Review: The Forgotten Land

Title: The Forgotten Land - Liman Prince of Egypt
Author: Josephine Kelly
Format: Paperback, 284 pages
Pub. Date: May 15th 2013
Source: Author/Createspace

★★★★

Four stars.

Liman once knew his destiny and his fate as a future ruler of Egypt. That is, until a great tragedy befalls his family. He's forced to flee from his land and collapses, knocking the recollections of his previous life away from his thoughts. He's raised to be a simple fisherman and is happy with his life, until one bitter girl sets the gears in motion for his epic journey that involves demons, sacred Scrolls, hellhounds, and a rightful place as leader of Egypt.

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The Forgotten Land is written at a level that I would personally recommend for middle grade/junior high readers. Though there are scenes with mild violence in them, I feel that this is a great book to read aloud as a bed time story. Something about the writing, I'm not quite sure what, just makes the story feel like it should be spoken and shared aloud.

+This book is peppered with artwork that features the characters and creatures that star in this story, as they are mentioned. These serve as a great point of reference, since there are quite a lot of characters involved in this plot. My personal favorite illustration is the one that made the cover of the book, artwork featuring the title character, Liman.

-There are so many characters in this story line that I found it hard to follow at parts. Because there are so many different people and creatures, the book often jumps around in time and location to keep the reader up to date with all of their whereabouts. While it isn't a deal breaker, it did make reading the novel a bit more flustering.

+This book is detailed just enough that it conjures up images of hot deserts, blue seas, and the days of ancient Egypt, and yet conversely is sparse enough where middle grade readers won't be discouraged by long-winded passages of detail.

+I appreciate that non-English words in this book are italicized. It draws attention to the word/phrase and encourages curiosity towards the word's meaning, instead of making the broad assumption that the reader already is familiar with the word.

-There were a few grammatical mistakes throughout this novel that did get my attention, but they were few enough that they didn't hinder my enjoyment of the story too much.

The Forgotten Land is a great balance of original writing and Egyptian mythology. It draws the reader in from the beginning and holds them throughout the story. Though both genders are represented in this book, I recommend it more so for male readers. This is also a great story for readers with a previous interest in Egyptology.

Thank you to Sophie Melace & author Josephine Kelly for my copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.