The Shelf Perspective: Book Review

Can be enjoyed by the adult of any age who bears a sense of adventure and an open appreciation of simple storytelling.

Aidan, a reluctant young boy, is thrust upon an adventure after happening upon ancient scrolls leading to a hidden world-- A world filled with fantastical creatures, knights, warriors, and kings. Now caught between warring kingdoms and the fate of two worlds resting on its resolution, Aiden joins an unlikely group of characters on a perilous expedition for the salvation of all that is good.

The Door Within is the first of three books set in the fantastical world of The Realm. Complete with its own lore and history, the first in the trilogy allows the reader the gift of immersion into an epic adventure involving the age-old battle between good and evil. Following an outsider of The Realm as our protagonist, cleverly allows the experience of world building through the eyes of a novice; ensuring readers aren’t lost in the details of the new world unfolding across the pages. There is much to admire in both the intricate plot and memorable characters; both of which show growth and progression as one journey’s through the chapters.

Although riddled with Christian allegory, much in the same stylings of C.S. Lewis’ ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’, The Door Within Trilogy can very well be enjoyed by readers regardless of their religious standing. Through a delightful mix of action and comedy, with enough exposition on human nature and its role in the battle of good and evil; one can turn the final page with the appreciation that much had happened since the reading of the opening chapter. With characters that stay with you long after its ending, The Door Within leaves one with a story that feels lived rather than read.