The Land of the Nen-Us-Yok
Author Jamie Sutliff has woven a fast-paced tale of fantasy and adventure in multiple dimensions inhabited by humans monsters wizards elves pixies and the Nen-Us-Yok or “Spirit-Dwarf People” of Native American legend. Wielding magical powers for good and for evil inhabitants of each dimension are faced with trials and adventures of their own but find that they need to set differences aside when their worlds are threatened by a greater dilemma—humanity’s destruction of the ozone layer calls them to unite to find a solution before sickness and death consume their worlds.
Leading the quest is Mitchell a teenage boy living with his parents in the Adirondacks who has inherited from his grandmother the ability to cross the barriers between dimensions and mingle with all manner of magical beings. When he is offered the power of a 5th Level Wizard he has to make a choice between continuing his life as a mortal or accepting the powers and the responsibilities that near immortality brings. His choice and the personal strengths and values he lends to his dealings with the creatures of the other dimensions form the basis for this tale.
Finding the solution is not easy and Mitchell and his friends do battle with evil creatures whose strength cunning and lust for power make them formidable adversaries. Often overcoming a magical spell is best done with simple means. As one character fighting against trance-inducing music by forming his own mental vision says “The easiest vision one can make is of someone you love.”
Jamie Sutliff author of five novels and a short story collection has deeply researched Native American folklore and archaic Algonquian Iroquois and Mohawk languages making his descriptions of the Nen-Us-Yok and their ways rich and colorful. The powerful black-and-white illustrations by Kevin C. Evans add to the strong visual appeal of this fantasy-adventure.
The tale is particularly applicable to today’s world. Faced with a similar environmental problems and equally dire consequences young readers will discover that truth friendship and respect are able to bridge vast differences. Mitchell and the Nen-Us-Yok learn that t takes compromise and compassion with the different beings of the Earth to solve the one problem which has the power to unite or destroy them all. The looming environmental catastrophe will challenge them to surmount their greed fears and desire for power or they must face the end of life as they know it on this beautiful and tender planet.
Reviewed by
Kristine Morris
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book and paid a small fee to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Foreword Reviews and Clarion Reviews make no guarantee that the publisher will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
