Genre: Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Reviewers: Gloria & Ulysses, Paranormal Romance Guild
Get It On Amazon | Universal Buy Link
About The Book
Jerrith is running. Kissed by an elf, he can’t remain in his hometown of Althos any more. Not that he wanted to stay.
Caspian still hasn’t figured out why he kissed Jerrith, but he’s running too. Since he was exiled from the Autumn Lands, his past has been hazy, and his future uncertain.
But when a stray memory brings things into focus, the two decide to run toward something together. What they uncover will change how they see the world, and themselves, forever.
The Review
Ulysses:
A short novel (which I roared through yesterday and today), The Autumn Lands was originally published in 2016. The seemingly straightforward story line focuses on two young men: Jerrith Ladner, a blacksmith-in-training in the town of Althos, in the land of Vandris; and Caspian Errolson, a caravan worker from the land of Nevris.
It all starts with a kiss, stolen by these two young men, instantly drawn to each other, in the safety of a shadowed alley. All at once, Jerrith’s world is turned upside down, and he sees the object of his sudden affection hauled away to jail in the town hall. At eighteen, having lived all his life in this small farming community, Jerrith makes a decision: to rescue the beautiful Nevris man and escape the unhappiness of his life.
Jerrith has no plan. He doesn’t even understand why he feels so strongly about this stranger with whom he has shared only one kiss—his first kiss. The only clue the reader gets is the fact that Caspian’s ears are pointed, and that the caravan on which he was working came from a place called The Autumn Lands.
And, yes, we nod smugly, knowing exactly where this sort-of-medievalish fantasy will take us.
The author, however, has other ideas, and the story takes a sharp, clever turn into the world of science fiction, all the while holding onto the powerful bond between these two young men. There is something about the difference between the people of Nevris and those of Vandris. There is something about those pointed ears. But not the obvious something.
There is magic here (wonderfully simple magic), but it’s not quite the point, either. There’s a bigger epic story in the background, and while Scott Coatsworth gives an elegant precis of the tale, I confess that I would have loved it to be longer, to have more of Caspian’s homeland. I just wanted more.
This novella was an experiment for the author, and a successful one; but it’s a story that deserves more breadth and depth because of the plethora of powerful ideas touched on as the narrative plays out to its dramatic conclusion. It’s a novella that could easily have been an epic.
4 Stars
Gloria:
Wow Just Wow. J Scott Coatsworth had an idea in 2016 and wrote this, then played with it and we readers are benefitting from this little gem. Released this week, this short novella had me at THE KISS…….We immediately meet Jerrith Ladner, a young blacksmith-in-training in the town of Althos, in the land of Vandris; and Caspian Errolson, a caravan worker from the land of Nevris. Their eyes meet…..and then “the kiss” which has Cas beaten by the townsfolk and thrown into a jail.
Jerrith is haunted to know why he can’t stop thinking about the kiss and why it means so much to him. He also knows he should leave town, so he packs a few things and searches for Cas because he has a compulsion that he can’t leave without him.
The author allows the reader to follow with them learning about each other; the story was sweet yet heartbreaking. These two had very different stories to tell yet suffered greatly from each of their fathers. Cas was banished from Nevris by his father the King, and Jerrith was beaten unmercifully by his drunken father.
So Scott took a short Fantasy Fiction story and brought it into the Science Fiction realm; as we learned about the two worlds of Vandris and Nevris that Jerrith and Cas came from.
I am giving it 4.5 Stars because it was really good, but it could have been epic if he had continued the tale.
4.5 Stars
The Reviewers
Ulysses Grant Dietz grew up in Syracuse, New York, where his Leave It to Beaver life was enlivened by his fascination with vampires, from Bela Lugosi to Barnabas Collins. He studied French at Yale, and was trained to be a museum curator at the University of Delaware. A curator since 1980, Ulysses has never stopped writing fiction for the sheer pleasure of it. He created the character of Desmond Beckwith in 1988 as his personal response to Anne Rice’s landmark novels. Alyson Books released his first novel, Desmond, in 1998. Vampire in Suburbia, the sequel to Desmond, is his second novel.
Ulysses lives in suburban New Jersey with his husband of over 41 years and their two almost-grown children.
By the way, the name Ulysses was not his parents’ idea of a joke: he is a great-great grandson of Ulysses S. Grant, and his mother was the President’s last living great-grandchild. Every year on April 27 he gives a speech at Grant’s Tomb in New York City.
I am Gloria Lakritz/ aka grammy, and I am the Chairperson and Senior Reviewer for the The Paranormal Romance Guild. I am a reader of all genres and I love everything written. My excitement a few years ago, in meeting a group of Small Published and Indie writers on Amazon, had put me on a course to have them form a group for the benefit of their field. Here we are today, a little over 1 yr old and 50 strong. I am proud of them, and I think that we can grow and help all who dare to dream!!!
In my spare time, I am the President of a Financial Services Company, ENG Financial Corp, with 3 full service brokers. I have lived and worked in New Port Richey, Fl since 1989 and am the Proud Mother of two daughters and Prouder Grandmother of 4 grandchildren.
I am a Member of West Pasco Chamber of Commerce, A Woman in Philanthrophy for Morton Plant Hospitals, a Board Member for the PTA of Cypress Elementary School, Chair Captain for the Cancer Relay of New Port Richey’s Relay for Life, and Treasurer for the Paranormal Romance Guild.
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