Dave Weaver's Jacey's Kingdom was published by Elsewhen Press as an e-book in January 2013 and it will be published as a paperback in March 2013.
Information about Dave Weaver:
Dave Weaver, a graphic designer, was born in darkest Surrey. He took quite a long time to begin writing. About a decade ago he joined the local Verulam Writers' Circle and has since had a number of short stories published in various anthologies and webzines. Much of his writing hovers on the shifting borders between fantasy and reality. He holds a particular fascination for the uncertain times of Britain's Dark Ages, no doubt inspired by the ruins of the Roman town of Verulamium near where he lives with his family and a cat called Trillian. Jacey's Kingdom is his first novel.
Click here to visit the author's blog.
Information about Jacey's Kingdom:
Jacey's Kingdom is an enthralling tale that revolves around a startlingly desperate reality: Jacey Jackson, a talented student destined for Cambridge, collapses with a brain tumour while sitting her final history exam at school. In her mind she struggles through a quasi-historical sixth century dreamscape whilst the surgeons fight to save her life.
Jacey is helped by a stranger called George, who finds himself trapped in her nightmare after a terrible car accident. There are quests, battles, and a love story ahead of them, before we find out if Jacey will awake from her coma or perish on the operating table. And who, or what, is George? In this book, Dave Weaver questions our perception of reality and the redemptive power of dreams; are our experiences of fear, conflict, friendship and love any less real or meaningful when they take place in the mind rather than the "real" physical world?
Dave Weaver has been writing for ten years, with short stories published in anthologies, magazines and online in the UK and USA. Jacey's Kingdom is his first published novel. He cleverly weaves a tale that takes the almost unimaginable drama of an eighteen year-old girl whose life is in the balance, relying on modern surgery to bring her back from the brink, and conceives the world that she has constructed in her mind to deal with the trauma happening to her body. Developing the friendship between Jacey and George in a natural and witty style, despite their unlikely situation and the difference in their ages, Dave has produced a story that is both exciting and thought-provoking. We are sure that this book will be a must-read story for adults and young adults alike.
A REVIEW OF DAVE WEAVER'S JACEY'S KINGDOM
Before I write anything else, I'll mention briefly that Elsewhen Press has established itself as an interesting independent publisher. They publish fascinating speculative fiction, which differs nicely from mainstream speculative fiction. Dave Weaver's Jacey's Kingdom is a good example of a fantasy book, which differs from mainstream fantasy books in terms of the story.
Dave Weaver's Jacey's Kingdom is a fast-paced and a bit different kind of a fantasy book, because it combines fantasy and realism. The story feels refreshing, because you don't normally get to read fantasy books about an eighteen year old girl who's suffering from brain tumour and has created a fantasy world to deal with the trauma.
I think it's interesting that Dave Weaver has chosen to write about a girl who creates a fantasy world to deal with her trauma. I've heard and read about people who have run away from their problems by creating a make-believe world around themselves to deal with what's going on and what's happenings to them, but I don't remember reading about these things in this kind of a format before.
Here's a bit of information about the plot:
Jacey has been feeling sick, but think it's only flu. She's interested in history and wants to go to Cambridge to study it. Her life changes dramatically when she collapses during an exam and finds herself in the sixth century. She meets George and hears that people have expected her to arrive...
The author writes surprisingly fluently about the characters. Jacey is an interesting character, because her life changes dramatically when she collapses and finds herself in a fantasy world. George is also an interesting character, because he's been in a car accident and suddenly wakes up in Jacey's fantasy world. Both characters try to come to terms with what has happened to them and try to deal with the fact that they're in the sixth century.
It was fascinating to read how George reacted to the situtation when he found out that something strange had happened to him. The author handled his reactions nicely and believably.
I also enjoyed reading about the Marie Antoinette subplot. It was fascinating to read how Jacey experienced time shifts and found herself in Marie Antoinette's time.
Dave Weaver has created a fascinating sixth century world in this book. He writes fluently about Jacey's adventures and the surroundings. When I read this book I got the impression that the author likes history, because his descriptions of historical surroundings felt good.
Jacey's Kingdom can be read as a book, which tells how fantasy can help to overcome and understand difficult situations, or it can be read as an adventure fantasy, because it's an entertaining adventure story. It's a nicely told story about friendship, courage, hope and overcoming obstacles.
In my opinion this book works amazingly well as an adventure book, because the author keeps the story moving all the time. I think that readers who are interested in fast paced adventures will like the story. The characters run into all kinds of trouble and have to deal with them, so there's plenty of action in this book. I think that readers will be interested in finding out what happens to Jacey and who George is. Everything will be revealed at the end of the book, but I won't write about the ending. I'll only mention that the ending felt satisfying.
The author explores the meaning of friendship in an intriguing way. Jacey and George are different kind of persons, but they share a connection. The author explores this connection well and shows that even though people are different and they have different backgrounds (and also have disagreements with each other), they can still be friends and care for each other.
Dave Weaver's fluent prose makes this book accessible and easy to read. I was amazed how fast it was to read this book, because the story flowed effortlessly and there were humourous moments which lightened the atmosphere. Because the prose is easy to read, I think that even younger readers (young adults) will be able to enjoy this book.
Although the author writes about a difficult subject, he has managed to write an amazingly funny and witty story. I think it's good that he has added humour to the story, because if he had written only about grim happenings, it would've been tedious to read this book.
Jacey's Kingdom can be recommended to readers of all ages who want to read a fast-paced and a bit different kind of a fantasy adventure. It's a riveting fantasy book which will make you think about the happenings (it offers good and harmless, but thought-provoking entertainment for its reader).
Good and interesting fiction!