Book Review: The Ocean and the Hourglass

Last week, as I was waiting for 3 hours in the medical lab for some blood work that I had to go, I finally had a chance to finish reading Dan O'Brien's book The Ocean and the Hourglass.

This book is a departure from what I normally read. One of my mini goals for 2012 is to expand my horizons when it comes to reading....this book fit the bill perfectly. This book is identified as a fantasy for young adult readers (teenagers).

Per the back cover:

"Dreams are not for the faint of heart, they are for the brave to follow. A book, an hourglass. Nicholas had always dreamt of faraway places, distant lands beyond imagination. Wandering into the library on a cold day, he finds an adventure that he had not been looking for. Transported to a distant world, Nicholas finds himself involved in sweeping adventures of a broken and lost kingdom. Filled with sea giants and ancient cities, the young man soon finds that the adventure was greater than he could have ever imagined."

This book was reminiscent of the story  A Never Ending Story. If you liked that story, then you will like this book. Personally I found bits that I liked and bits that I didn't like. There is a lot of philosophical conversations that take place in the book about good versus evil, what is right, why we think the way we do, etc. These conversations were somewhat hard to follow. In fact, there were several that I had to reread because I wasn't sure how they fit.

I enjoyed the fantastical imagery that was portrayed in the book. I felt that the fantasy part of the book was well written and was wrapped up very well in the ending of the story). I did not really enjoy the "reality" part of the book as I felt that there was no real ending to it and it left the reader hanging on the end. I felt that certain parts could have been omitted without taking away from the overall story.

If you like fantasy books, then this one is for you. If you are interested in reading something different, then this one is for you. As for myself, I will probably pass this book along to someone else, as I cannot see it as a book that I will re-read again.

Disclaimer: I received this book free of charge from the author in exchange for a review. All opinions expressed are my own.