Roland's Path: R. J. Hanson #bookreview

Synopsis: Roland, a seventeen year old boy from among the race of the Great Men, is tasked with supervising three prisoners in his father's jail. When two of those prisoners escape, Roland and his childhood friend Eldryn embark on an adventure not only to capture the escapees but also to gain the elusive approval of his father. The third prisoner, labeled  spy and cut-purse, convinces Roland to use his assistance in tracking the others who have escaped. The trio then commence a whirlwind adventure through the land beyond the borders of their home of Galhallad. Chance encounters with giants, elves, and ogres will threaten to deter them and end their mission. As ominous evil lurks beyond every turn, both in the real world and in the mind of Roland, he must control his emotions and concentrate on the task at hand to be successful.

My Review: Roland's Path is not only a fantastical tale of adventure in fascinating new land, it is also a coming of age story of two friends who capture our hearts. As Author R.J Hanson reveals in the blurb, the tale is woven from his true experiences during years of role play gaming with friends. Many gamers have often thought that our character's experiences would make a great book. From the moment we meet the two main characters Roland and Eldryn we are drawn to their down-to-Earth simplicity as well as their complex internal emotional strife. We can easily identify with Roland's constant desire to impress his father, and Eldryn's acceptance of taking a backseat ride to Roland's adventures. The characters are unapologetically raw and plausible; we all have someone in our lives that we can correlate them with. Hanson has shown his knack for letting the characters develop through their story rather than forcing their traits into wordy paragraphs of description upon our first encounter.

This is the first installment in the Heirs of Vanity series and Hanson has revealed a second and third book that will continue the saga of the life of Roland. Being his debut novel, the prose is understandably unrefined. It would be pleasing to see it elevated in the coming installments to raise it up a level and place it among the ranks of other famous epic fantasy novels. There is a great potential for Hanson to pull a best seller out of this series. Roland's world, the Kingdom of Lethanor, is well thought out and beautifully illustrated at the back of the book but more visual world building throughout the book would give the reader a better sense of the environment. It must be noted that the action/fight scenes in the book are both thrilling and suspenseful. Hanson undoubtedly draws on his real life experiences as a law enforcement officer to drive his impassioned mental illustrations of the scenes. His vivid descriptions of weaponry and armor and the characters riveting emotional responses paint realistic battle scenes. All true lovers of fantasy will appreciate and indulge in this series.

My Rating: 4.5 Stars

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Author: R. J. Hanson
Published Date: March 22, 2019 Roland’s Path (Heirs of Vanity #1)
by R. J. Hanson
Genre: Fantasy/ Epic Fantasy
Age category: Young Adult/ Adult
Release Date: 22 March 2019

Blurb:
When two servants of evil escape during young Roland’s watch, he is driven by his own shame and vanity to take up his axes and track them down himself. Raised on the rural edges of Gallhallad, can he survive the dangers and complexity of the road ahead?

With the help of his lifelong friend Eldryn, the Cavalier hopeful, and an uneasy bargain with a dagger wielding cutpurse, Roland pursues a wizard of unknown powers and a woman of uncommon beauty and skill.

Will Roland’s vanity not only doom him, but a kingdom he hoped to one day serve as well?

In Roland’s world of Stratvs, vanity has a high price. A price paid with the blood of the innocent and the guilty. Around him, swords once pledged to justice rust on the altars of the self-righteous.

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About the Author:
RJ Hanson has been a cop for over two decades. In that time, he accumulated a number of real-world experiences that have served to give him a unique understanding of the human condition and a perspective that gives his writing an honest grit. He has also benefited from years of training ranging from interview and interrogation techniques to hand to hand combat to SWAT tactics. RJ is a certified Firearms Instructor and Linguistic Statement Analyst. He currently serves as a Lieutenant in the Criminal Investigations Division of a small Texas police department where he specializes in crimes against persons.

In his youth he worked as a cowboy having grown up on a small ranch in north Texas. At the age of 16 he was selected for the TAMS (Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science) project at the University of North Texas where his young eyes were opened to the world.

In his spare time, RJ studies medieval combat and military tactics as well as arms and armaments of various cultures and times.

RJ and his wife, Michelle, live on a small ranch where they maintain a modest heard of cattle, two dogs, a variety of barn cats, a peacock named Henry and a peahen named Margaret (aka Ferd).

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