Homecoming is the suspenseful and chilling debut novel from author Jonathan Kent. It sees family man David Strutter lured back to his old childhood home on a seemingly mundane errand. Once there, the memories of his traumatic upbringing and abusive father come flooding back.
But along with these dark memories come memories of his talent. For David was a special boy. A boy blessed with an ability to 'travel' to an alternate reality and hide away from his father when he was at his worst. With the help of his equally talented mother, he learnt to harness these abilities and to some extent control the world he travelled to.
The world of Shael.
Now, some thirty years later with his 'body' seriously injured in the real world, he unexpectedly finds himself trapped in Shael. Like a fish out of water he must follow a series of cryptic clues to traverse the hostile alien landscapes, reach his mother and finally come face to face with the evil entity that has possessed his father for years.
Homecoming is the stunning first volume of the 'Shael Chronicles'.
Jonathan Kent is an author of Dark Fantasy and Horror fiction. His tales are predominantly told from a modern perspective where everyday folk are thrown into strange and fantastical situations. The stories can be dark, involving real life characters and are definitely not for the faint hearted!
He lives with his wife, two daughters and a houseful of pets on the wind swept Isle of Portland, in Dorset. He has a Business Degree from Manchester Metropolitan University and until recently had a successful career as a management consultant.
In September 2016 he gave it all up yo pursue his passion for storytelling and began a fledgling career as a novelist. His first Dark Fantasy novel 'Homecoming' was published in November 2016, followed by its darker (aren't they always!) sequel 'Meadowbank' - published in April 2017.
I have a confession to make. Apart from a few short stories and blogs, I have never tackled anything as complex as writing a novel. I love books and I love reading, but the thought of actually writing one seemed far too much for a mere mortal like me. I had ideas by the bucket loads, but actually getting them written I thought was beyond me.
And then my life changed...
Nothing dramatic, but in September 2016 I found myself out of work for the first time in 27 years. The decision to leave work was entirely my own as I could see the years ticking by and I wasn't prepared to do another 27 unfulfilling years.
So I started writing. And writing. Before long I had written over 200 pages of a story that I thought hung together. I shared it with a few friends who told me to publish it. But I still wasn't convinced. Who really wanted to hear an odd fantasy story of a chubby family man travelling between worlds and being chased by the physical manifestation of his fathers inner demon?
I mean, I liked the characters. I thought David was a little like me (frustratingly naive). Katy (smart put-downs) and Lily (Yoda sage) were the Ying and Yang that could finally wake David up to what he was up against and in Dex I had a villain that literally lived to cause misery.
So at the end of November 2016 I closed my eyes and clicked that 'publish' button. My book was out there for the world to see...
I hope you like it and I hope you come back to find out more about the weird and wonderful world of 'Shael'
I think this book is REALLY good!! A good plot line and is a real page turner. It really captures your imagination. The plot line is good. The emotion and tension Johnathon creates is REALLY believable. I really liked the back storeys of Dex and Dave, I think that they really adds to the character development.
This book is really good, and I would recommend it to someone!!
I wasn't sure what to expect from this book but was pleasantly surprised. Lots of dark elements and twists and turns. The worlds and circumstances created by the author are very unique and seem to open up a lot of possibilities for stories in the future.
I thought I have already written my review, but I deleted somehow. So I share again.
I am not a big fan of fantasy novel. But this book was fun to read. It's little slow built, but I kinda like it. It was hooked me up from beginning. This book made me really think that all violent people in the wolrd must have Dex inside of their body. Feel weird like I was in the two world like them. Very interesting book.