The Gatekeeper's Son (ARC)

I received this copy from the publisher through Netgalley.com and that in no way has influenced my opinion in regards to this review.


This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot.wordpress.leafmarks.tumblr.com by express permission of this reviewer.





Title: The Gatekeeper's Son
Series: -----
Author: Chris Fladmark
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: YA Fantasy
Pages: 313


Synopsis:
Junya [who I insist on calling Junior in my head] is the grandson of a billionaire, the son of a ninja and the Inheritor of a brand new power of the gods of light and darkness.
Another world is involved, lots of fighting, a cute chick and lots of YA'ness.

Junya must fight the minions of Light AND Dark, as he is the cross between them. He must save his grandfather, save his mother, destroy an evil monster and keep a legion of other worldly super ninjas from killing him, all at the same time.

My Thoughts:
I really enjoyed this for what it was, a boys' fantasy novel. I don't think I'll be reading any more by this author but that isn't a negative on his part. It just means that it is a bit too YA for me to handle.
It takes consummate skill to write a novel for both men and boys and as this is Mr Fladmark's debut novel, he deserves credit for writing a very good boys novel.

Lots of fighting, your prerequisite cute girl, secrets out the wazoo, ninjas and a badguy who helps Junya for his own ends, *insert evil laughter*. That was the good stuff.

The 2 main issues for me were as follows:

1) Junya goes from being a shy, almost cowardly boy, to this strong young man who can manage a multi-billion dollar company with no real in between phase. It felt very awkward to me.

2) Junya's father. He is in the story, but is so token that the reality is that Junya might as well have been raised by a single mother. He is supposed to be with them and part of their family, but he plays such a small part, even emotionally, that he comes across as a prop more than a real character.

Other than that, no real issues worth discussing. This is the beginning of a series, but it ends up just fine that I don't feel the need to read any sequels. And the Series title is missing because Fladmark hasn't given it one yet.