Book Title: The Ghosts of Rathalla by Matthew K. Perkins
Category: Adult Fiction (18+), 200 pages
Genre: Epic fantasy
Publisher: Resource Publications
Release date: February 2024
Content Rating: PG-13: Some swearing and violence.
Set in a world that is dominated by a vast desert, two friends are caught in the middle of a civil war. She’s a warrior. He’s a musician. When they discover that the crux of the war is a prophesied newborn baby that one side will do anything to destroy, they become the only people capable of saving the child’s life—all that stands in their way is an active volcano, a barbarian army, and a cunning assassin with motives of his own.
Curiosity and Influence
My dad was such a big influence for me when it came to discovering and loving fantasy as a genre. He’s retired now, but he taught middle school language arts for thirty-two years. He read Lord of the Rings for the first time in 1977 and loved it so much that he made it a ritual to reread it once a year thereafter. For many Christmases, my mom gifted my dad a Lord of the Rings calendar for the upcoming year. This was well before the movies, and each calendar had incredible(!!!) artwork by a lot of great artists. Well, my dad saved all this stunning artwork from each calendar, and then, as a teacher, decorated his classroom with it. As a kid, I spent a lot of time in my dad’s classroom—before and after school—waiting for him to finish working so I could get a ride home. In a typical, annoying-kid kind of way, I would get bored, and I would go around the room and point to each picture, What’s this one? What’s this one? What’s this one?
That’s Eowyn battling the Witch-King of Angmar. That’s the fellowship stuck in a storm on Caradhras. That’s Gandalf and the Balrog on the bridge of Khazad-Dum.
Then of course, the follow up questions from me: Who’s Eowyn? Why are they traveling in the mountains with that much snow? What, pray tell, is a BALROG!?
In hindsight, my dad probably just needed to get some papers graded so that we could go home for the day, and the last thing he needed was to answer every question I had about this world I knew nothing about. But he did. He answered every question I had patiently, and thoroughly. And every character, setting, and history, was so exact, and so real in the way that he talked about it. I could tell that he loved it, and it made me love it. I think I loved fantasy before I ever read a word of it.
My Review:
This one is difficult for me to rate.
Overall, I was a bit disappointed. This might be a bit spoilery, but I was wondering how anything in the book related to its summary for the first 170 pages of its 191 page length. Only the last 21 pages made sense with most of the summary.
I found the two characters interesting enough, though I never really came to care for them that much. I didn't feel connected to them or their journey through most of the book. I enjoyed reading the parts that had more action to them and found myself kind of skimming over some of the other parts, especially the historical add-ons.
The last 20 pages made me realize that I was more invested in them then I had realized. While I still wasn't emotionally connected to the characters or with what might happen to them, I still found myself rooting for them and hoping they would have a positive end to their journey.
I found the writing style interesting. The book didn't have chapters as I am accustomed to. It did have three parts, though I am not sure why. Maybe they were to highlight the different parts of the journey?
I think I would have to rate this a three star rating. I wanted to know how it ended but I felt no strong emotion about the story or its characters until the very end when I felt a small touch of sadness. I wish there had been another part to it. I found the ending a bit unsatisfying.
I am not sure who I would recommend this book to. It isn't overly filled with action but has enough to keep it interesting, so I can't say that action lovers will enjoy it. It isn't full of fantastical happenings, so I can't say fantasy lovers should read it. There is no romance or even a mystery.
I guess I would recommend this to people that enjoy reading about the journey. They travel through some demanding terrain, meet with multiple people, some good, some not, have to fight for their lives against both people and the elements, and they have an interesting travel companion. She was probably my favorite character, and gave me the biggest surprise of the book, and she wasn't even a human!
Matthew K. Perkins is a proud Wyoming native, where he completed an MA in English Literature from the state’s lone university. He currently lives in Denver, Colorado, with his wife, three sons, and two dogs. He is the author of two novels, 'Saint in Vain' (2018) and 'The Ghosts of Rathalla' (2024).
