The Adventures of Rustle and Eddy

by Joseph R. Lallo

The Adventures of Rustle and Eddy is a standalone, deep-sea adventure in the Book of Deacon setting. A little curiosity can be a dangerous thing. Rustle should have been content in his little pond, hidden away from the world where hopefully nothing exciting would ever happen. But the sea was so near, with all of its mysteries and secrets. He couldn’t help but sneak away from time to time and gaze upon the surface, wondering what lay beneath. Little did he know that on this fateful day, there was something equally curious staring back. Eddy was a merman. Just as mermaids were blessed with the ability to travel to the surface, he was blessed with the ability to travel to the depths. Together, all of the sea was theirs to explore, but it seemed only the maids ever found something exciting. A few words of magic, and an awful lot of optimism, brought him to the surface in search of adventure. To his delight, he found Rustle. Together, to the fairy’s woe and the merman’s delight, they soon find themselves on the adventure of their lives. But now that fate has turned its eyes to them, can they survive what it has in store?

Genres: Fantasy

212 pages, Paperback

First published August 15, 2018

Reviews

[Jeffrey Caston · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book so much. I love the way Lallo writes fantasy, which became particularly apparent when I compare it to the meandering, mostly pointless slog-fest that was the 9th Wheel of Time book. Lallo has a good-natured fantasy world with the Book of Deacon that is quite appealing. I'm fine with dark fantasy, but dude, the last fantasy book I read before Rustle and Eddy was just... mean-spirited and quite unappealing. Rustle and Eddy, by comparison exudes wonder and the fantastical and really develops the core emotions of relationships between the characters. Rustle and Eddy each have distinct personalities but together they have a sort of n "Odd Couple" quality about them that is very entertaining. But Lallo understands, clearly, in his bones that good fantasy creates compelling relationships between characters and their relationship to their world.

4.8/5 rounded up.

[5t4n5 Dot Com · Rating 5 out of 5]

The 8th book in 'The Book of Deacon' series.   Although it isn't actually part of the main series.

A genuine stand alone book that can be enjoyed either with or without the main series, and vice versa.   It just so happens that this story happens in the same world as 'The Book of Deacon' series.

So what's it about?   Well, to begin, it's mostly a children's story, and if you have any children who like things like fairies and mermaids then i'm sure they'll love you to read them this story.

Essentially, a fairy ends up getting snatched from the shore by a merman and dragged off under the sea for a rather big and exciting adventure.   What more can a child ask from a story?

And even if you're not a child and just including this book because you're reading 'The Book of Deacon' as a whole series like i am, this is a nice fun book to read.   After all the heaviness of 'The Battle of Verrel' and the end of the war, it's nice to have a book like this to take a breather from the main series before diving back in for the second half.   It really is a great, half time, refreshment read.

So, to sum up, a nice easy read, which i think would be great for children either for reading themselves or being read to.   The characters are enjoyable, well written, fun, and keep you on their side all the way through.

And now i dive straight back into the main series with 'The Redemption of Desmeres'.

[Lizzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Adventures of Rustle and Eddy was a fun read. Geared towards young adults (think Rick Riordin reader level), but even as an adult I enjoyed the story. It is also the moral story of how very different people can be friends and in doing so expand each other's ideas and horizons. An adventure story that incorporates fantasy and magic.

The main characters are a merman and a fairy. They are well-written, along with a wonderful world below the ocean that show us how the mermaids/mermen live. Lallo writes creative and interesting characters that the reader can connect to, human or not. The world building in this book was an added bonus.

If you are looking for a good story with characters that grow and overcome challenges with a positive theme, especially for the junior high average male reader, this would be a good choice.