Victor and Tristan: Review

Victor and Tristan
Author: R.A. Swart
Publisher: CreateSpace
Pages: 319

Summary:

Having enough of a life investing money and brokering deals, John Smith retires to a quiet suburb in which he hopes nothing particularly interesting ever happens and where he can be left at peace with his philosophical musings.

However, when the movers vacate the house across the cul de sac from his own, leaving behind the requisite odds, ends, and family, John finds his retirement and solitude upset by Victor and Tristan, the bookish son and fanciful daughter of the staid Mr. and Mrs. Ratling. From his first encounter with the pair and their strange views, John realizes that something unusual has come into his life.

Victor and Tristan follows the pragmatic John Smith through his reality-expanding journey from the mundane into the fantastic.
Travelling from the hills near his home to the plains of a distant world with Tristan, Victor, the frank Mrs. Grummings, the irreverent Iridan, the enigmatic Cassandra, and the alchemical android Janus, John comes to terms with the existence of magic, alchemy, alternate realities, and even the possibility of eternal life.

However, the strange, once encountered, can never be shut neatly away: all who embrace the improbable are forever changed. Can John, Victor, and most importantly, Tristan retain their own ideals and identities when encountering people and events who defy the simple monikers of “good” and “evil”?

My Thoughts:

I really found myself enjoying this book. My favorite thing about this book was the relationship between Victor and Tristan. (In the beginning I kept thinking that Tristan was going to be a boy.) Victor is very tolerant and patient with his little sister and always treats her very well. Tristan is a very sweet and innocent little girl who doesn't always think logically but I liked that about her. There is a very strong bond between the two. They have the type of relationship that I hope my children will have with each other. While I loved the kids, I hated strongly disliked their parents. In the beginning I mostly *disliked* their father but in the end I think that the mother was even worse! The other kids in the neighborhood were snotty little brats, nothing like Victor and Tristan.

Victor, Tristan, and their new friend John end up in a totally different world full of magic and danger. This book is full of things that really make you think. For example, if a man made machine has emotions and a mind of its own should it be treated as a person or is it still just a machine? What if this machine is willing to die for the people it loves? I don't really know what else to say about this book without giving away too much other than I really enjoyed it. There better be a sequel though because the ending left me thinking WTF?!?!

*I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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