Book reviews are a great way for self-publishing authors to gain exposure. After all, how can someone buy your book if he or she doesn’t know it exists? Paired with other elements of your book promotion strategy, requesting reviews is a great way to get people talking about what you’ve written.
When we read good reviews, we definitely like to share them. It gives the author a few (permanent) moments of fame and allows us to let the community know about a great book. Here’s this week’s book review by Midwest Book Review:
Imlich’s Tale: A Woeful Buffeting at the Hands of Fate, or Accident, or Error
Elizabeth Carroll
Publisher: Outskirts Press
ISBN: 9781432775391
Reviewer: Beverly Pechin
First and foremost if you’re not one to appreciate a good folklore or tale of tall tales, magic, and dragons, you won’t enjoy this book. This book is for those who still have a bit of child in their heart and love the ideas of mythical creatures and the magic of those creatures.
This is a story of Imlich, one of a “baker’s dozen” whom his mother has hatched in her nest. She quickly takes a special liking to Imlich, much like you will as you read along with his story. Imlich was among those thought to have the ability to be an heir among the dragons, and it seemed to be in the cards for the future as all could see and feel. While he had no clue what that meant, neither he nor his siblings really cared. They just knew that they were hungry often and were certain that they should fly, as all dragons do. Imlich seemed to be the first to comprehend, at least the beginning steps to obtaining flight, and he quickly helped those siblings that were interested to join him as he taught them the moves he found that brought them each closer to flight, showing he was a leader from the beginning.
His father, the King, seemed to be very much in love with his mother; unlike so many others who had been brought to the King to serve him in bearing him children. Most made it as the companion to the King for less than two years, some not even close to that time, yet his mother was quickly approaching the two-year mark and the comment was made to her by the King himself that it seem there may be an heir to his throne in their batch of little ones. The love seemed endless and true between the King and Imlich’s mother, and the future seemed to be already written.
Had Imlich known the ways of the King, he would have understood that the King had taken to his mother and brought her as close as she would ever come to becoming his Queen. She had been so in love with him, and he seemingly with her. His custom was to woo those he loved for a matter of two years and then send them off, never marrying them. But this time it was different. This time the future was in the stars and in the eyes of the two who loved each other so very much.
Imlich’s mother had been with her love for almost two years now when they called for a “Seer” to determine who the next in line would be to the throne. The Seer was called upon to give his great insight as to who the next in line to the throne would be. It seemed that both Imlich’s mother and the King himself were both certain that it was one of their own offspring, but in particular she felt certain it would be Imlich. However the Seer instead damned her and turned her and her offspring away immediately in front of everyone. From that evening on, she never again was acknowledged by the King and was thrown to live the life that she had never thought she would live, held captive in the castle area of the King to live with her guardian.
Each part of the story goes on to show you the life of both Imlich and his beloved mother as they move on through time. They face adventures and meet people much like those we have all met in life. The story telling ability of the author makes each adventure as magical as it is, and the story of a dragon and his mother growing up in a world that can often be strange and unpredictable will warm your heart.
Perhaps you may even see yourself in many of the situations and enjoy the comfort of the magical creatures that you grow to love being an inspiration in the real world and what happens in it. It’s truly an amazing, magical book, filled with tender stories, frightening fears and somehow realities that are made magical. The real world intertwines with the magical one, showing you how sometimes we are caught in our own dreams only to be left alone against the world. Touching and amazingly well written, Elizabeth Carroll has a way of truly creating a world of fantasy that encompasses you the entire time you’re reading it.
If you’re one who loves to enjoy the magical wonder of the world of medieval dragons and the wonder of being lost in the magical world of a book, then you will love “Imlich’s Tale.” It allows you to cheer on the “good guys” and hope for the “little guys” in both the magical world of dragons and in the real world of humans. It’s definitely a wonderful way to escape into another world of magic. Keep it handy for any time you simply need to escape into a book of fantasy and a touching story of a dragon and his mother.
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