The Return of Innocence: A Fantasy Adventure

by Duane Simolke, Toni Davis

The Return of Innocence blends humor and romance with exciting fantasy action. Visit Theln, a planet of magic, dragons, nobility, and heroes. Sasha Varov was born into a noble home in the Thelni kingdom of Jaan, but Sasha’s father dared to oppose the king’s sorcerer, Wuhrlock. Sasha and her family became exiles on a desolate island. At sixteen, Sasha left her island home to buy seeds in Jaan. She stumbled into a series of misadventures that ended with the death of Wuhrlock and made Sasha a legend, known as “Innocence.” Never mind that the legend barely resembled the truth, or that Sasha caught Wuhrlock in an unguarded moment. When Sasha returned for more seeds, the people of Jaan expected her to defeat a much more ruthless and powerful sorcerer. Duane Simolke wrote the short story "The Return of Innocence" in 1983. With contributions by Toni Davis, he later developed it into a novel, now available for the first time.

164 pages, Paperback

First published March 12, 2006

About the author

Duane Simolke wrote The Acorn Stories, Degranon: A Science Fiction Adventure, Sons of Taldra: A Science Fiction Adventure, Holding Me Together, and New Readings of Winesburg, Ohio. He co-wrote The Return of Innocence: A Fantasy Adventure and The Acorn Gathering: Writers Uniting Against Cancer. Simolke lives in Lubbock, Texas.

Writing published in nightFire, Mesquite, Caprock Sun, Midwest Poetry Review, International Journal on World Peace, and many other publications.

Reviews

[Kayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

For 2018, one of my main goals was to read my backlog of review books. While I didn't manage to read all of them, I made a nice dent in my pile. The last one I read in 2018 was The Return of Innocence. I had owned this book for a while, and kept putting it off for some reason. I'm not sure why I did. After finally reading it, I really enjoyed the book.

I really loved the world that Duane Simolke created in The Return of Innocence. He weaved a setting that was complex and intricate, yet easy to understand and for the reader to immerse themselves into. The plot was action packed, although a bit predictable at times. I will admit, the predictability did take me out of the world at times. However, a few pages later, something would happen that would suck me right back into the story line. I especially loved the scene with Sasha being in the throne room with the king the first time. It cracked me up.

I also loved all of the characters in The Return of Innocence. There wasn't a single one that I disliked. Even Taylii, the main antagonist, had some qualities that I found to be entertaining. I loved Sasha. She was a fierce woman who took no crap from anyone and knew what she wanted. She wouldn't let anyone stop her, or get in her way. I think YA fantasy needs more heroines like her. I also loved all of the side characters. I almost wish the author would write more books about them, especially with the LGBTQ+ relationship that happens in the end. I would love a book about just those two characters.

Other than being a little predictable, I absolutely loved The Return of Innocence. I thought it was one of the better short YA fantasy books that I had read in a while. I will definitely be reading more of Duane Simolke's books. I can't wait to see what other type of fantasy worlds he creates.

[Shawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really fun fantasy book. I loved the world Simolke created, because it has the traditional "medieval" sort of feel what with how it took place in villages where people bartered and traded, but it had many modern elements that I appreciated. In my opinion, I'm sick of fantasy books with sexist mindsets where women are regarded as second class citizens, who literally have to fight for their right to be warriors, and the men are the ones who get to go out and have fun adventures. So "The Return of Innocence" was very refreshing to read. Even if the main character hadn't been female, but everything else stayed the same I still would have really enjoyed it. I recommend it to anyone who is sick of reading books in the "Game of Thrones" fashion, but still want a great story to read.

[Helena Handbasket · Rating 5 out of 5]

Coincidence?

Coincidence and talk takes make for self fulfilling prophecies. Legends, abet with some reluctance, come to heroic life. Excellent worldbuilding