The New Far-Myst Adventure
Bruce Von Stiers
A couple of years ago I wrote a review of the youth oriented fantasy novel titled The Door To Far-Myst. The novel was written by Mike Dicerto. I had also reviewed an earlier Dicerto novel that was both a rock fable and a sci-fi tale.
The Door To Far-Myst concerned a boy by the name of Rupert Dullz. Bored with his life and his world, Rupert desires adventure. He gets it when Pie O'Sky, a man from another world, offers up a contest. Rupert wins and sets forth on an awesome but scary adventure.
Dicerto left that novel open ended. So reading to the end, I figured he'd write a sequel. And so he did. This one is titled The Secret of My-Myst. It, like the previous Rupert Dullz adventure, was published by Zumaya Publications.
At the end of the first novel, Rupert was traveling in the world of Far-Myst with a man called Dream Weaver. This new book picks up from there. Rupert and Dream Weaver go to the home of Summit, one of the Twelve. The Twelve are a group of Iluminorians, gifted leaders of the Far-Myst. It seems that Summit is missing as well as all the people of the village in which he lives.
If you hadn't read the first book, it might be easy to get lost real quick. But the author actually brings the reader into the story by having Dream Weaver provide a lot of history of Far-Myst to Rupert.
But I've got to back up here slightly. In the first novel the reader learns that the children of Far-Myst are being kidnapped. There seems to be a plot to eliminate all of the imagination in the land and afford no quality of life for any of the citizens of Far-Myst. This plot is the work of a demon like creature called Murkus. After a child is captured, they are turned into some kind of minion for Murkus or a slave in his awful enterprise. And that's really where Rupert comes in. It seems that the contest wasn't really random at all. Rupert was picked due to his immense imagination and ingenuity. He would be the savior of Far-Myst. He was even christened with a new name; Rupert Starbright.
In the first novel, Rupert didn't really want to be the hero. He wanted to have some fun and adventure. He also wanted to find a cure for his grandmother's illness to take back home with him. But in this new novel Rupert realizes that he indeed may be the only hope for restoring Far-Myst to what it used to be like.
Rupert and Dream Weaver seek out answers to what is going on and how to stop Murkus. They are being followed by a couple of minions of Murkus. The reader later learns that those two have a special significance to the story.
As with the first novel, this one has several good plot elements. There is the good versus evil element that is the cornerstone of the story. Then there is the reluctant hero in Rupert. And that some of the people involved don't think he can get the job done.
In my own twisted kind of way, as I read the story I kept thinking of classic literary references. How the kidnapped children were treated and made to perform tasks made me think of stories by Charles Dickens. And the minions and other things under Murkus' control brought to mind Dante's Inferno. Like I said, kind of a twisted comparison. Surely, the youths that the novel is geared toward wouldn't take that same literary reference leap?
The Secret of My-Myst is an entertaining fantasy adventure novel. The story is well written with a few plot twists. Flying minions, towers turning into dragon's heads and boy adventurers all make for a great story and this novel has that and so much more.
And while this isn't a criticism, it is an observation. Although you don't need to have read the first novel featuring Rupert Starbright, it would definitely help. Reading the first novel will allow the reader to seamlessly move into the storyline of this new one.
As with Rupert Starbright's first adventure, The Secret of My-Myst can be purchased at amazon.com and other online and traditional book retailers. The book is also available directly from Zumaya Publications. Their web site is www.zumayapublications.com .
You might want to look up the author at his official site. That site can be found at http://www.mikedicerto.com/Mike_DiCerto/Home.html
© 2013 Bruce E Von Stiers