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War Drum
What happens when the wolf no longer howls at the moon? When Otsoa, a young Wolf-thread, finds he can no longer howl, a mysterious grey fog appears and begins destroying the world. Otsoa is then forced into an adventure, along with a rooster that he packed for his lunch, to find the legendary source of natural music – the War Drum. Will the world be saved if the Wolf-thread can find his howl? Or is there a deeper mystery behind the destructive fog?
198 pages, Paperback
Published December 2, 2016
2 people want to read
About the author
Jason McCarthy
5 books5 followersJason McCarthy is an English and Creative Writing graduate with a fascination with the animal kingdom. His writing is inspired by Japanese manga, endless nature documentaries and childhood memories of bed-time stories.
His passion for words has led him on to paths as both an English teacher and as a musician. Ultimately, he writes to pass on the inspirational messages he has learned on his adventures, in the form of nature’s most enigmatic beasts.
His passion for words has led him on to paths as both an English teacher and as a musician. Ultimately, he writes to pass on the inspirational messages he has learned on his adventures, in the form of nature’s most enigmatic beasts.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 3, 2017
War Drum – the woods have great acoustics…
This is the story of the war drum, a magical object our characters revolve around in this new, exciting fantasy world. It sort of reminded me to the world of Microsoft’s ‘Fable’ videogame series; colourful, quirky, and full of magic.
The reader gets thrown right into the middle of the action; at first we don’t really know what is going on and why things happening; then as we go along, the world gradually opens up and builds itself to make perfect sense by the end.
Nature is alive and while it is painting a picture, at the same time, it is also singing a song. Natural music that is loud, and damn catchy! – does a wolf’s howl, or a siamang gibbon’s shriek, maybe a deer’s tap count as music? ‘Course it does!
War Drum has the innocence and warmth of a traditional childhood fairy tale, while achieving to be something very original at the same time, which, as the author’s debut novel, set the bar up pretty damn high for himself!
This is the story of the war drum, a magical object our characters revolve around in this new, exciting fantasy world. It sort of reminded me to the world of Microsoft’s ‘Fable’ videogame series; colourful, quirky, and full of magic.
The reader gets thrown right into the middle of the action; at first we don’t really know what is going on and why things happening; then as we go along, the world gradually opens up and builds itself to make perfect sense by the end.
Nature is alive and while it is painting a picture, at the same time, it is also singing a song. Natural music that is loud, and damn catchy! – does a wolf’s howl, or a siamang gibbon’s shriek, maybe a deer’s tap count as music? ‘Course it does!
War Drum has the innocence and warmth of a traditional childhood fairy tale, while achieving to be something very original at the same time, which, as the author’s debut novel, set the bar up pretty damn high for himself!
December 30, 2016
The HD re-release of Final Fantasy 9 on Steam re-ignited my passion for immersive stories involving humanoid animals embarking on epic adventure in a world of fantasy. My old Redwall books from Brian Jaques were no longer doing it for me, so I searched for something more fresh and contemporary (and dare I say a bit more edgy). That's when I stumbled over Wardrum which I've found to be a very pleasant suprise.
I'm not a big reader, but found it very easy to follow, and it wastes no time diving right into the adventure and the world building. It is simply everything I could have asked for!
I'm not a big reader, but found it very easy to follow, and it wastes no time diving right into the adventure and the world building. It is simply everything I could have asked for!
July 25, 2017
I don't often read fantasy, but I figured I might as well give it a try and I'm definitely glad I did! This little book packs a punch and will have you on the edge of your seat until the last page! I love how nearly all the characters are animals as that's something different to anything I've ever read before! The author certainly has vivid imagination and I really enjoyed going on this journey with our main character Otsoa as tragedy forces him to go on an adventure to save the world.
This book is certainly perfect for younger readers and I have passed it on to my 9 year old son who I have no doubt will love it!
This book is certainly perfect for younger readers and I have passed it on to my 9 year old son who I have no doubt will love it!
January 17, 2017
Otsoa saw a review for his book online, his mouth began to salivate..
A fantasy tale of a young Wolf without his howl, Otsoa, and his travelling companion, a flame-haired rooster named Roar. Admittedly as a non-fantasy reader, this would of been enough to put me off from the start, but I'm glad I gave this a chance.
The book follows a tried and tested method of storytelling. Main character has a life of it's own, a disaster strikes which repeals his comfort zone, and therefore sets out against the odds in the hopes of restoration.
As the story unfolds you really get a sense of adventure and travel. Many great locations and characters with real weight and drama in places. I had a favourite character away from the two main leads and genuinely felt both annoyance and converse relief as I kept reading.
Littered in-between chapters are side-stories of new characters introduced throughout. Whilst they serve to bring more character and world building development, they don't affect the pacing of the main story to any negative. Virtually every character has their own story each offering great depth to the character and their world they inhabit.
As far as I could tell only two characters were omitted to this, seemingly as they were introduced late into the story towards the finale, though not towards the sole benefits of plot convenience.
Each chapter took me around twenty minutes each to read. Perfect for hobbyist readers like myself, or as a bedtime read for children given the light-hearted tone.
There were many twists as the story progressed and I found it hard to stop reading certain parts as things took turns for the worse and some chapters ended on excruciating cliffhangers.
An excellent debut novel, would definitely make a habit of reading again in the future. Recommended.
A fantasy tale of a young Wolf without his howl, Otsoa, and his travelling companion, a flame-haired rooster named Roar. Admittedly as a non-fantasy reader, this would of been enough to put me off from the start, but I'm glad I gave this a chance.
The book follows a tried and tested method of storytelling. Main character has a life of it's own, a disaster strikes which repeals his comfort zone, and therefore sets out against the odds in the hopes of restoration.
As the story unfolds you really get a sense of adventure and travel. Many great locations and characters with real weight and drama in places. I had a favourite character away from the two main leads and genuinely felt both annoyance and converse relief as I kept reading.
Littered in-between chapters are side-stories of new characters introduced throughout. Whilst they serve to bring more character and world building development, they don't affect the pacing of the main story to any negative. Virtually every character has their own story each offering great depth to the character and their world they inhabit.
As far as I could tell only two characters were omitted to this, seemingly as they were introduced late into the story towards the finale, though not towards the sole benefits of plot convenience.
Each chapter took me around twenty minutes each to read. Perfect for hobbyist readers like myself, or as a bedtime read for children given the light-hearted tone.
There were many twists as the story progressed and I found it hard to stop reading certain parts as things took turns for the worse and some chapters ended on excruciating cliffhangers.
An excellent debut novel, would definitely make a habit of reading again in the future. Recommended.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews