a grand scope. Such larger-than-life narratives are a lot of fun to read, but I find it refreshing that Buxton here scales down the scope of the narrative—opting instead to focus on emotion, world-building, and characters. Often, in fantasy novels, less is more. In Finding Hope in particular, the simpler plot allows for more every-day interactions between inhabitants of Aralan (and, thus, a more holistic painting of Buxton’s world), as well as a more somber treatment of serious topics.
Any character study is as strong as its main character—and, indeed, Allister’s development early on proved to be one of my favorite aspects of the novel. More than any other character that I have encountered in the first three books of the series, Allister feels astoundingly real. My heart breaks for Allister as I witness how cruelly his father and uncle mistreat him—and as I read about how deeply he mourns for his mother. I feel this he reacted to his surroundings in a strikingly believable manner.
Having said all this, I had some personal issues with Finding Hope that made me not enjoy it quite as much as any other Warriors of Aralan installments that I have read. I feel like most of my critiques boil down to my personal taste.
For one, I do not much care for the explicitly Christian aspect of the story. The introduction of Christianity into the narrative feels very jarring, given that there are almost no hints in the first three books that the series is headed in this direction. It also feels quite anachronistic to me to read about Christianity, exactly as we know it on Earth—complete with the same Bible and Bible verses—existing within a fantasy land. Granted, Josiah’s books also contain explicit Christianity, but I feel like it works better in those installments—both because faith is introduced at the very beginning of the books (making it feel less jarring) and because the narratives raise complex questions about Faith. In Finding Hope, though, I feel like the complexity of Faith is often not emphasized enough. I feel like the question of Hell gets particularly brushed over. Jeremy says that people who don’t accept Jesus during their life go to a place of eternal burning and separation from God after they die. I am surprised that Allister didn’t react strongly to this statement. What about all the people from Aralan who die, never even having heard the name of Jesus? What about Allister's mother? I feel that this is a key question that warrants far, far more attention.
Beyond the Christianity, the only other issue that I have with Finding Hope would be that the characters do not entirely “grab” me the way that Silas, Quintin, and Brawnwen do throughout the first three books. I never pick up on all that much personality from Brayden, and Jeremy seems a tad contrived to me. I like Roslyn, and I find her quite well-developed, but she does not quite have the same “it” factor that characters from earlier installments do for me. Now, if you want to avoid spoilers you will probably want to skip down to the next paragraph right now. As for Allister, I feel like he becomes less interesting after his conversion to Christianity. Don’t get me wrong: I LOVE redemptive story arcs, but I do not like it when the characters seem to lose any semblance of their original personality after they change. One of the things that I most love about Quintin is the way he remains rather gruff and rough-around-the-edges, even after he changes for the better—but I cannot quite say the same for Allister. Perhaps he will prove better-developed in the sequels, though!
Despite some subjective gripes of mine that I don’t think would bother most readers too greatly, Finding Hope makes for a unique and worthwhile entry in the Warriors of Aralan series. Buxton is making tremendous strides as an author, and I so look forward to reading more of her work!
Brawnwen’s Quest, Beyond the Mountain, and Fires in the Nights all contain grand quests, which the heroes partake in so that they can save all of Aralan from a grievous fate. While rather different in nature, Journey to Freedom and Eye of the Storm both also contain a grand scope. Such larger-than-life narratives are a lot of fun to read, but I find it refreshing that Buxton here scales down the scope of the narrative—opting instead to focus on emotion, world-building, and characters. Often, in fantasy novels, less is more. In Finding Hope in particular, the simpler plot allows for more every-day interactions between inhabitants of Aralan (and, thus, a more holistic painting of Buxton’s world), as well as a more somber treatment of serious topics.
Any character study is as strong as its main character—and, indeed, Allister’s development early on proved to be one of my favorite aspects of the novel. More than any other character that I have encountered in the first three books of the series, Allister feels astoundingly real. My heart breaks for Allister as I witness how cruelly his father and uncle mistreat him—and as I read about how deeply he mourns for his mother. I feel this he reacted to his surroundings in a strikingly believable manner.
Having said all this, I had some personal issues with Finding Hope that made me not enjoy it quite as much as any other Warriors of Aralan installments that I have read. I feel like most of my critiques boil down to my personal taste.
For one, I do not much care for the explicitly Christian aspect of the story. The introduction of Christianity into the narrative feels very jarring, given that there are almost no hints in the first three books that the series is headed in this direction. It also feels quite anachronistic to me to read about Christianity, exactly as we know it on Earth—complete with the same Bible and Bible verses—existing within a fantasy land. Granted, Josiah’s books also contain explicit Christianity, but I feel like it works better in those installments—both because faith is introduced at the very beginning of the books (making it feel less jarring) and because the narratives raise complex questions about Faith. In Finding Hope, though, I feel like the complexity of Faith is often not emphasized enough. I feel like the question of Hell gets particularly brushed over. Jeremy says that people who don’t accept Jesus during their life go to a place of eternal burning and separation from God after they die. I am surprised that Allister didn’t react strongly to this statement. What about all the people from Aralan who die, never even having heard the name of Jesus? What about Allister's mother? I feel that this is a key question that warrants far, far more attention.
Beyond the Christianity, the only other issue that I have with Finding Hope would be that the characters do not entirely “grab” me the way that Silas, Quintin, and Brawnwen do throughout the first three books. I never pick up on all that much personality from Brayden, and Jeremy seems a tad contrived to me. I like Roslyn, and I find her quite well-developed, but she does not quite have the same “it” factor that characters from earlier installments do for me. Now, if you want to avoid spoilers you will probably want to skip down to the next paragraph right now. As for Allister, I feel like he becomes less interesting after his conversion to Christianity. Don’t get me wrong: I LOVE redemptive story arcs, but I do not like it when the characters seem to lose any semblance of their original personality after they change. One of the things that I most love about Quintin is the way he remains rather gruff and rough-around-the-edges, even after he changes for the better—but I cannot quite say the same for Allister. Perhaps he will prove better-developed in the sequels, though!
Despite some subjective gripes of mine that I don’t think would bother most readers too greatly, Finding Hope makes for a unique and worthwhile entry in the Warriors of Aralan series. Buxton is making tremendous strides as an author, and I so look forward to reading more of her work!
April 5, 2018
A while back, I picked up several books from the Warriors of Aralan series by Katelyn Buxton. Having read three now, I’ve come to know this author for her character-centered stories and honest portrayal of life—the nitty, gritty stuff that’s real, but relatable to the readers.
As the story started, the young protagonist’s naivety had me worried that I wouldn’t be able to get into the story, but I shouldn’t have been concerned. That quickly became a non-issue as I was pulled into the story and just as curious as Rhoslyn in most cases.
The family element in the story was beautiful. (And I must say after just having read book one before reading this one, I did a little bit of fangirling to see Branwen and Quintin married. Totally called it!) Every character added to the story in a great way. Allister’s character drew me in from the very beginning. His story was the heart-throb that kept me glued to the book.
I really adored this short book, and I’m looking forward to reading more books in the Warriors of Aralan series.
As the story started, the young protagonist’s naivety had me worried that I wouldn’t be able to get into the story, but I shouldn’t have been concerned. That quickly became a non-issue as I was pulled into the story and just as curious as Rhoslyn in most cases.
The family element in the story was beautiful. (And I must say after just having read book one before reading this one, I did a little bit of fangirling to see Branwen and Quintin married. Totally called it!) Every character added to the story in a great way. Allister’s character drew me in from the very beginning. His story was the heart-throb that kept me glued to the book.
I really adored this short book, and I’m looking forward to reading more books in the Warriors of Aralan series.
July 29, 2024
An Inspirational Fantasy Novel
It was so exciting to see Branwen’s courageous daughter, Rhoslyn, take the lead role in this next installment of the Warriors of Aralan series! She was a feisty four-year-old ready to take up archery and follow in her mother’s footsteps in the previous book and it was so fun to get to know her better as a young coming-of-age warrior. Instead of embarking on an epic quest, Rhoslyn must face the turmoil brewing in her own family and uncover the truth. Her cousin Allister holds deep secrets, and the story centers around the consequences of those secrets and restoring hope.
While the previous books featured Christian themes, this is the first book that featured a Christian missionary who brought the Word of God to the village. With doors open to the living word, Rhoslyn has the opportunity to learn about love and forgiveness in a whole new way, and Allister’s faith journey provides an inspirational story or hope and healing for young readers. The darker moments of the story helped the message shine brightly in the end and I enjoyed this engaging fantasy novel!
It was so exciting to see Branwen’s courageous daughter, Rhoslyn, take the lead role in this next installment of the Warriors of Aralan series! She was a feisty four-year-old ready to take up archery and follow in her mother’s footsteps in the previous book and it was so fun to get to know her better as a young coming-of-age warrior. Instead of embarking on an epic quest, Rhoslyn must face the turmoil brewing in her own family and uncover the truth. Her cousin Allister holds deep secrets, and the story centers around the consequences of those secrets and restoring hope.
While the previous books featured Christian themes, this is the first book that featured a Christian missionary who brought the Word of God to the village. With doors open to the living word, Rhoslyn has the opportunity to learn about love and forgiveness in a whole new way, and Allister’s faith journey provides an inspirational story or hope and healing for young readers. The darker moments of the story helped the message shine brightly in the end and I enjoyed this engaging fantasy novel!
April 7, 2019
I really, really liked that this book was even more character-focused than the previous three - no grand adventure, just (mostly) Rhoslyn and Allister and their interactions through the story. Katelyn does just keep getting better and better!
As mentioned in other reviews, I also struggled with the sudden appearance of Christianity in a world that I assumed was not ours. Given the age of the Bible that the missionary character has, perhaps Aralan is some distant future where we’ve reverted to medieval tech; or perhaps something along the lines of McCaffery’s Pern - we’re not told.
But by the end I’ve gotten more comfortable with it, and - as always - still very interested to see where this series takes me!
As mentioned in other reviews, I also struggled with the sudden appearance of Christianity in a world that I assumed was not ours. Given the age of the Bible that the missionary character has, perhaps Aralan is some distant future where we’ve reverted to medieval tech; or perhaps something along the lines of McCaffery’s Pern - we’re not told.
But by the end I’ve gotten more comfortable with it, and - as always - still very interested to see where this series takes me!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews