Fascinating Authors

Book Review
by
John H. Manhold

Anjan ISBN 9780984187072, FireFly, an imprint of RoseHeart Publishing, 213 pages, Paperback, $12.95, U.S./9.95 U.K./14.95 Canada, authored by Larus Einarsson.

Larus Einarsson is a talented grandfather who lives in Iceland with his wife and three grandchildren and has produced this, the first of what is projected to be a series. It is a charming tale dealing with a mythical time when elves, humans, and netherworld creatures each existed in their own worlds, but sometimes found the secret entrances to that of the other and travelled into it for one reason or another.

Most of the action surrounds Anjan, a human boy whom a witch of the Light Elves discovers has been destined to fulfill a prophecy. He lives in his own world for a while, tutored by this “white witch”, but then must move through the magic door into the world of the elves to continue his journey to fulfill the prophecy.

The movement into this other world requires specific magical happenings and lead to many more. We encounter the Light Elves, the vicious Gray Elves, Fire Elves, trolls, dwarfs , demons and dragons, as well as sorcerers, both good and bad. All of these are incorporated into a story that moves along at a rapid pace with enough stumbling blocks thrown into the young hero’s way to leave his accomplishment of the mission in constant doubt.

Einarsson no doubt has produced a story for his, and other, grandchildren. However, it is a delightful tale that an adult just might want to find time to read after a miserably frenetic day, to recall the wondrous times of his/her youth when magic was not something an illusionist presented on a stage with obvious knowledge of trickery.

From a practical standpoint, aspects of the tale also are not unlike certain existent postulation about the existence of a parallel universe. Louis L’Amour, perhaps one of the most well-known of modern authors, among others, has dealt with this theme in several stories, and has described entrance and exit points to just such a world along with interesting ideas about activity existent therein.

So, to reiterate, Anjan is a charming, fast moving story that is sure to delight any reader who picks it up.