Adventures of Andreux (Aranya, Book One)

S. Pabbaraju
iUniverse (2008)
ISBN 9780595409648
Reviewed by Victoria Gonzales for Reader Views (7/09)


One of the many great things about this book is that there is another book on its way.  The author, S. Pabbaraju has created a wonderful world filled with fantastic characters.  The characters are easily traced to traditional fairytales, yet they have much more depth and capture your interest from the first few pages.  Andreux is on a quest to understand his heritage and reclaim his place in the kingdom.   He grows up in an academy, believing himself to be unimportant other than his skills as a wizard.  Soon he will find he is much, much more, but not before he learns very important lessons at the academy, makes a few enemies, and finds out the kingdom has a price on his head.  Glimp is an amusing character; he is ruthless, but also a little silly, and easy with whom to sympathize.  His conversations with his alter ego call to mind another similarly torn character, but Pabbaraju puts his own unique spin on it.  It is hard to get past Pompompulous’ name, but his character is very gallant, intelligent, and a good addition to the group of young men on their journey. 

You won’t be able to put this book down until you reach the end.  It is bittersweet to realize that it isn’t truly the end and there is another book in the series, but at only 155 pages, this tale has the makings of a classic.  The story behind the book is almost as good as the story itself; Pabbaraju originally told the story to his daughter as a bedtime story.  Equally sweet, touching, and adventurous, the story is well suited to both children and adults.  Though Pabbaraju’s writing is sophisticated at times, it is still accessible, and children will understand and enjoy the story.  I read it first myself, and am in the process of reading it to an eight-year-old boy, who I can say is very much anticipating reading it every night, and it has encouraged him to read more on his own.  I highly recommend reading this short tale; “Adventures of Andreux” is a perfect remedy to the abundance of mind-numbing wizard books.

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