A Rocking Review of The Commons: Book 1: The Journeyman

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Synopsis:

Paul Reid died in the snow at seventeen.  The day of his death, he told a lie - and for the rest of his life, he wondered if that was what killed him.

And so begins the battle for the afterlife, known as The Commons.  It's been taken over by a corporate raider who uses the energy of it's souls to maintain his brutal control.  The result is an imaginary landscape of a broken America - stuck in time and overrun by the heroes, monsters, dreams, and nightmares of the imprisoned dead.

Three people board a bus to nowhere: a New York street kid, an Iraq War veteran, and her five-year-old special-needs son.  After a horrific accident, they are the last, best hope for The Commons to free itself.  Along for the ride are a shotgun-toting goth girl, a six-foot-six mummy, a mute Shaolin monk with anger-management issues, and the only guide left to lead them.

Three Journeys: separate but joined.  One mission: to save forever.

But first they have to save themselves.

Why It Rocked:

This book is the first installment in The Commons series.  As an urban fantasy series this book established a world that most who were reading could relate to, at least at the beginning that is.  I really enjoyed the fact that when the reader first starts this book it isn't set in a fantastical world.  It's set in America.  And when you first start it it definitely doesn't seem like fantasy.  The author establishes a place that readers find familiar before throwing in all of the amazing fantasy elements and I for one appreciated that.  The author's creativity makes each one of the characters come alive and thrive before your eyes.  I could feel myself connecting on some level with each of the characters and that made this book so much more enthralling.  I will say I was a bit nervous about this book as some of the urban fantasy I've been reading lately hasn't been up my alley, but I'm extremely glad I picked this one up!  I am definitely looking forward to more from this author.