Review: Pike's Quest

Pike's Quest by K.J. Bennett
eBook

My rating: 3 of 5 stars







Pike's Quest, self-published by indie author K.J. Bennett in October 2011, is a fantasy novel set in the far future, after mankind has – almost – destroyed the earth. Here, in the age of the New Dawn, a fish-faced boy named Pike is destined to be a hero and save the world from... Well, never mind, I want you to go and read the book, so don't expect details!
I was warned before I started reading that there would be a lot of that so-called English or British humour which I always thought I enjoy. And I did! Only that I realised I probably don't get is as much as I thought. That being said, here is my opinion of the book.

I really enjoyed the beginning, the description of Pike as a kid, the irony with which he is mobbed. It made me laugh a lot, and then I got tired of it.
I really enjoyed the ending; it had the grand final battle which you expect in a fantasy adventure. It kept me glued to the screen of my eReader.
It's just the middle part which makes writing this review a bit difficult: I don't understand it. More precisely, I don't understand the characters. The story line is very clear and well laid-out, the pace with which everything happens is, probably, a bit rushed, but you don't have to stretch, right? The characters, though...
There's Pike, who is told by a warlock that he is destined to be a hero, and although Pike neither wants to be one or thinks he could be one, he goes on a quest guided by a talking sparrow. Why? Because he is told that it is his destiny. Maybe that's meant to be satirical, in fact I hope so. Otherwise, it would just be a lack of character development.
Pike is not the only character I don't understand. Some scenes, some actions throughout the book, really threw me off, because some character did something that didn't fit the personality I thought that character had. To me, it looked like it was done simply because the storyline required it.
I think the characters that populate the world in the New Dawn are interesting, funny, weird – all you need for humorous fantasy. I'm just not sure, because I don't think I really got to know them, and that's a pity.

Overall, I enjoyed Pike's Quest. It was funny. It was clever. Maybe it was too clever for me. I think you should judge for yourself. It's not expensive, and it is worth it.

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