Literalia: The Story of Bookland, Book II
Once again, we are given a wonderful and humorous ride in one of Brannan’s creative and original novels. Literalia is the second book in the Bookland series and it certainly reads just as well as the first.
In my review of the first Bookland story, I made a few comments on the humor and the style of narration. I have to bring that up again here because this book follows the same quirky pattern and I mean that as a huge compliment. My favorite thing about this series is its originality and the narration plays a huge part in that aspect of the story. I love the names of the characters—simple things like Farmboy, White, and Priest—and I love the way the narrator interjects himself into the story rather randomly and unexpectedly. He has a personality of his own that fits the persona of a narrator but also sets him apart as his own character with his own story—of which we don’t exactly know.
The story in this book does take on a bit more of a serious note as we venture into the underworld and face obstacles and enemies our cast isn’t quite sure they can handle. I liked the new story and enjoyed revisiting characters from the last book. The series feels like it is winding down while still mounting to something which may lead to future books. I think Brannan has written this installation quite well and can certainly continue this series for as long as he would like. I, for one, am a huge fan of all things Bookland related and would not mind seeing more silly stories such as this on the market.
Another thing I really liked about this book was its impressive number of female characters—all of whom were more than capable of handling themselves. There was Green, the archer, Assassin, whose name says enough, and White who happened to be my favorite character—even Princess was an interesting character. As a female, I definitely appreciated the diverse cast and especially appreciated that none of them fell into the cookie cutter character that you might have expected them to be.
Even though this book took a slightly more serious note, and had a larger cast, I don’t think it strayed far from the original voice and tone which caught my attention in the first book. Brannan stayed true to his roots in giving us a rich environment with a bright cast to match, but he introduced us to new heights with his creativity and his ability to stretch the lines in fantasy and fiction.
I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a unique adventure, humor, and even a small bit of romance. If you like fantasy and a full cast of one-of-a-kind characters, then I would highly suggest grabbing a copy of this.
*I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*