Tedenbarr of Have Lath by Esther T. Jones
| Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3.5/5 stars)
Tedenbarr of Have Lath introduces a uniquely complex world that has many elements of well thought out world building and an array of different characters. While the story itself is a rather traditional hero’s journey, it keeps you rooting for the protagonist to return home to his beloved, as is his driving quality. That being said, Tedenbarr is a sleeve-type of a protagonist: you put him on to see the world through his eyes, but because of that, you miss many other deeper and more interesting aspects to the entire story. I finished the book wishing to know more about many of the minor characters: Mikael, Tiana, Chester, and Lach to name a few. The author has put a lot of thought into this world though and it is a shame it is all contained to one book. Some stories might not need multiple books, but I think this story with its multiple cultures, a long list of characters, and multi-tiered subplots would have thrived on multiple books. It would have given me, as a reader, a chance to really get to know Tedenbarr, as well as his friends and their struggles, and paint a bigger picture other than Teddy’s quest home. Esther Jones is a fantastic writer though, and for a first novel, her prose is elegant and paints lovely pictures of the world as a whole. I do hope to see more of Aistes, Linkwood forest, and the world. Needless to say, Tedenbarr of Have Lath is an outline of what might come in the future. I do hope to see this world again in later novels. What’s it about?Adventure! Treachery! Danger on the High Seas!
After months of forced servitude aboard a cargo ship en route from the Kingdom of the West, all Tedenbarr wants is to return to his beloved home. But when a brutal pirate attack leaves Tedenbarr stranded on the far shores of the Eastern Kingdom, Tedenbarr must embark on an arduous and harrowing journey from East to West with only his wit, and will to survive against the many trials that beset him along the way. Faced with danger from land and sea, foreigner and country-kin, Tedenbarr’s travels promise to take him through perilous, lonely mountains, across vast, thirsty deserts, and into the very heart of a city poised on the brink of civil war. Only time will tell if Tedenbarr can succeed in his quest to return to Have Lath, and finally reunite with his friends, family and the woman he left behind. |
E.S. Barrison 
One thought on “Tedenbarr of Have Lath – Book Review”