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The Call of Jonas Creed is a fantasy short story by Marius H. Visser. The short story was published on August 11th 2022, by Drake Press.
I read a copy of this short story for free through BookSirens, with the agreement I would read it in 30 days and leave a review on either (or both) Goodreads or Amazon.
The Call of Jonas Creed is a standalone book that follows husband and father Jonas Creed as he leaves his home to find his son and avenge his wife after his village is raided and left in ruins.
Jonas Creed can Void-Walk, an ability to travel to the Void and walk amongst Gods and demons. It is believed his son shares his ability and therefore is taken for it.
EVALUATION
Genre
Jonas Creed met up with the genre but also gave the feeling that it was rooted in some alternative reality. For a good chunk of the start, everything that happens is more human-like than fantasy-like, but the fantasy feeling does come into play as the story continues.
It was a good mix of human crime/mystery and fantasy together.
Characters
I could relate to Jonas Creed and empathise with his feelings and mindset. The rage and determination he felt were understandable, and how he pushed himself through hell to save his son was a mindset that explains his actions.
However, I couldn’t connect to any other character in the entire book Jonas Creed was the only one that followed. His son appeared briefly at the start and end, with some parts in between, but those moments were only when Jonas could see him.
Plot & Theme
The plot was gripping at the beginning. A Void-Walking ability with an axe-wielding man on a mission with a vengeance in his eyes! Of course! However, as the story went on, I found myself lost.
The continuous bouncing back and forth between reality and the Void made the story hard to follow. Although, this is an effective technique to display how confusing the ability is for Jonas Creed. Unfortunately, this confusion is what made it hard to read. I found myself constantly having to go back time and time again to re-read what I had just read to try and make sense of what had happened. Especially during moments when everything is calm, and the next moment Jonas Creed has his axe out and is fighting for his life. Sometimes within the space of ten words.
Pacing
Due to the confusion between reality and the void, plus the time spent walking to the location of Jonas Creed’s son, the story felt like it went on forever. Despite only being 50 pages.
This made the pacing drag on, and it took me a while to read. Unfortunately, it never really recovered, even once the action kicked up at the end. However, this could have had more to do with the writing than the content.
Prose
Personally, this is where most of the issues arose. The writing style wasn’t something I particularly liked.
There were moments where visceral actions were described that were completely unnecessary, in my opinion. It was a combination of the words used as well as the actions.
Along with this, there seemed to be overused or misplaced words that felt like they needed to be put in the right place. Due to this, the immersion in the story was lost. I felt pulled from the story as I tried to understand what I had just read.
I needed to be fully on board with the writing style and decision of character actions, which impacted my ability to enjoy the story.
Story Impact
Honestly, I was happy but also sad.
I was happy that I had finished as, unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy the book. However, I also felt sad since I liked the concept and wanted to enjoy the story. The concept is something I love to see; characters having the ability to walk in forbidden realms. However, the writing style wasn’t something I liked, so I found it hard to get through the 50-paged book.
RECOMMENDATION
Overall, I don’t think I could recommend this book. Maybe if I met someone who reads this writing style, but to the average fantasy reader, I wouldn’t.
Fantasy writing styles can be strange, but this was so weird that it, unfortunately, hindered the story’s potential rather than helping it. This, combined with the constant walking, made the whole story feel like a weirdly worded walking simulator.
Rating & Info
Rating: 4/7
Author Website: Marius H. Visser
Edition: Kindle
Genre: Fantasy
Series/Standalone Name: The Call Of Jonas Creed
