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dantastic's review
4.0
After an unfortunate accident, young Ford Barlow goes on the lam and joins a group of young bandits, the Wayward Boys. Will Ford ever leave his new life behind and go home to Barlow to meet his fate?
I have to say I didn't go in it without a bias. J-to-the-K and I are so tight we're partners in a fictional detective agency ("Book Bros Unite!"). The year was 2016 when Jason Koivu first told me about this book at the Goodreads Summit. The mighty Bill Kerwin was also there. "Huckberry Finn meets Lord of the Rings" was how he described it. He eventually sent me a copy and then I lost it during a remodel. I unearthed it last week and here we are.
The prose was denser than I expected, possibly because it's been a LONG time since I read any straight up fantasy. I got used to it, though, and was soon drawn into Ford's plight. Stuck with an angry stepmother, Ford returns from his first battle only to find tragedy has struck. Then tragedy strikes a second time and Ford's off in the wind. People who follow Jason on social media will be happy to know the Koivu wit is present, although not so much that it detracts from the more serious moments.
The Wayward Boys reminded me of Peter Pan's Lost Boys with some Lord of the Flies thrown in. It's all fun and games, robbing people and sleeping rough, until it isn't. Big Jay said it was a prequel to the tale he really wanted to write and I'm guessing Ford will factor heavily into that one. This story is part fantasy, part coming-of-age tale.
That's about all I have to say. Beyond Barlow shows that good fantasy doesn't have to be all dragons, elves, and doorstop-sized volumes that don't go anywhere. Four out of five stars.
I have to say I didn't go in it without a bias. J-to-the-K and I are so tight we're partners in a fictional detective agency ("Book Bros Unite!"). The year was 2016 when Jason Koivu first told me about this book at the Goodreads Summit. The mighty Bill Kerwin was also there. "Huckberry Finn meets Lord of the Rings" was how he described it. He eventually sent me a copy and then I lost it during a remodel. I unearthed it last week and here we are.
The prose was denser than I expected, possibly because it's been a LONG time since I read any straight up fantasy. I got used to it, though, and was soon drawn into Ford's plight. Stuck with an angry stepmother, Ford returns from his first battle only to find tragedy has struck. Then tragedy strikes a second time and Ford's off in the wind. People who follow Jason on social media will be happy to know the Koivu wit is present, although not so much that it detracts from the more serious moments.
The Wayward Boys reminded me of Peter Pan's Lost Boys with some Lord of the Flies thrown in. It's all fun and games, robbing people and sleeping rough, until it isn't. Big Jay said it was a prequel to the tale he really wanted to write and I'm guessing Ford will factor heavily into that one. This story is part fantasy, part coming-of-age tale.
That's about all I have to say. Beyond Barlow shows that good fantasy doesn't have to be all dragons, elves, and doorstop-sized volumes that don't go anywhere. Four out of five stars.
see_sadie_read's review
3.0
Technically, I didn’t agree to review this book. I accepted The Rue of Hope and Koivu was kind enough to send Beyond Barlow along too, so that I could start the series at the beginning. I mention this because I’m pretty much done with Young Adult novels, avoiding the genre when I can. While Beyond Barlow is about a young adult, I wouldn’t necessarily call it a YA book. Despite that, I didn’t go into it excited to read about a 15ish-year-old boy. But I wanted to start at the beginning.
The book is well enough written and it’s not a bad book. However, I took a long time to read it because I kept avoiding it. It’s just unremitting mishap and misery from start to finish, and you feel very early that that is going to be the case. I found nothing in the story to enjoy or look forward to.
While Ford isn’t a bad guy, he’s not all that bright and despite often trying to do the right thing, I found him a little sociopathic at times. He wasn’t a character I could relate to. Similarly, all the side characters are grey at best, most villainous and with a tendency to suddenly disappear or die. Add to this the fact that all the events of the book are sad or anger-inducing or simply unpleasant and the reader is left with nothing to look forward to. One unsavory character said on page 239, “A man needs a bit of fun, and all we’ve had is shit and misery.” And that’s exactly how I felt about reading this book.
Again, it’s not badly written. It’s not a bad book. Some people enjoy such things. I’m just not one of them. All in all, I didn’t hate it so much that I won’t read the next book. But I didn’t enjoy it enough to look forward to it either. Especially since with a title like The Rue of Hope, I can’t really expect any more lightheartedness out of it either.
The book is well enough written and it’s not a bad book. However, I took a long time to read it because I kept avoiding it. It’s just unremitting mishap and misery from start to finish, and you feel very early that that is going to be the case. I found nothing in the story to enjoy or look forward to.
While Ford isn’t a bad guy, he’s not all that bright and despite often trying to do the right thing, I found him a little sociopathic at times. He wasn’t a character I could relate to. Similarly, all the side characters are grey at best, most villainous and with a tendency to suddenly disappear or die. Add to this the fact that all the events of the book are sad or anger-inducing or simply unpleasant and the reader is left with nothing to look forward to. One unsavory character said on page 239, “A man needs a bit of fun, and all we’ve had is shit and misery.” And that’s exactly how I felt about reading this book.
Again, it’s not badly written. It’s not a bad book. Some people enjoy such things. I’m just not one of them. All in all, I didn’t hate it so much that I won’t read the next book. But I didn’t enjoy it enough to look forward to it either. Especially since with a title like The Rue of Hope, I can’t really expect any more lightheartedness out of it either.
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