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A delivery of a farfetched story. Aleksander Minkowski prescribes us a welter tale of teenagers looking for the love of their lives, their home, and their sanity which lies hidden in ancient legends and strained mysteries – Inkish Kingdoms

Hello, my book royalists! Storytime: In our constant efforts to improve our name, professionalism, and earning a living with books, reading, criticism, and reviewing, we were requested by a far-away indie author to read and review his book! I mentioned this in the post: so if you didn’t read it, this is brand new for you!

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I see the power and the intention that this story gives to finding the one, finding love, and a place to belong; however, this story is a bit all over the place, and it is not plausible at all. The characters of the novel are “locked up” in a sanatorium. This sanatorium is only for teenagers that seem messed up for their on volition and seem to enjoy staying there. The fact the author never actually explains why the characters are there or their background stories left a space to the imagination, that in this case, was not positive. Creating a bond with the reader is an element used to engage and create a stronger storyline, but these characters are no relatable and one cannot connect with them at all.

Now, you saw that I said “locked up”, and I will explain the quotation marks. These teenagers are in a sanatorium that will grant them passes to go to town… like if a sanatorium will grant such permission. Also, it seems to be pretty easy to escape from the place and then come back because there is no security at all. They have bonfires and they sing and all, so for me this is more like a summer camp but with the exception that “summer camp” was swapped with “sanatorium”. On top of that, there is a little government that rules the institution formed by the same patients, who run punishments for others, a journal, and a newspaper. So, now we can swap “summer camp” for “high school” and then “sanatorium”.

There is a mix of themes. WWII memories, Buddism, mental illnesses, drugs, deliriums to gain power, and scientific experimentation. However, the experimentation seems to be out of the blue and with really weak foundations. There is a Buddhist myth and also some ruins of an old temple on the same ground as the institution which is clearly old and dangerous, but the patients can wander around the grounds without supervision.

The characters. The main character Marcel is so predictable with his chivalry and bravado of the macho man who protects his woman and of course is desired by all women. On top of that, he falls in love and moves from one to another in a matter of seconds; in other words, the constant look for kicks and effect of hormones. The author tends to give him a cleaver speech tinted with sassy comments to the point of talking to the “camera” breaking the fourth wall which I don’t quite find amusing.

To be honest, there were only three instances in which I felt moved by the story, and this is when the main character reads about WWII and the atrocities of the era which happened twice, and when Marcel talks to the Cook of the place. The Cook explains Buddhism which was profound and with no doubt educational, I just wish this topic could have been more developed because this was just a glimpse of such great philosophy.

A final conclusion is: the book had some deep topics and themes to discuss that got lost within each other and there was a lack of foundation for the story and the resolution.

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So, the kingdom has given this book:

It seems that your majesty is not pleased and the knights have spoken!

If you wish to check the Goodreads profile, hey! Feel free to go there! I have added the link to the review and the rating I gave to this book.

GoodReads – My profile

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Thank you for reading!

“Find your peace, find your joy, find your book, and never let go”.

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