Blog Tour: Kingdom on the Edge of Reality

Welcome to the Unabridged Bookshelf stop on The Kingdom on the Edge of Reality blog tour!

I want to thank Tribute Books for allowing me to be apart of this tour. 

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ABOUT THE BOOK

Title: The Kingdom on the Edge of Reality

Author: Gahan Hanmer

Publication Date: April 2, 2012

Synopsis:  Sometimes it's funny how fast things can change, and sometimes it's not...
Welcome to Albert Keane's beautifully designed medieval kingdom nestled in a completely isolated river valley in the Canadian wilderness. Peaceful, happy, and prosperous, it takes nothing from the modern world, not so much as a single clock.
There is a castle, of course, and a monastery. There is even a pitch dark, rat-infested dungeon - because you simply have to have one if you are trying to rule a feudal kingdom!
Farmers work the land, artisans ply their trades, monks keep school and visit the sick, and nobody (well, almost nobody) misses the modern world at all.
So why has Jack Darcey - actor, wanderer, ex-competitive fencer - been tricked and seduced into paying a visit? And why hasn't anyone told him that the only way to leave is a perilous trek across hundreds of miles of trackless wilderness without a compass or a map?
Because a tide of fear and violence is rising from the twisted ambitions of one of King Albert's nobles, and Albert's fortune teller believes that Jack could turn the tide - if he lives long enough ...

MY REVIEW

The Kingdom on the Edge of Reality by Gahan Hanmer is a creative blend of modern and medieval spun into a beautiful tale of survival, and happiness. Jack Darcey is not sure what to do with his life now that his dreams have been pull out from underneath him. When his old school friend, Albert Keane, offers him the chance to leave everything he knows behind, Jack does not have anything better to do.

The kingdom is very much cut off from the modern world, and the only way to get to kingdom surrounding by thousands of miles of wilderness is via helicopter. This is something that Albert failed to mention. While at first, Jack is disoriented by the lack of clocks, modern amenities, he soon falls in love with the peace the kingdom brings. After being knighted, Jack realizes not everything is peaceful in the kingdom. The Duke, Guy Hawke, wants to be in control of the kingdom, but he has one problem, Jack is standing in the way.

At first, I felt just as disoriented as Jack trying to picture a kingdom that is in the modern world, but that was more like a part of history. Once I was settled in the idea, the story picked me up and transported me back to medieval times. Jack was a great choice for a main character, simply because of his feelings of right and wrong, and his need to protect all the people of the kingdom. He truly was a noble knight perfect for legends and stories.

While the story is about a knight and his journey, there is also an undercurrent to the story. The undercurrent of the story is about the lack of connection between people, in our present day, due to technology. In the Kingdom, everyone relies on everyone else; otherwise, they would not make it through the winter. This is a great adult fantasy novel, which is almost like time travel without the need for a time machine. I would recommend this to both fantasy, and historical fiction lovers. 

 **Unabridged Bookshelf received a copy for this tour, in exchange for an honest review**

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Gahan Hanmer enjoyed a colorful career in the theater as actor, director, designer and technician, and also wandered extensively searching for love, happiness and truth. He unintentionally became a grown-up raising two beloved daughters and now lives in the high chaparral desert of California.