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The Dreamwalkers of Larreta #1
The Tyro
Larreta, home of the dreamwalkers, is being torn apart.
Rifts are forming and swallowing everything in their path. People, structures, entire villages, are disappearing. No one knows where the rifts come from or how to stop them. And they are getting worse.
Leo, a Senior Dreamwalker, is recalled from Earth, where he fled rather than face his failures. His heightened ability to connect with the past is crucial to combat the rifts. He’s drafted to train a handsome new dreamwalker, a young man whose own talents are part of the solution to stopping the destruction.
Together, the two must form a complicated passage through time and space, and they can only succeed with mutual trust. First, Leo needs to overcome his personal demons in order to make the necessary connection. But getting closer is not something he wants to do, in spite of his attraction to Jesse. However, the fate of more than one world rests on their success. And time is running out.
Rifts are forming and swallowing everything in their path. People, structures, entire villages, are disappearing. No one knows where the rifts come from or how to stop them. And they are getting worse.
Leo, a Senior Dreamwalker, is recalled from Earth, where he fled rather than face his failures. His heightened ability to connect with the past is crucial to combat the rifts. He’s drafted to train a handsome new dreamwalker, a young man whose own talents are part of the solution to stopping the destruction.
Together, the two must form a complicated passage through time and space, and they can only succeed with mutual trust. First, Leo needs to overcome his personal demons in order to make the necessary connection. But getting closer is not something he wants to do, in spite of his attraction to Jesse. However, the fate of more than one world rests on their success. And time is running out.
248 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 20, 2016
2 people are currently reading
16 people want to read
About the author
Carol Holland March
27 books19 followersMy non-fiction books discuss creativity and how creative expression heals the effects of trauma.
Open the Door to Your Creative Life is about overcoming resistance and claiming our authentic voice. When Spirit Whispers: A Journey of Awakening has an accompanying workbook of prompts and exercises for readers who wish to explore their own inner world.
I also write fantasy, science fiction, and magical realism. My stories are character-based, set on Earth and in other places that may or may not exist.
I love all types of fantasy, magical realism, soft science fiction, and gender and genre-bending stories.
My fantasy trilogy, The Dreamwalkers of Larreta, is published by Ellysian Press.
Shorter fiction is available from JMS Publishing and Compass Rose Press.
The second edition of The Way Home, a collection of stories about finding your true home, is available on Amazon in paperback and ebook.
Open the Door to Your Creative Life is about overcoming resistance and claiming our authentic voice. When Spirit Whispers: A Journey of Awakening has an accompanying workbook of prompts and exercises for readers who wish to explore their own inner world.
I also write fantasy, science fiction, and magical realism. My stories are character-based, set on Earth and in other places that may or may not exist.
I love all types of fantasy, magical realism, soft science fiction, and gender and genre-bending stories.
My fantasy trilogy, The Dreamwalkers of Larreta, is published by Ellysian Press.
Shorter fiction is available from JMS Publishing and Compass Rose Press.
The second edition of The Way Home, a collection of stories about finding your true home, is available on Amazon in paperback and ebook.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
July 11, 2017
The story is a fascinating one, exploring what freedoms can be found when the spirit is freed to roam beyond the fetters of flesh. The inhabited parts of Larreta, home to ‘the dreamwalkers’ are Utopian, looking “like Earth, but without its imperfections.” Benevolent alien life-forms maintain a perfect environment in which dreamwalkers can explore past lives, wrestle with personal demons free of the constraints that normally shackle earthbound existence and progress along their individual paths until they find another dreamwalker with whom they can become enjoined in the ‘tantrea’ (the perfect union of two souls).
Yet here too, almost inevitably, is a dark and malevolent force, its origin unknown, with the power to open rifts in an otherwise perfect world and swallow individuals and communities whole. Two individuals are identified with the potential to combat this devilry that may otherwise deny dreamwalkers the opportunity to travel between the different worlds. The mission could not be more important, for if the rifts prevent dreamwalkers from travelling to Earth to spread the word of the higher realms, everyone on Earth will be at the mercy of those with dark intent ...
This is a superbly imaginative and very well-crafted book. There is evidence aplenty of well-honed narrative technique - a good balance of different sentence lengths and dramatic changes in the length of the paragraphs for striking effect. The author builds in explanations whenever the reader needs them without ever interrupting the flow of the story. Her style is assured and powerful. There are descriptive details of real quality and metaphorical resonance. Just one example: “He wondered what sharks did during storms. Did they take cover in the deep water of the offshore canyon? Or patrol more vigorously for disoriented sea otters?”
I recommend that you get to know Larreta and its inhabitants as soon as possible, and follow this fascinating array of characters as they pursue their mission to close the rifts in the fabric of the worlds, in order to prevent all goodness from being drawn into the insatiable maw of evil for its own malevolent sake. ‘Twas ever thus, but this is a brave new world in which to follow the progress of the eternal struggle.
Yet here too, almost inevitably, is a dark and malevolent force, its origin unknown, with the power to open rifts in an otherwise perfect world and swallow individuals and communities whole. Two individuals are identified with the potential to combat this devilry that may otherwise deny dreamwalkers the opportunity to travel between the different worlds. The mission could not be more important, for if the rifts prevent dreamwalkers from travelling to Earth to spread the word of the higher realms, everyone on Earth will be at the mercy of those with dark intent ...
This is a superbly imaginative and very well-crafted book. There is evidence aplenty of well-honed narrative technique - a good balance of different sentence lengths and dramatic changes in the length of the paragraphs for striking effect. The author builds in explanations whenever the reader needs them without ever interrupting the flow of the story. Her style is assured and powerful. There are descriptive details of real quality and metaphorical resonance. Just one example: “He wondered what sharks did during storms. Did they take cover in the deep water of the offshore canyon? Or patrol more vigorously for disoriented sea otters?”
I recommend that you get to know Larreta and its inhabitants as soon as possible, and follow this fascinating array of characters as they pursue their mission to close the rifts in the fabric of the worlds, in order to prevent all goodness from being drawn into the insatiable maw of evil for its own malevolent sake. ‘Twas ever thus, but this is a brave new world in which to follow the progress of the eternal struggle.
October 13, 2016
"The Tyro", Carol Holland March's first volume in her fantasy trilogy, is as much a spiritual vision as it is an adventure story that explores strange new worlds and vast realms of time--populated throughout with interesting and believable characters. In fact, I couldn't quite still a persistent feeling that the author's secret motivation in writing this fictional work has been to create a blueprint for how she believes our existence on Planet Earth already operates in the here and now. Yet the world in which this first volume is set is not Earth, but Loretta, a world on which a higher life frequency pervails: light energy that only allows beings who are already prepared to discover the portals through which migration can occur.
Several spiritual traditions run through these pages, often in surprising ways. Two themes of Buddhism can be recognized: rounds of Reincarnation are a slow boat to realization, masking the potential for more direct evolution; and just as the Buddha is depicted in the Mahayana tradition as returning to the painful realms in which his fellow beings are stranded, so the Dreamwalkers of Loretta are drawn to the dangerous waters of terrestrial embodiment.
This first volume ends with a mysterious allusion to Eden, and a recollection that it was not just Adam and Eve whose lives were changed when they were expelled from the Garden. Could it be that the serpent is still alive and dangerous, nursing his wounds and biding his time?
Several spiritual traditions run through these pages, often in surprising ways. Two themes of Buddhism can be recognized: rounds of Reincarnation are a slow boat to realization, masking the potential for more direct evolution; and just as the Buddha is depicted in the Mahayana tradition as returning to the painful realms in which his fellow beings are stranded, so the Dreamwalkers of Loretta are drawn to the dangerous waters of terrestrial embodiment.
This first volume ends with a mysterious allusion to Eden, and a recollection that it was not just Adam and Eve whose lives were changed when they were expelled from the Garden. Could it be that the serpent is still alive and dangerous, nursing his wounds and biding his time?
September 30, 2016
Life is but a dream. True or false?
Physicists are finding that in the small-scaled world of quantum mechanics, matter and energy can be interchangeable. And if our familiar solid world is made up of this more malleable level, perhaps our minds give us the potential to make these transformations—changes that could revolutionize our traditional understanding of dreams, memory, time and—hey, just what in tarnation are we after all?
But “The Tyro,” is a work of fiction and not a science textbook. At first glance, Carol Holland March takes us to a faraway land—somewhere over the rainbow. But a closer look tells us that we've been close to home all along.
Step by step the author constructs a believable world where we are, again, “newborn,” beginners, or tyros.
Will these once earthbound characters adjust to their new world(s)? Will they build meaningful relationships—including same sex ones—that help them grow and change? Will they solve problems their post-Earth world presents? Can they protect Earth from negative fallout?
This is the introductory novel in the “Dreamwalkers of Larreta” trilogy,
Physicists are finding that in the small-scaled world of quantum mechanics, matter and energy can be interchangeable. And if our familiar solid world is made up of this more malleable level, perhaps our minds give us the potential to make these transformations—changes that could revolutionize our traditional understanding of dreams, memory, time and—hey, just what in tarnation are we after all?
But “The Tyro,” is a work of fiction and not a science textbook. At first glance, Carol Holland March takes us to a faraway land—somewhere over the rainbow. But a closer look tells us that we've been close to home all along.
Step by step the author constructs a believable world where we are, again, “newborn,” beginners, or tyros.
Will these once earthbound characters adjust to their new world(s)? Will they build meaningful relationships—including same sex ones—that help them grow and change? Will they solve problems their post-Earth world presents? Can they protect Earth from negative fallout?
This is the introductory novel in the “Dreamwalkers of Larreta” trilogy,
July 14, 2017
Sci-fi from another plane of existence
9/10
The Tyro is a very different sort of science fiction novel to the ones I normally read. Don’t expect much if anything in the way of ‘technology’ in the physical sense of the word. Instead, the author has constructed a world on the premise that certain Eastern and New Age philosophies are literally true. So people have multiple incarnations, vibrate at different energy levels and can ascend to other worlds where their bodies are ‘eternal’. This could have been dreadful but the writing, plot and overall tone of the novel carries through the ideas so that what you get is an enjoyable story with interesting characters and not an attempt to preach or convert you to another way of thinking. You don’t have to believe in any of the ideas I’ve mentioned above to enjoy this book. And enjoy it you will…
Setting: 8/10
This is very simply but expertly rendered. We are transported to a world called Larreta that is much like Earth but different in some fundamental ways. Most of those ways are not spelled out in graphic terms but are hinted at. Deft touches here and there so that the reader feels that Larreta could really be as much of a home as Earth ever has been. The way we reach Larreta - following Leo as he is drawn through a rift to that world - sets up the experience of the place. Magical, yet simple. Somehow it avoids the ‘saccharine’ of other Utopian fiction, mostly by focusing on strong characters. I had in my mind a sort of ‘perfected’ gentle Earth whenever I imagined Laretta. People, called Dreamwalkers when they’ve left the Earth, are able to do amazing things as easily as you or I breathe. They can form their ‘bodies of light’ and commune with each other. There are other beings, Keepers who seem to be slightly more advanced Dreamwalkers and then others like the characters of Nara, for example, who is a column of light. There is an overwhelming sense of serenity about the place, but it’s not dull because…
Characters: 10/10
…here’s where this author has excelled. The characters are nuanced and rounded. Ones like Jesse who I did not much like at first, develop in unexpected ways. They have an internal life of their own, or so it seemed to me. You won’t find caricatures in this book but people who live between its pages. If I have one criticism regarding the characters it’s this: the author has considered the effect of multiple human lives on sexuality. The result is that the characters’ sexuality seems to be fluid. I think that if one accepts the idea of living many different lives then this is reasonable and consistent within the fictional world that’s been created here whether you believe it to be true in the real world or not. What bothers me slightly comes down to one thought by Leo, where he considers that he has had male lovers in the past. The thought is that he is ‘no bigot’. This implies that Leo believes that anyone who isn’t fluid in their sexuality is bigoted. I wondered whether this was an example of, ‘mouthpiecing’ by the author. Stating her own belief through the mouth of the character. It didn’t seem to quite fit with Leo’s acceptance of the difference in others. It’s the single example in the whole book so I don’t deduct a point for it but I highlight it here because it struck me as not in keeping with the nature of the character.
Plot: 9/10
This is a good plot. Simple and in many ways little more than a showcase for the world and the characters. It provides a straightforward hook that is kept from being clichéd by the execution. Larreta and the Dreamwalkers in it are in danger from Rifts that form and destroy villages, sucking victims elsewhere. Whether they are killed or not is kept a mystery but it is the revelation that their fate could be a return to the cycle of reincarnation in Earthly (or otherworldly mortal) bodies or maybe even complete annihilation. Having dangled the idea of eternal life in front of the reader, it is something of a shock to realise that there might be some form of non-existence waiting for the unlucky within this world. The stakes are high. The threat is in the open yet shrouded, its true nature obscured. Leo and others may (or may not) have the means to identify the true nature of the threat but they have to deal with their own ‘baggage’ first.
Prose: 8/10
There are many different types of writing. Some love Hemingway. Some Faulkner. Some rave about Woolf, some don’t. The prose in ‘The Tyro’ is good. It flows. But for me it lacked the sparkle of brilliance from either conveying the feel of more buried beneath the surface of the words or by capturing every perfect aspect of Larreta in vivid detail. There is nothing to find fault with in the prose and I’m not critical of it but there’s also nothing exceptional. Thus it doesn’t score higher.
Overall: 9/10
Despite this not being my usual ‘cup of tea’ (I like my sci-fi bleak for the most part), I will return to the world of Larreta for two main reasons. 1. Most important - I’ve been hooked by it. 2. Sometimes everyone needs some hopeful escapism and this series promises to be a gentle salve to the darker side of my reading list.
9/10
The Tyro is a very different sort of science fiction novel to the ones I normally read. Don’t expect much if anything in the way of ‘technology’ in the physical sense of the word. Instead, the author has constructed a world on the premise that certain Eastern and New Age philosophies are literally true. So people have multiple incarnations, vibrate at different energy levels and can ascend to other worlds where their bodies are ‘eternal’. This could have been dreadful but the writing, plot and overall tone of the novel carries through the ideas so that what you get is an enjoyable story with interesting characters and not an attempt to preach or convert you to another way of thinking. You don’t have to believe in any of the ideas I’ve mentioned above to enjoy this book. And enjoy it you will…
Setting: 8/10
This is very simply but expertly rendered. We are transported to a world called Larreta that is much like Earth but different in some fundamental ways. Most of those ways are not spelled out in graphic terms but are hinted at. Deft touches here and there so that the reader feels that Larreta could really be as much of a home as Earth ever has been. The way we reach Larreta - following Leo as he is drawn through a rift to that world - sets up the experience of the place. Magical, yet simple. Somehow it avoids the ‘saccharine’ of other Utopian fiction, mostly by focusing on strong characters. I had in my mind a sort of ‘perfected’ gentle Earth whenever I imagined Laretta. People, called Dreamwalkers when they’ve left the Earth, are able to do amazing things as easily as you or I breathe. They can form their ‘bodies of light’ and commune with each other. There are other beings, Keepers who seem to be slightly more advanced Dreamwalkers and then others like the characters of Nara, for example, who is a column of light. There is an overwhelming sense of serenity about the place, but it’s not dull because…
Characters: 10/10
…here’s where this author has excelled. The characters are nuanced and rounded. Ones like Jesse who I did not much like at first, develop in unexpected ways. They have an internal life of their own, or so it seemed to me. You won’t find caricatures in this book but people who live between its pages. If I have one criticism regarding the characters it’s this: the author has considered the effect of multiple human lives on sexuality. The result is that the characters’ sexuality seems to be fluid. I think that if one accepts the idea of living many different lives then this is reasonable and consistent within the fictional world that’s been created here whether you believe it to be true in the real world or not. What bothers me slightly comes down to one thought by Leo, where he considers that he has had male lovers in the past. The thought is that he is ‘no bigot’. This implies that Leo believes that anyone who isn’t fluid in their sexuality is bigoted. I wondered whether this was an example of, ‘mouthpiecing’ by the author. Stating her own belief through the mouth of the character. It didn’t seem to quite fit with Leo’s acceptance of the difference in others. It’s the single example in the whole book so I don’t deduct a point for it but I highlight it here because it struck me as not in keeping with the nature of the character.
Plot: 9/10
This is a good plot. Simple and in many ways little more than a showcase for the world and the characters. It provides a straightforward hook that is kept from being clichéd by the execution. Larreta and the Dreamwalkers in it are in danger from Rifts that form and destroy villages, sucking victims elsewhere. Whether they are killed or not is kept a mystery but it is the revelation that their fate could be a return to the cycle of reincarnation in Earthly (or otherworldly mortal) bodies or maybe even complete annihilation. Having dangled the idea of eternal life in front of the reader, it is something of a shock to realise that there might be some form of non-existence waiting for the unlucky within this world. The stakes are high. The threat is in the open yet shrouded, its true nature obscured. Leo and others may (or may not) have the means to identify the true nature of the threat but they have to deal with their own ‘baggage’ first.
Prose: 8/10
There are many different types of writing. Some love Hemingway. Some Faulkner. Some rave about Woolf, some don’t. The prose in ‘The Tyro’ is good. It flows. But for me it lacked the sparkle of brilliance from either conveying the feel of more buried beneath the surface of the words or by capturing every perfect aspect of Larreta in vivid detail. There is nothing to find fault with in the prose and I’m not critical of it but there’s also nothing exceptional. Thus it doesn’t score higher.
Overall: 9/10
Despite this not being my usual ‘cup of tea’ (I like my sci-fi bleak for the most part), I will return to the world of Larreta for two main reasons. 1. Most important - I’ve been hooked by it. 2. Sometimes everyone needs some hopeful escapism and this series promises to be a gentle salve to the darker side of my reading list.
September 2, 2017
This book was provided for free by the author in exchange for an honest review via the MMRG Don’t Buy My Love Program.
“The Tyro” is a high concept sci-fi fantasy that is an intriguing exploration of the realm where physics meets the spiritual. This first book in the trilogy explores the world of Larreta, which functions like a way station in the reincarnation cycle for dreamwalkers, where they come to analyze and learn from their different lives on Earth in order to continue into higher planes/worlds of existence. Leo has been called back from another life on Earth in order to help train two new and special dreamwalkers, Jesse and Sara; moreover, Leo has been informed that he and Jesse can somehow help combat the time rifts that have been plaguing Larreta and swallowing up its inhabitants. As a first book, the story focuses mostly on world building and character development and has a slow, measured pace that allows for histories, relationships and backgrounds to be introduced and explored fully. While Leo trains Jesse, he learns more about himself and the unique abilities Jesse possesses that may help them save their world. The story is well constructed and unique and sets the stage for the next installment of the trilogy.
“The Tyro” is a high concept sci-fi fantasy that is an intriguing exploration of the realm where physics meets the spiritual. This first book in the trilogy explores the world of Larreta, which functions like a way station in the reincarnation cycle for dreamwalkers, where they come to analyze and learn from their different lives on Earth in order to continue into higher planes/worlds of existence. Leo has been called back from another life on Earth in order to help train two new and special dreamwalkers, Jesse and Sara; moreover, Leo has been informed that he and Jesse can somehow help combat the time rifts that have been plaguing Larreta and swallowing up its inhabitants. As a first book, the story focuses mostly on world building and character development and has a slow, measured pace that allows for histories, relationships and backgrounds to be introduced and explored fully. While Leo trains Jesse, he learns more about himself and the unique abilities Jesse possesses that may help them save their world. The story is well constructed and unique and sets the stage for the next installment of the trilogy.
July 2, 2017
The Tyro is a beautifully written blend of sensuous seascapes, dreamscapes and timeless, energetic beings who exist to guide us to a higher realm of existence as they too evolve. It's a stunning, uplifting achievement blending aspects of Buddhism and Christianity on a distant realm, then suddenly bringing it up up close as a glimpse into another unseen reality. A particular temple scene is breathtaking and cinematic. Fans of east meets west spirituality, reincarnation, "quantum fiction" and fellow enlightenment junkies will love this book for its sheer beauty and the subtle wisdom.
I gave it four stars although I cannot dispute those who gave The Tyro five stars. I struggled a bit in the beginning and didn't feel it until I was deeper into the story. The urgency built up notably in the second half and especially the last 10% as things happened at a faster pace and the tension jumped from the page. While I liked the mix of terms and concepts I would like to get a bit more spiritual depth and struggle when I'm immersed in another world that turns out to be so up close and personal. Well done!
I gave it four stars although I cannot dispute those who gave The Tyro five stars. I struggled a bit in the beginning and didn't feel it until I was deeper into the story. The urgency built up notably in the second half and especially the last 10% as things happened at a faster pace and the tension jumped from the page. While I liked the mix of terms and concepts I would like to get a bit more spiritual depth and struggle when I'm immersed in another world that turns out to be so up close and personal. Well done!
July 9, 2017
The Tyro is high concept sci fi with an intriguing premise. Sleepwalkers live dream-like, simulated lives on Earth while training their psychic powers in a celestial realm. The stakes are high as a mysterious "rift" has appeared, engulfing realms throughout the universe. The sleepwalkers may be the only ones who can stop it.
Among this band of spiritual beings is Leo, a man somewhat broken by his failure to achieve "ah-min," which is a sort of higher plane that can happen when two dreamwalkers fuse their powers. Hope returns when Leo is introduced to Jesse, who may be his soulmate from an ancient time.
March brings wonderfully imaginative touches to this world: the terrible devouring eruption of the rift, a sleepwalker's whale familiar traveling between realms and time. Most of the story takes place while the sleepwalkers are gathered at the Coast House, working through personal relationships and exploring their psychic abilities. The first book in a trilogy, The Tyro provides an interesting prequel to the adventure that lies ahead, unraveling the mystery of the rift and figuring out how to stop it.
Among this band of spiritual beings is Leo, a man somewhat broken by his failure to achieve "ah-min," which is a sort of higher plane that can happen when two dreamwalkers fuse their powers. Hope returns when Leo is introduced to Jesse, who may be his soulmate from an ancient time.
March brings wonderfully imaginative touches to this world: the terrible devouring eruption of the rift, a sleepwalker's whale familiar traveling between realms and time. Most of the story takes place while the sleepwalkers are gathered at the Coast House, working through personal relationships and exploring their psychic abilities. The first book in a trilogy, The Tyro provides an interesting prequel to the adventure that lies ahead, unraveling the mystery of the rift and figuring out how to stop it.
December 4, 2017
2017 Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention: The Tyro (The Dreamwalkers of Larreta #1) Carol Holland March
1) An incredible blend of quantum concepts, action, and spirituality, author Carol Holland March gives us believable and interesting characters and a timeless rich story of triumph.
2) I love the way Ms. March combined old and new with this sci-fi / fantasy piece. Old--lovers from another life time are united once again, melding of current day religions of Buddhism and Christianity, and Native American notions of dreamwalking, and putting it all together with a new twist on each concept. I thoroughly enjoyed Leo and Jesse's adventures in this book and look forward to the next installment of this epic story!
1) An incredible blend of quantum concepts, action, and spirituality, author Carol Holland March gives us believable and interesting characters and a timeless rich story of triumph.
2) I love the way Ms. March combined old and new with this sci-fi / fantasy piece. Old--lovers from another life time are united once again, melding of current day religions of Buddhism and Christianity, and Native American notions of dreamwalking, and putting it all together with a new twist on each concept. I thoroughly enjoyed Leo and Jesse's adventures in this book and look forward to the next installment of this epic story!
August 21, 2017
*Copy of The Tyro provided by Ellysian Press for an honest review for Alpha Book Club
I’m not quite sure whether to categorize The Tyro as an urban fantasy or sci-fi. There’s a part of the story that takes place on Earth, but the majority of it takes place in another universe called Larreta. If I understood correctly, the only way to enter would be through a portal. In any way the story takes place in a different world which means that many details had to be explained. The author did a pretty good job of explaining how things worked on that planet. It was a bit confusing at first when the main character, Leo, went through the portal, because he had forgotten about his role as a Dreamwalker. The book started out great, with suspenseful and mysterious events.
What didn’t work for me was that the writing wasn’t always consistent. Whenever the author would explain the world building, there’d lots of details, but when it comes to the interaction of the characters, some of the sentences were short, making the reading a bit choppy. What I also couldn’t understand is that Leo wanted to find his ah-min (basically soulmate), and this is his biggest issue from the beginning of the story, but when he meets Jesse, he is in total denial, which sort of contradicts how his character was set up. I was also disappointed that I didn’t really feel that this was a romantic story, because there was supposed to be a connection between the two characters, but I didn’t feel it and most of the story was just about Jesse’s training of becoming a Dreamwalker.
A few things that may annoy a reader with this book would be that there are no on page sex scenes, there are few F/F scenes and when the book finishes, nothing is resolved yet, so you’ll have to read the next in the series to find out more.
I’m not quite sure whether to categorize The Tyro as an urban fantasy or sci-fi. There’s a part of the story that takes place on Earth, but the majority of it takes place in another universe called Larreta. If I understood correctly, the only way to enter would be through a portal. In any way the story takes place in a different world which means that many details had to be explained. The author did a pretty good job of explaining how things worked on that planet. It was a bit confusing at first when the main character, Leo, went through the portal, because he had forgotten about his role as a Dreamwalker. The book started out great, with suspenseful and mysterious events.
What didn’t work for me was that the writing wasn’t always consistent. Whenever the author would explain the world building, there’d lots of details, but when it comes to the interaction of the characters, some of the sentences were short, making the reading a bit choppy. What I also couldn’t understand is that Leo wanted to find his ah-min (basically soulmate), and this is his biggest issue from the beginning of the story, but when he meets Jesse, he is in total denial, which sort of contradicts how his character was set up. I was also disappointed that I didn’t really feel that this was a romantic story, because there was supposed to be a connection between the two characters, but I didn’t feel it and most of the story was just about Jesse’s training of becoming a Dreamwalker.
A few things that may annoy a reader with this book would be that there are no on page sex scenes, there are few F/F scenes and when the book finishes, nothing is resolved yet, so you’ll have to read the next in the series to find out more.
March 3, 2017
4.5* Review written for Love Bytes Reviews.
So, while I had found the blurb for this book interesting enough to pique my interest, I wasn’t entirely certain I would actually like this one once I’d started it…and boy, was I totally wrong! When you start the book, there is a glossary of terms and while it isn’t the first book I’ve seen to have one right at the beginning, this is probably one of the only books that reading said glossary is, in my opinion, totally necessary. The idea that the life I’m currently living is actually just a dream is intriguing and not all that hard to understand but, there are terms and concepts used by the author that without a reading about before hand, I wouldn’t have understood at all. Even so, I was a little confused for about the first 10% of the story before I found myself so absorbed in it that whatever lingering puzzlement on my part ceased to matter.
This was probably one of the most unique stories I’ve ever read and with the amount of books I own, that says a lot! I absolutely adored the setting and the inhabitants of Laretta were unique and interesting; the Mentor in particular is one of my favorite secondary characters and I’m hoping I’ll get to see her more in the next book. The overall plot was interesting in its own right but it gained an unexpected depth as the book progressed and Jesse began to come more into his new found abilities. His connection with Leo was already enough to garner my attention but the deepening bond between the two men, and the plan to stop the rifts, looks to be setting up for an amazing sequel. And the ending? Oh man, that unexpected glimpse at the reason behind the rifts just made me even more anxious to continue this series.
*sigh* It can be so difficult to adequately describe a book such as this but it was just so good. The creativity that went into it and the different elements all woven together to make such a unique world and story were just amazing and I was hooked much quicker than expected. If you enjoy fantasy books but are tired of reading about elves, shifters or orcs, you have to give this one a try.
http://lovebytesreviews.com/2017/02/2...
So, while I had found the blurb for this book interesting enough to pique my interest, I wasn’t entirely certain I would actually like this one once I’d started it…and boy, was I totally wrong! When you start the book, there is a glossary of terms and while it isn’t the first book I’ve seen to have one right at the beginning, this is probably one of the only books that reading said glossary is, in my opinion, totally necessary. The idea that the life I’m currently living is actually just a dream is intriguing and not all that hard to understand but, there are terms and concepts used by the author that without a reading about before hand, I wouldn’t have understood at all. Even so, I was a little confused for about the first 10% of the story before I found myself so absorbed in it that whatever lingering puzzlement on my part ceased to matter.
This was probably one of the most unique stories I’ve ever read and with the amount of books I own, that says a lot! I absolutely adored the setting and the inhabitants of Laretta were unique and interesting; the Mentor in particular is one of my favorite secondary characters and I’m hoping I’ll get to see her more in the next book. The overall plot was interesting in its own right but it gained an unexpected depth as the book progressed and Jesse began to come more into his new found abilities. His connection with Leo was already enough to garner my attention but the deepening bond between the two men, and the plan to stop the rifts, looks to be setting up for an amazing sequel. And the ending? Oh man, that unexpected glimpse at the reason behind the rifts just made me even more anxious to continue this series.
*sigh* It can be so difficult to adequately describe a book such as this but it was just so good. The creativity that went into it and the different elements all woven together to make such a unique world and story were just amazing and I was hooked much quicker than expected. If you enjoy fantasy books but are tired of reading about elves, shifters or orcs, you have to give this one a try.
http://lovebytesreviews.com/2017/02/2...
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