Hello Everyone!

Today’s my stop on the Blog Tour hosted by the wonderful The Write Reads for The Legend of Black Jack by A.R. Witham! Thank you for providing me with a copy of this book for the blog tour. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Title: Legend of Black Jack

Author: A.R. Witham

Publisher: Nepenthe House

Publication Date: May 20, 2022

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Length: 495 Pages

Prepare to be whisked away to another realm in this epic fantasy adventure, perfect for fans of Neil Gaiman’s characters in Stardust or Patrick Rothfuss’s prose in The Name of the Wind.

Jack Swift remembers everything—even the horrible things he’d like to forget. To keep his guilt-ridden memories from haunting him, and to dodge his abusive foster mom, he buries himself in any book he can find, dreaming of his ultimate escape: becoming a doctor.

But fate has another escape in mind.

At 3:33 am on his fourteenth birthday, Jack is kidnapped by a monstrous rhinoceros and whisked away to another sphere of existence: the land of Keymark. Though this world is filled with pixies, monsters, pirates, elves, warriors, and mythical wonders, it is without healing magic—that magic was stolen by an evil, immortal prince hell-bent on domination. With no understanding of medical science to heal their wounds or illnesses, Jack’s kidnappers ask the impossible of him: use his knowledge to save a life…or be trapped in this bizarre world with no chance of rescue.

Jack doesn’t have secret magic, a great destiny, or any medical experience.

Why do they all expect him to become a legend?

The Legend of Black Jack is a very fun, young adult fantasy novel. It has adventure. It has battles. It has magic. It has knights, and pirates, and an abundance of different creatures. It also has a ton of memorable characters and a ragtag group that is ready to try to save the day. It was very easy to get into and difficult to put down once I started to get into it.

My favourite thing about this book was the ragtag group of heroes. Jack, the main character, is wonderful. He is a human that’s been thrown into this new world that is falling apart. He has an amazing memory, he’s curious, he’s clever, and he is brave. On his adventure, he forms a ragtag group of heroes who are willing to follow him to help him save the day. All of these characters brought something unique and important to the adventure and I really enjoyed all of them.

The other thing I really liked about this book was the adventure. The world that Jack has been thrown into is falling into chaos because evil is taking over. There is travel across the sea, to different lands, through forests, caves, and mountains. The entire adventure seems absolutely exhausting, but it was also a lot of fun to read about.

I also liked that this book had a lot of action in it. It has close combat and memorable battles. I especially liked that it wasn’t overly gory or graphic. I thought that the author did an excellent job of drawing me into the battle without getting into too much detail about the sheer amount of bloodshed that went on in some of the scenes.

I liked the worldbuilding in this book. Keymark, is an interesting place. It’s made up of many different beings and it has a rich history. At times, I did get a bit confused with the geography of Keymark, but I’m also not very good at keeping track of worldbuilding in fantasy novels. I liked the magic in this world, I liked the legends, and I liked all of the different creatures and beings that occupied it. I also really liked the tams, which were gecko like creatures.

Overall, this was a fun read. It had action and adventure and some wonderful characters. This book also has illustrations in it. My kindle is quite old and doesn’t have colour technology, but the illustrations were stunning in black and white, and I’d bet they’re even better in colour.

Rating: 4 Stars!

A. R. Witham is a three-time Emmy-winning writer-producer and a great lover of adventure.  He is the world’s foremost expert on the history of Keymark.  He loves to talk with young people and adults who remember what young people know.  He has written for film and television, canoed to the Arctic Circle, hiked the Appalachian Trail and been inside his house while it burned down.  He lives in Indianapolis.

If you would like a sneak peek at his upcoming work or upcoming events, please reach out to him:

Twitter: @ARWitham

Facebook:  ARWitham

Website: www.arwitham.com

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