Just Arrived: ‘The Prince Of Soul And The Lighthouse’ by Fredrik Brounéous
The newest book in my “just arrived” box—from which it will promptly move to the TBR table—is “The Prince of Soul And the Lighthouse” by Swedish-New Zealand author, Fredrik Brounéous. It’s published by Steam Press, a New Zealand speculative fiction publisher.
Now I think this is “probably” a YA book—but here’s the back cover blurb, so you can read and decide what you think for yourself on that score:
“What happens when we die?
This has been the third question on mankind’s faq list since the dawn of time (numbers one and two being: Is this edible? and Excuse me, would you care to breed? ).
I know what happens. Believe me, I’d rather not. But I do.
There is a lighthouse, and it guides our souls along the narrow path to being reborn as humans. It’s the light at the end of the tunnel. Unfortunately, as my undead granddad and the Tibetan special-mission monk in my kitchen have kindly told me, there’s a problem with the lighthouse. And if the world is to be saved, someone needs to fix it.
Which is where I come in: George Larson, eighteen years old. Who could possibly be better suited to save the world?
Well, almost anyone. Especially as being a teenage guy is nothing at all about question three but all about questions one and two.
And really, that’s complicated enough as it is.”
Sounds a lot of fun, doesn’t it? And some authors whose work I respect clearly think so, as it comes with some great cover quotes:
“A terrific story: funny, original and surprising” ~ Fleur Beale
.“Quirky, funny and wise” ~ Mandy Hager
“This road trip with reincarnation is full of teenage hormones, forbidden — well, inadvisable — love, signs, portents and coffee-addicted zombies. If the Dalai Lama and Terry Pratchett collaborated on a novel, it might read something like this.” ~ Tim Jones
.And the Sunday Star Times thinks it just might be the great NZ novel:
“Brounéus comes perilously close to having written the great New Zealand visionary fiction novel… a rollicking adventure – humorous and as exciting as an Indiana Jones escapade”
With praise like this flowing in I think I might just have to put it high on the TBR pile … 😉
For more information you can go to the Steam Press website here
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Note: the cover art is by Tony Tarasiewicz