Review: Lodestone Book One: The Sea of Storms by Mark Whiteway

ISBN-10: 1602645469
ISBN-13: 978-1602645462
Page Count: 278
Copyright: 2010

About the Author:

(Taken from back of book)

Mark Whiteway lives in rural West Sussex, England, near the former home of H. G. Wells.  A lifelong devotee of H. G. Wells and Jules Verne, this is Mark's first science fiction novel, built around the concept of negative matter - an extension of Einstein's Theory of General Relativity.  Mark lives with his wife Sandra.

Summary:

(Taken from Amazon.com)

Ail-Kar, a white-hole portal from another universe, rains meteoroids onto the surface of the planet Kelanni. But the so-called "lodestones" behave according to different physical laws, transforming Kelanni's society. With the aid of the fearsome Keltar in their flying cloaks, the Kelanni are being put to forced labor to mine the lodestones. Shann, an orphan with a fiery disposition, witnesses a battle between a Keltar and a stranger bearing a similar flying cloak. She tracks down the stranger, and learns of the technology behind the Keltars' power, joining him on a mission to free the slaves and cut off their supply of lodestones. Meanwhile Keris, a Keltar, is sent on a mission to track down the rebels. She is attacked by a flying creature and saved by the enigmatic Chandara. At their Great Tree, she learns that a mysterious "Prophet" is out to destroy the Kelanni people. Their only hope is a powerful instrument hidden in the distant past. Pursued by Keltar, the party will encounter bizarre creatures, ancient technologies and terrifying dangers. Finally, they must seek to cross a massive storm barrier in order to reach the other side of their world, where a world-shaking revelation awaits.

My Review:

It took a chapter or two for me to become interested in this book.  This does not speak ill of the author.  It is simply how it happens with me in these types of books.  Once I was past the first couple of chapters, though, I didn't want to stop reading.  I loved the world that Mark created in this story.

The book did not consist of humans, that I could tell.  Instead, Kelanni were the dominant creatures ... human like, but with tails.  The Kelanni had social classes and military, like humans.  They were very realistically depicted in their emotions and interactions.

As a matter of fact, the entire world within the book's pages were well-imagined and depicted.  Reading about it made you feel like you could actually go there.  How neat would it be to travel to a world where three suns rule the sky?

Mark has outdone himself with his first scientific novel.  Reading it, you would never know this was his first.  It reads like a well-written author has taken the time to completely formulate an imaginary world down to the plants, bugs, creatures and people.  If you enjoy imaginary worlds and good versus evil, then you will definitely enjoy Lodestone.

Happy Reading! =)