I have to admit, I’m kind of lucky. I get to see these great reviews ahead of time. Now see if this great review by Parker interests you. 

Reviewer: Parker Owens
Status: Complete
Word Count: 73,722

The Roaming Sea
by mcarss

In high school history class, we learn about the Hundred Years War.  GA author Mike Carss (mcarss) writes for us a fantasy about a similar war between peoples so dissimilar that mutual hatred and distrust seem to seep from every line of the story.    

Ironically, mcarss sets us up for the story well away from the crashing, terrifying oceans which circle this world. Instead, we are met at a military camp, and seen through the eyes of Callum Hidaro, the war is bloody, brutal and endless. A sudden surprise attack from the enemy, the giant Pactrids, disturbs Callum’s journey home, and, through the metaphysical agency of transport,  he is suddenly deposited in a deep green forest far behind enemy lines. All too soon, Callum is captured by a Pactrid, and is held prisoner.

Thus begins a novella of journey and discovery, of realization and truth, of change and love. This ordeal will take Callum Hidaro beyond all the boundaries he has ever known. One of the best aspects of thisstory is the way in which mcarss deals with the everyday metaphysics of this world he constructs. For each of the species we encounter, human and Pactrid, certain acts and attributes are not described as magical, but as matters of fact.  Something taken for granted by one may be mysterious to the other, yet neither takes such things as wizardry, but as something to be better understood.  For instance, the Pactrids cannot fathom the human’s ability to transport themselves almost instantaneously via the agency of an adept, yet it is a unique attribute to the human kind, not a magical sort of thing at all. 

 What matters more is the alchemy that develops between captor and captive. Callum and his Pactrid warder must learn to communicate, to eat and sleep, and to adapt to one another as they travel to a place where the human prisoner may be properly kept. Callum turns out to be hardier than his Pactrid adversary anticipates, and prouder, too. Slowly, each learns to respect the other, and to understand the other.  When Callum grasps the truth of the bloody, endless war that claimed the lives of so many he loved, he must come to grips with action he must take.   

 As his journey continues, Callum comes to realize the enemy he must escape is not his Pactrid, but the lies by which he has steered his life. The tale takes surprising and dramatic turns, and Callum Hidaro must face a future he never imagined.   

 I urge you to switch off your streaming service, pull up a chair or sprawl out on the sofa.  Take the time to join Callum on his path, and read this engrossing story by a talented GA author.  There’s a whole new world waiting with every turn of the page.  

Category: Fiction     Genres: Fantasy/Action Adventure     Sub-genres: Adventure General Fantasy, Medieval Fantasy      Tags: gay, war, no sex, serious, military, medievil, friendship, asexual    Rating:Mature