Marketed with the slogan, "Think you don't like fantasy? Think again.", Wish You Were Here by Vincent M. Wales is a stunning novel.
The story of Vincent, a young man taken from a dull, aimless existence on Earth and transplanted into a new world where he is destined to do extraordinary things, this book combines a fantasy setting with some real earth issues to create an intelligent fantasy story.
Vincent has difficulty adapting to his life in this other world at first. He is taken in by Blade and Gnorrin - two friends, one a warrior and the other a mage - who teach him the ways of the world. While with them he meets and falls in love with Ariaziane, an orphan girl some years younger than him.
This love is not fully requited at first, and he finds himself the subject of strong affection from Rhia, a witch hired by Blade to try and find a way home for Vincent.
Ariaziane has her own problems, however, and when she embarks on a quest to find out about herself and her past, alone, Vincent is not sure what to do or feel.
The story follows him for several years in this other world. Partly in narrative and partly in diary form, we see Vincent grow from being a over-weight, unfit, unhappy young man with low self esteem into an attractive twenty-something who is admired by many for his amazing deeds.
The author is a campaigner for polyamory awareness and acceptance, and this is reflected in the story while Vincent tries to come to terms with his confusion over his feelings for Ariaziane, whom he may never see again, and Rhia.
The book is quite long, but does not feel so when you are reading it. There is a lot of action, a lot of romance, and for every serious point there is also a little light-heartedness. The humor is well done and often makes you take a step back and think about the way we live our lives and the values we have.
This is a hard book to classify - it certainly is not your average fantasy story. In many ways Vincent's development is similar to a coming of age novel, and the drama reminded me of a Greek tragedy in parts. The style is engrossing - adventure scenes like Tolkein's but without the excessive descriptiveness. Lots of action, but combined with characters that have strong, believable personalities.
If sex or incest makes you uncomfortable, or you prefer your fantasy to be simply sword & sorcery (David Eddings style) then don't read this book. If you want something that has the best of many styles, and is fresh, witty and exciting, give Wish You Were Here a go. Just make sure you've got time to read it all in one go - you'll want to!
Seventeen-year-old college freshman Vincent wakes from a blackout to find himself in a strange, completely different world. He won't learn until later that he's been pulled through a portal by a witch who has a use for him. Fortunately the dazed, disoriented newcomer is found and befriended by the warrior Blade and the gnome mage Gnorrin. No obvious way can be found to retrace his path to the portal, so he has no choice but to remain.
With their help he begins to acclimate to a world where magic works and the technology he's used to depending on isn't available. He builds himself a home, learns how to support himself, meets a young woman named Ariaziane who lives nearby, and begins to fall in love. But Vincent still doesn't feel at ease in this new world and continually seeks for a way to return home.
Before he can find what he's searching for, though, he'll have a variety of adventures, meet a number of interesting characters, make new friends and new enemies, grow up, learn more about his own potential, and become someone he never expected to be.
A lot of the elements of Wish You Were Here are generic to fantasy. The world is a standard quasi-medieval setting, the secondary characters--gnome, mage, warrior, etc., are pretty much as expected. The plot is a combination of quest and young-man-coming-of-age.
But Vincent is not at all a standard fantasy hero, and that's what makes this book special. The nerdy, overweight college freshman has a difficult road and many challenges to face, but he proves to be an unexpectedly resourceful young man. He's full of surprises and fun to spend time with.
It's a good thing, too, because at a whopping 650-plus pages of small print, the reader is going to spend a LOT of time with him. While there are places where the book could have been tightened up, the richness of detail makes the world feel very real and Vincent's adventures in it highly entertaining. The story easily draws you into its world and entices you to care deeply about Vincent's problems.
It's a fun trip into a strange, magical world that is both much like and compellingly different from our own, everyday reality. The book is for anyone looking for a journey to a place that offers possibilities we've grown used to ignoring in our own reality: the adventures we long for, meaningful interpretations of honor and courage, and the capacity to become someone who matters significantly to a world and the people in it.
Seventeen year old Vincent is literally pulled off the doorstep of his Pennsylvania home into another world when a witch, Darella, decides to experiment having a child by someone from another dimension. Vincent is then sent on his way, dazed and confused, with no memory of their meeting. He is found wandering aimlessly by an hospitable gnome, Gnorrin, and his adventure seeking friend, Blade.
These are just the first of many strange friendships Vincent acquires, soon adding to his list of friends several mages, witches, elves, barons, and even a king. The overweight, self-conscious youth finds himself in a new, enchanting, and sometimes dangerous world where he is tested time and again for his intelligence and bravery, learning new skills for everyday life and challenging his morals concerning life, death, and love.
As the boy becomes a man, he changes both physically and mentally as each new challenge shapes his very being, and when the witch, Darella, reappears in his life with two surprises, he is up for the challenge of protecting himself and the new friends he's acquired. But not without paying the price of loss.
Wish You Were Here is an adventure packed fantasy story following the main character, Vincent, on the road to riches, fame, adventure, tragedy, and romance. He changes and grows in ways he never believed would have been possible in his own world, and as the adventure nears an end, he is challenged by the choice of which world to call home.
Author Vincent M. Wales has created a highly imaginative, yet believable world for his characters to inhabit, full of magic, wonder, danger, and intrigue. His writing style keeps the reader interested and entertained from one chapter to the next, making the pages fly by as if by magic itself. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys the written word, because whether or not you are a fantasy genre reader, you will enjoy reading this book.