An Unlikely Journey is the first novel in the Raven’s Heart duology. The second book is titled An Unlikely Reunion. The novel is written by Mathew and Stephanie Verish, which also marks their first published work. Being that this is a print on demand novel, some readers may shy away from it because of the stigma attached to print on demand novels. To me, that’s an unfair statement. One should not judge a book by who the publisher is, just like it should not be judged on what the cover looks like. It should be judged based only on the contents between the covers. Here is my opinion of that very thing.

The plot of this book is somewhat in the traditional, clichéd, vein. In that the main character takes up a quest and along the way joins up with a couple other interesting characters that assist in the quest. We have all read that story, and variations of it. What marks a good author, or authors in this case, is the ability to take that cliché and spin it so that it does not feel completely recycled. While I recognized that theme right away, at no time did I feel that it was a simple reproduction. Rather, I was more interested in just what the authors would do to that plot line. There are few sub plots scattered in to add more interest. Things such as the mysterious White Demon, a book and its contents, a stone that has immense power, as well as several internal conflicts. The authors are able to weave all these elements, and a few others, together to create an interesting story that does not overpower the characters. The plot has a gentle flow to it that never left me asking myself what was going on or having to reread sections.

The characters are much like the plot, in that some are archetype style characters. Much like the plot though, they are packaged in such a way that it is relatively easy to put that aside and enjoy them for what they are. There are a few memorable characters in this book, my favorite among them is a young thief named Jinx. He is written with a certain naivety that makes him instantly endearing. Other characters such as Hawkwing, Kariayla, and Arcturus round out the main group of adventures. While it is a small group, it seemed to work well as the characters never ‘got away’ from the authors. They each had their own unique voices and motivations; as well as character flaws that make them much more real and easy to relate to. For the most part it was easy to connect with the characters as they progressed throughout the novel. In terms of character development, this was more of a hit and miss for me. Jinx, and not just because he is my favorite character, seemed to have much more progression than any of the other characters. Kariayla had some decent progression as did Hawkwing. I felt Arcturus character remained pretty much the same throughout the novel. Since this is a two part story he could very likely have more progression in the next novel though. In the end scheme of things, these are solid characters that add to the story in several ways.

Some minor criticisms of this novel:

1 – The authors try to stress certain words, phrases, by italicizing them. However, after awhile that loses its effectiveness. Once and awhile is okay, but I felt it was a little over used. I found myself no longer picking up the italics after awhile. That old adage too much of a good things ruins the bunch would apply here.

2 – There are a couple times in the book where I felt the authors were a little too wordy. What I mean is that there were well written descriptions of things in a sentence or two and I got the perfect mental image. Then the next two or three sentences expounded on it. There is a fine line between under-describing and over-describing and I think a couple times in the book were too much. I like it when authors give me just enough information to allow my imagination to fill in the gaps, but when an author over-describes something my imagination is stunted into only seeing one thing.

3 – Lastly, and this seems to be a common new author trap. The over use of the word suddenly. To me the word suddenly should be used rarely for impact. One sentence in the book says something like “Suddenly they noticed a man staring at them from across the room.” Also, the use of modern terms. One that really stuck out to me was ponytail instead of braid. Using modern terms in a fantasy setting can pull the reader away from the story. This is something I have noticed with newer authors, but I think it still needs to be pointed out.

Now, the things I enjoyed about the novel:

1 – The prose and pacing of the novel. I was actually pleasantly surprised at how well it flowed and that the pace of the book rarely faulted. It had a nice even flow that quickly drew me in and dared me to stop reading. This speaks of the author’s talent to do this with their first novel, they will certainly only get better the more they write. I am looking forward to reading that growth.

2 – Rarely do new authors write both a solid plot and solid characters in the same book. Yet, that is exactly what the authors do in this book. Equal attention is paid to both and the book is clearly better off for that. It is quite evident that they spent a great deal of time in the creation of this book and did not rush anything.

3 – The world. World building is so misunderstood with some authors. However, in this novel we are greeted with a rich, detailed world that has a history. It doesn’t feel like something that was just created. It feels like it has been around for a long time.

It is really a shame that some readers will look at a book from a small publisher, or print on demand and not give it a second look. This novel shows that theory to be incorrect. While there is room for growth in this novel, by and large it is a well written interesting novel that adds to the fantasy genre. It has many elements that fans of larger house fantasy novels will enjoy if they give it a chance. I for one am happy to have had the opportunity to read this book and I am looking forward to the next novel. This will certainly be a book I recommend to others looking for a solid fantasy novel.