Dipping my toe into reading indie literature has been difficult to say the least, largely because of the fact I just don’t know where to start. There’s a lot of high-quality stories out there, and yet I find myself increasingly short on time. I want to make the most of what little I’ve got, and so I have created three rules for deciding what books I’ll try to write reviews for.
1st. The book/series is enjoyable (This one should be obvious)
2nd. The literature is not well known (I don’t want to waste my time reviewing something everybody already knows about)
3rd. I have something interesting to say afterward.
The third rule is perhaps the most important. I want to be able to bring something new to the larger discussion on Twitter. While appreciating good indie work is important, I don’t think praise should be all that we do. I think something needs to be said or learned as well.
Is that pretentious? Maybe. But irregardless, I’ve finally found a book series that fits all three criteria. Well, I wouldn’t say found because I had my eye on this series for a long time. However, it was only recently that I had the pleasure of reading it.
May I introduce you to the High Realm Trilogy (sadly, the third book isn’t out quite yet). You might take one look at the covers and say, “hey, this looks like a children’s series” and that is precisely what caught my eye. I’ve seen many Right Wing creators emphasize the importance of creating our own art. And while we’ve made great strides in pursuit of that goal, I’ve yet to see anyone making children’s books.
For a community that stresses the importance of children, I haven’t seen anyone producing content for kids. However small the indie scene is, the scene for new RW children’s literature is substantially smaller, and we all know this is a battleground the Left is particularly keen on fighting. Nearly every day on Twitter, I see controversies erupt over propaganda and pornography being snuck in through children’s books. Meanwhile, our side is painfully silent on proper alternatives.
While there is nothing wrong with giving kids classical children’s books such as Winnie the Pooh or The Chronicles of Narnia, we also need to be making new works that are updated for the Left’s modern tactics. We need to be making stories that warn the youth against the traps set up for them in the modern world.
The High Realm trilogy is not only an example of excellent storytelling, but also a look into some of the simple traps thrown at us today. The villain of the first book is a classic postmodernist who uses self-doubt to lull people under his sway. The second is an all-enveloping matriarch who infantilizes the children she catches, never letting them grow up. This series distills these too often intellectual ideas into simplified lessons so that children can understand the dangers behind these philosophies.
However, I wouldn’t be praising these books if they were just apt moral lessons. This is something so often lost in conservative fiction. Stories still have to be stories—even if there are lessons within them. If they first cannot entertain—or at least enrapture—then they are nothing more than talking points sprinkled with prose.
The High Realm books kept me hooked all the way through. It easily walks that fine line between keeping the stories appropriate for children as well as giving adults a good time as well. Throw in likable characters plus exciting adventure, and I am eagerly waiting for the third book to release.
You’ll notice that I haven’t discussed the main cast, or even the broad strokes of the plot. Personally, I have come to the conclusion that that is where the soul of indie works lies. It is in the small interactions between characters, the unexpected rhythms of the story, and the little twists that happen on any adventure. This is what sets us apart from the MSM and Hollywood with their cardboard characters and plots churned off a conveyer belt. It is in the little things that make an indie work shine, and that is one thing that should not be spoiled. So, dear reader, I hope you will discover this story as well.
Your three rules for picking a book to review makes sense, and it's one that I'm using (though I was unaware of it until now). Although I'm taking a much different tack in that I analyze and go into the details, probably the graduate student in me lol.
Anyways, you made a good point about the lack of children's book in indie media. This is something that made me think since I have a nephew who really loves to read books. The Hardy Boys series seems fine enough but I remembered that he also likes Diary of a Wimpy Kid (not that I know anything about the latter but the title doesn't exactly inspire confidence nor did the trailer of that movie some years back).