The Questory of Root Karbunkulus, by Kamilla Reid
Welcome to today’s stop on Kamilla Reid’s blog tour!
The Questory of Root Karbunkulus, Reid’s first novel, is a delightful YA fantasy book (with an awesome website). Anyways, we first meet Root, our hero, living in a halfhouse (a house split in half) with two horrid aunts that definitely bear a resemblance to the horrid aunts of James and the Giant Peach fame. As the book opens, fourteen-year-old Root finds that she is not related to the aunts (whew!) and is actually an orphaned citizen of DreAmm, a magical land. She, along with hundreds of other DreAmm kids have been called on a Quest:
“[T]his Quest is not for the faint of heart. . . . Each and every one of you will face inevitable hardship and peril. Most of you, after enduring these grueling tasks of great danger and severe loss, will fail. . . . But among you, from the depths of despair, pain and fear will rise heroes! This Quest will find you not beaten, not broken, but rebirthed. . . . You will earn a seat in the throne room of Legend where your courage, your loyalty, your determination shall be recorded for infinite glory.”
Whew! With a stirring speech like that, heck, I’ll join the quest. Root, our hero, does, of course, join the quest. She’s paired with Lian and Dwyn to find the Miist of Kalliope. They set off on their quest with only their unique talents, their guide Jorab, and . . . their Hovermutts!! Hovermutts were definitely my favorite part of the DreAmm world. Hovermutts are pony-sized puppies that hover (fly) and bond with only one magical personal for life, never allowing another on their back. I want one!
Anyway, this book was pretty fun and very creative (though very influenced by Harry Potter). The adventure was fun and unexpected. The elements of DreAmm (the Hovermutts in particular) were unique and yet familiar. My only complaint, if one is to complain, is that I wanted more background information. Why is this quest (one with a series of stages) being held? What are the stages (and how many are there)? Why were some of the quest participants raised on Earth? Who/what is the enemy? The enemy is not even mentioned until page 143 and then he is only partially and vaguely identified. Though I had questions, I was still caught up in the story and wanted to see how it ended.
I liked this book, and I think those who enjoy YA will too. I look forward to the next installment. Thanks to Dorothy at Pump Up Your Book Promotion for sending me this book!
The Questory of Root Karbunkulus, by Kamilla Reid 
*GIVEAWAY* I have an extra SIGNED copy of The Questory of Root Karbunkulus to give away to one lucky reader! To enter, leave a comment on this post describing your dream pet (real and/or fantasized) by Sunday, July 20, 2008. The winner will be announced on Monday, July 21, 2008, hopefully in conjunction with an interview with Ms. Kamilla Reid herself.
Buy The Questory of Root Karbunkulus: Item One: Miist
11 comments
Hmmm…. my dream pet….. a real dream pet would be a very cuddly cat, that doesn’t shed at all, or poop or pee anywhere he/she shouldn’t, or scratch anything he/she shouldn’t and who smells sweet and not sour and who purrs a lot.
A fantasy pet? I think a dragon like the ones found in Eragon, would be pretty cool. But they’d be awfully hard to house somewhere in a city.
Good morning!
Thank you so much for such a wonderful review! I am thrilled to death that you enjoyed “The Questory”, especially the Hovermutts, which, being the dog0lover that I am, are very special to me.
I’m so glad that you had all those questions! Being that this is a series, I wanted to make sure to unfold things gradually, right along with Root as she makes sense of the real reason why she’s in these races and the darker implications. In the upcoming books, the enemy also infiltrates on a more powerful scale and definitely makes his intentions clear!
I will pop in and out all day today so if anyone has any questions or comments, I’d be more than happy to answer :)
Warmly,
Kamilla
[...] Reid, author of the teen fantasy novel, The Questory of Root Karbunkulus, will be stopping off at The Bluestocking Society and Beyond the Books! Kamilla Reid thrills us with The Questory of Root Karbunkulus, a [...]
Excellent review and thank you! Kamilla is going places…you heard it from me!
Hey I have a question. Kamilla, have many people told you that your book needs to be a movie?
Hopefully she’s told a lot Dorothy because it sure sounds like it would be great on film.
Cheryl
Interesting review. Everything I’ve seen about this books looks favorable. I can’t wait to read it with my 14 y.o. daughter.
My dream pet is actually my pet, refined. In my dreams, my eight month old Beagle is completely and perfectly house-trained and she never chews on anything except her own toys. She doesn’t shed, never needs a bath because she is always clean and sweet-smelling and she doesn’t bark and howl or terrorize the cats.
My ideal pet would be a sheltie. With brown coloring. Named Jaxon. That was perfectly obedient. And never shed.
Or a Teradachtyl.
Thanks for the question, Dorothy!
Yeah, I must write very visually or something because I get told that a lot!
Kamilla
I generally hate animals. So my dream pet would be an invisible chimp named Blake.
[...] Other Reviews: Bookfoolery and Babble, The Friendly Book Nook, The Book Connection, The Bluestocking Society [...]
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