Wil Deft - Softcover

Wolkomir, Richard

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1502416166 ISBN 13: 9781502416162

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2014

Synopsis

Wil Deft hears the thoughts of beasts, and it shames him.

He’s just a fisherman and sometime roof thatcher, in a village at the empire’s nether edge. Suddenly, though, imperial constables hunt him. He doesn’t know why.

He flees up the river, then into the old forest. A lonely dog guides him, and a cold-eyed cat. Atop a crag, he learns his fate: he’s a slave.

Because what he must do, others decided, long before his birth. It terrifies him, but they bred him for this.

To be a thief.

His only companion is that lonely dog. But that dog loves him...fiercely.

And, on that, everything turns.

Here’s what readers say about this novel...

PRAISE FOR WIL DEFT FROM A REVIEWER
Beginning with the narrator's pitch perfect storytelling "voice", I was quickly captivated and constantly lured on....I loved the author's choices of people and place names - 'Fishtown' for the village, Wil Deft for the hero. This author manages to coax poetry from every descriptive turn of phrase....

FROM A SECOND REVIEWER
It started with a terrific hook - who can resist a talking cat sent to deliver a message? It starts off strong and just continues that way.

PRAISE FROM READERS...

This is a wonderful tale! Intriguing. Imaginative. Complex...a very talented and masterful writer and teller of dramatic tales...people will find this little-known story to be as satisfying and intricate a drama of good and evil as the classics (The Hobbit comes to mind.)—Jay B. Cutts—5 Stars.

The author has totally nailed the corgi personality - totally driven by his desire for connection with his person...a fun and interesting page-turner—David Schaldach—4 Stars.

Wolkomir's characters are memorable, especially Tobi, the corgi, who epitomizes all loyal dog characteristics. Lal, the cat, was true to her kind as well.—Ellen Miller—4 Stars

AND OTHER READERS SAID...

... wonderful scene-painting: mundane Fishtown, the cobblestoned streets, the glow seeping through closed shutters, and above all the sinister bulk of the imperial ship blocking out the lights of the neighboring town, all spring into reality before us. Impressive work. —Cairo, Egypt

We like this lonely kid with a decent heart, a distracted brain, just a few coins, and a battered old boat....—Santa Fe, New Mexico

...charming well-balanced prose, unexpected and delighting imagery (his hair needed a licking, determined the cat), perfect pacing and immediate suspension of disbelief...character's names are easily pronounced, creating instant association, and their personas are shaped almost invisibly with an expert choice of few words. I want MORE...and I want it NOW! —Long Beach, California

Any writer who can suck a reader into a fantasy with convincing characters and bizarre situations that seem perfectly normal has a true gift....Yet, it is the language with which the story is written that sets it apart....Move over your treasured copies of Tolkien and C. S. Lewis and make room for Wolkomir. —Waitsfield, Vermont

....I enjoyed the suspense of thinking imperial constables might catch him at any minute! —Denver, Colorado

From the very first sentence I was hooked....The characters were instantly real—how many writers can do this?—inside a single sentence. —Albany, New York

I'm amazed at how very quickly I was drawn into Wil Deft's mysterious world... a milieu of uneasy distrust and ominous foreboding. (Ah, but the barmaid offers hope!)—Virginia

...a world as believable as Tolkien's. I read the first chapter last night and woke up thinking about the characters and their world. I loved what the dog says—we all know that's what dogs would say, if we could only hear them...—the movie folks will want to do something with it. —Albuquerque, New Mexico

About this title

About the Author

Richard Wolkomir has worked as a laundry sheet folder, grounds keeper, roofer, zoo bear-cub keeper, reporter, and writer of award-winning articles for magazines, from "Reader's Digest" and "Smithsonian" to "National Geographic." Now he writes fiction-speculative, mysteries, and thrillers. He lives with his wife and partner, Joyce, in the New England hills. Visit his website at www.richardjoycewolkomir.net.

About this edition

• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 1502416166
• ISBN 13: 9781502416162
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 430