Reva's Quest

Reva's Quest

A MuseItYoung Novella by: Sue Perkins

Genre: Tween Fantasy

RATINGS: L=0     S=0     V=0

Release: December 30, 2011

Editor: Nancy Bell

Line editor: Penny Ehrenkranz

Cover artist: Mike Zambrano

Words: 22596

Pages: 74

ISBN: 978-1-927361-41-2

Price: $3.50

Back Cover:

Reva and her garden gnome arrive in Fey to fight the evil, Malice. Joined by three quest companions, they travel across the land to Malice’s lair. Only Reva can rid the world of Malice, but their journey brings danger, and she wonders if she will survive. Malice’s evil has invaded many of the animals and these beasts try to stop them reaching their goal. One of the companions begins to act strangely, and Reva must consider the possibility of a traitor in their midst.

Excerpt:

The pleasant walk beneath the trees held a tinge of darkness. Reva still felt they were being followed. Kai’s pursuit to the elves’ village merely stirred her curiosity. Now a feeling of menace sent a shiver down her spine. The gnome stomped along in his usual grumpy way, oblivious to any sign of danger. Jarin and Maura talked quietly as they followed her down the path. What could make her feel this way? Kai didn’t seem to be worried. He stalked in front, his proud head showing no sign anything bothered him.

“Gareth, do you get a feeling we're being watched?” Reva moved up beside him.

“No.” He looked at the trees on either side of the path before he continued. “Did you see something?”

“I’ve got a feeling something's not quite right.”

“Is anything wrong?” Jarin asked. He and Maura moved closer to Reva.

“She thinks something’s watching us,” Gareth said with a snort. “Too much imagination got us into this mess in the first place.”

“The human is right,” Jarin stated. “Since Malice arrived in our world, leprechauns have moved into the fringes of our forest. They don’t come close to our settlement, but we have to be wary when we travel.”

“That’s comforting.” Reva glanced into the undergrowth once more.

“Don’t worry. They won’t approach while Kai is with us,” Jarin reassured her. “No leprechaun would dare come near a griffin.”

They walked through the trees for most of the day, but eventually the forest thinned out. Through the trunks she could see rolling meadows with another wooded area in the distance. Distant snow-topped mountains broke the horizon. The creatures of Fey might not be the same as her imagination, but the scenery certainly looked similar. Eager to leave the lurking leprechauns behind, she hurried out onto the lush grassy surface.

“Come back you silly girl.”

Reva ignored Maura. With her arms stretched out to either side and her face turned upward, she spun slowly, enjoying the warm sunshine of late afternoon.

“What does she think she’s doing?” Maura’s voice held astonishment.

“Enjoying the warmth and light I think,” Jarin's words were thoughtful. “I thought she knew about Fey. Doesn’t she know how dangerous it is to rush out in the open?”

“Apparently not,” the female elf replied.

Reva heard their voices, but ignored the actual words. Eyes closed, she tilted her head back even more and lifted her face to the sky, enjoying the warm rays bathing her face. The sunshine wiped away the sense of menace and replaced it with a feeling of ease and contentment.

For several moments, she stood delighting in the sun before something passed across the sky, throwing a shadow on her face. Reva looked up, expecting to see a cloud crossing the sun. Her eyes widened in horror. A huge avian dived toward her at an amazing speed. The beak opened in a challenging scream which went right through her. Sharp talons on its feet stretched toward her as it swooped in for the kill.

The bird zoomed closer and closer. Reva stood open-mouthed, staring. Fear and disbelief pinned her feet to the ground.

MEET THE AUTHOR

Also by Sue Perkins:

Customer Reviews:

The New Zealand author Sue Perkins sends us along with the protagonist, Reva, into a troubled world only she can repair. We are shown beautiful scenes in the land of Fey and meet up with good and evil characters. There is the evil Malice, a gnome, unicorn, elves, a griffon, and even a knight in shining armor to protect her.rnI believe it’s every kid’s dream to find such a hideaway. rn

Reva is a young writer (poor girl) whose stories are all about her vision of the world of Fey. She admits that her stories are always sweetness and light, rainbows and unicorns (literally), but the writing helps her to get through the emotional pain of being the perpetual outsider. With her father in the military being constantly reassigned from place to place, she's never had the chance of settling in to make friends. As the "new girl," she's never able to break into the long-standing cliques that seem to exist in all grades. The older a kid is, the less likely she'll be accepted.rnrnReva's in a new house yet again, so she wanders toward the back of the yard checking out her new surroundings. A scummy pond with a beat-up yard gnome attracts her attention. She's a caring young lady, and cleans the gnome of its layer of scum and dirt. Then it talks to her. She's surprised, naturally, but also elated that the fairy world she writes about suddenly appears in her real life.rnrnShe follows Gareth (the gnome) through the pond into the world of Fey. There she learns that Fey is being assailed by evil, which is called Malice. Further, she discovers it's all her fault. She unknowingly caused the evil to invade the lovely Fey world. Saying why and how is spoiler, so I won't go into that.rnrnReva and her protectors, which includes Gareth, two elves, and a griffon set out to find the Malice stronghold and defeat it. rnrnSo we have a classic quest with a bit of a twist on the chosen one theme. So, thumbs up for what the book is: a lighter, nicer book with the dangers not quite so dangerous, the solutions a little bit too easy. That's what leads me to conclude a much younger audience than the 13+ YA age range. rnrnI could definitely see this as a bedtime read for parents whose kids love a good story, but their reading skills aren't ready for it. In that case, I'd call this a wonderful fantasy for ages 5 and up.

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