Jules Wellesley

As waters stir and tumble, reshaping along the path, so do the hearts and souls of men thrust into unknown adventures. This story follows Frey, the "Frog" through his myriad growths and stumbles across universes connected by waterways of Nexus connections of time and space, to deliver him and his friends to worlds of wonder, fear and promise. I found the story to be fully dressed, and easily enchanting while I experienced the mysteries around every corner. Relax and let the journey envelope show more you in discovery of the true the Mask of the River King. show less

The first thing I would say if asked about this book is that is it extremely original. I read a lot of sci-fi and fantasy and this just really impressed me. The plot was fantastic. A frog-like child born in a well with a stone . . . who would have ever guessed the ending! I loved the nexus system. At first glimpse of the map I was weary and unsure how it was going to be done, but it was another part of the book that impressed me. I loved the explanation of the ships, born from a single seed show more to cross the nexus. I loved the characters, I LOVED the first appearance of Dravikos So intimidating and intense. I liked that some of the monsters have almost a Lovecratian hue to them. It was very easy for me to fall into the story. It was easy to make me want more. I wanted more description. The characters had so much going for them, but I felt like I wanted to know them a little more. I felt almost like I was thrown into the middle of a series. There was so many unknown faces, culture, species, and I felt like it was a little under described. I was flipping pages, going back and forth trying to figure out what exactly a Ziggurat was, or to learn more about the green-faced man. I felt like I had skipped over a page that held pertinent information. AND FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THINGS LITERARY, what happened to Niran?! It sounded like there was hope for him, maybe being healed with the quirma of the mask, but then nothing! No mention of his wife's ending either.

Over all though it was a *fantastic* read and I am sorry I didn't get to it sooner. show less

An orphan, Frey, escapes from overseers only to be dumped right into the middle of a war spanning multiple worlds connected by a dying river. As Frey stumbles through the worlds, he and his comrades discover more than they bargained for. Flowers and animals trapped in time-turned-inside-out form stones of power. Time warps and change changes. What in the worlds has Frey fallen into?

I'm not really sure what I was reading half the time, but it is an interesting read. Confusing and fast-paced, show more but interesting. More twists than ball of yarn, plan on reading this with an open mind unless you want your brains spilling out of your ears. show less

The Mask of the River King left me struggling to define it easily once I'd finished reading it. It begins as so many do with the young oppressed teenager (Frey) venturing forth into a fantastic world, guided by safe and sure older hands, but developed into some of the most original and interesting ideas I've seen in a fantasy novel in a long time. A conscious effort seems to have been put into making sure a lot of the usual fantasy clichés were avoided and while a map is available online show more for Nexus travel (water based world to world portals that distort age as well as travel through space) it's not really necessary.

However, the book suffers from a lack of depth, with a lot of the key concepts left a little too vague to be easily understood. This depth is also lacking in a lot of the character interaction with the reader left feeling as though some significant conversations must have occurred “off-screen” in order for the characters to develop relationships of any sort with one another. The developments you would expect from a group travelling together (romances, respect, friendship, rivalry) do occur, but often they seem to appear with little or no precursor.

Generally I enjoyed reading The Mask of the River King, despite its flaws and I’d certainly advise taking a look at it if you often read fantasy and would like some new ideas within the genre. show less