Wondrous edition by Travis M Riddle Literature Fiction eBooks
Download As PDF : Wondrous edition by Travis M Riddle Literature Fiction eBooks 
Miles went to sleep tucked tightly in bed in his Austin apartment and woke up in the middle of a damp, dark forest in the kingdom of Rompu, a land being torn apart by a civil war between its king and queen.
Miles has few companions in this vast kingdom, which is filled with fantastical animals and flora yet sprinkled with familiar items like digital clocks and vinyl records. As he searches for a way to return home, he discovers that certain memories trigger magical abilities he can shoot fireballs from his palms, heal with nothing but a touch, and more. But as he struggles to make sense of this new world, his thoughts are punctuated by painful memories of his sick grandmother, quarreling parents, and an icy school therapist.
When Miles learns that a monstrous entity flying through the countryside and killing for sport was summoned from a portal to another realm, he believes this creature is the key to learning how to open another rift and return home. Tracking down this beast and mastering his newfound magical abilities may be the only way for Miles to help save Rompu and get back to his family in Texas.
Wondrous edition by Travis M Riddle Literature Fiction eBooks
I don’t typically go for portal fantasy outside of the classics like Narnia or The Neverending Story. But Travis M. Riddle’s Wondrous is a modern portal fantasy that put me very much in mind of those greats from years past. It’s an edgier story that deals with emotions from broken relationships. The main character, Miles, is relatable and I found myself aching for his situation at multiple points.Like most portal fantasy, Wondrous takes us to a strange land filled with stranger creatures. There are half people half scorpion things, as well as bulbous, green people. And falcon-people. There are a lot of people in Wondrous that feel like something out of a nine year old’s dreams. This is far from a criticism, however, since Miles is a nine year old who is dealing with some difficult stuff at home. Riddle excels at writing that brings out the strangeness of the word. He also excels at writing stories that sort of stick with you and make you think. While I was reading Wondrous there were times when I just had to set the book down for a moment and process. Not because there was a lot of action taking place, but because I needed a moment to sort through the emotions.
I do have two criticisms of the book. The first is that the pacing sometimes felt a little slow. A few times I found myself wondering what end Miles was working toward, exactly. Happily these times weren’t frequent, but they did happen. I think tighter pacing would have served the story well. The second criticism is that Miles sometimes seemed a bit mature for a nine year old, or to have knowledge that he seemed unlikely to have. Perhaps the book wasn’t meant to be a strictly third person limited perspective, but it felt like it. Yet at times Miles knows geography of this strange land he is in, or other bits of information that he either shouldn’t know because the world is new to him or seemed unlikely to know or understand because of his age. I think keeping a tighter third person limited perspective would have really helped this book to stand out.
In any case, Wondrous is an entertaining read. If you’re looking for something that puts you in mind of some classic portal fantasy, but with a modern edgier ambience, than this book is for you. It also does a wonderful job of making you care for Miles. This young boy and his personal demons are what really makes this book shine. 3.7/5 stars.
5 – I loved this, couldn’t put it down, move it to the top of your TBR pile
4 – I really enjoyed this, add it to the TBR pile
3 – I liked it, depending on your preferences it may be worth your time
2 – I didn’t like this book, it has significant flaws and I can’t recommend it
1 – I loathe this book with a most loathsome loathing
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Wondrous edition by Travis M Riddle Literature Fiction eBooks Reviews
It’s rare to read a book where you so strongly want to see how it ends, while at the same time, wanting to read slowly so you don’t have to ever stop reading. I remember feeling this way the first times I read the Harry Potter books — such an internal struggle comes with reading a book that exciting. That’s how I felt about “Wondrous” by Travis M. Riddle. I was thoroughly impressed at the excitement and depth in this middle grade fantasy novel, a genre that can so easily hide safely on the surface.
To me, “Wondrous,” Riddle’s first novel, was like a combination of “Eragon” by Christopher Paolini and Pixar’s 2015 film “Inside Out.” Like the protagonist of Paolini’s young adult fantasy novel, Miles from “Wondrous” finds himself thrust into a magical world, suddenly given powers that he is unequipped to deal with physically and mentally. After somehow traveling to a magical world called Rompu, Miles realizes he has the ability to control the elements and even heal the wounded.
The intriguing part about these newfound powers, while they are truly intriguing on their own, is their connection to Miles’ fragile emotional state, which bears the comparison to “Inside Out.” In the Disney movie, Riley’s home life feels uncertain and unstable and she has to learn to deal with the mature emotions that she’s feeling for the first time. This same idea was apparent in “Wondrous,” as Miles too has an uncertain home life. His parents have recently divorced and he has been hit with feelings that he’s never before felt. His initial reaction has been to shut these feelings out. Now in Rompu, when he has to harness these feelings, along with painful memories of death and divorce, Miles has to face the feelings head on.
Through his experience surviving in the magical world, Miles has to learn the power of his past and that adversity is only worth the pain if we embrace it, rather than hide from it. This is a vital lesson for young adults to learn, as so many of us pretend that all is right with the world, even when it’s anything but.
Before these deeper themes came to light, what intrigued me most about “Wondrous” was the vivid detail. Riddle had a clear vision of his universe in his mind and he brings his readers into it from the very beginning. In fact, when I visited my sister’s 7th grade English class recently, she was teaching a lesson about imagery in writing. I volunteered to read this excerpt of “Wondrous” to her students
“It seemed the only thing Rompuns ate for breakfast, as far as Miles could tell, was scrambled eggs with chopped green bell peppers and a spicy blue sauce mixed in. He didn’t like the sauce at first, but he was growing accustomed to it as he ate more meals there. Rompuns doused most of their food in it.
After breakfast, Jaselle would depart to work with the queen, leaving behind a spare key in case Miles decided to go exploring.
He never strayed too far from the palace doors; there was a small enclosure a short distance down a trail that he usually visited and occupied all day. It had two iron benches and a fountain with a statue of a chubby fish built in the middle of a pond that was filled with the glowing pink blobs he had seen in the water before.
…
On her lunch break one day, Jaselle stopped by and explained to Miles that the pink blobs were actually called forn. They were tiny, gelatinous animals that lived exclusively in the Jesieu Marshes. Rompuns often ate forn as snacks, which was a fact Miles had learned when Jaselle snatched one straight out of the murky pond and casually tossed it in her mouth.
…
The pond was surrounded by smooth, crystalline stones with a blue sheen. Miles would often take one of the rocks and throw it as far as he could, grinning halfheartedly as Clint chased after it. The maylan would trot back to the pond, rock in mouth, and drop it into the pond rather than return it to Miles. They both enjoyed the plop! of it hitting the water.”
I knew it was the perfect book to share with them, especially when it came to descriptive writing, because of the picture that was painted in my head throughout the entire book. There was no detail left undescribed; no moment where I couldn’t see exactly what Riddle had dreamt up.
An action story at heart, “Wondrous” kept me on the edge of my seat on many occasions. Whether Miles is experiencing a sort of panic attack, where he’s switching between memories of the past and the present, unable to tell where reality ends and fantasy begins, or if he’s on the practice field, honing his craft while preparing for the final battle, Riddle has a gift for describing action scenes. He knows how to strike the balance between chaos and clarity.
And lastly, the characters. I finished the book wanting to give Miles a big ole high five for everything he’d been through. I wanted to jump up and give Mortimer, Miles’ large trusty guide and support system, a bear hug. I wanted to scoop up Clint, the dog-like creature that adopted Miles and helped him cope, and give him all the pats and head scratches he could want. The characters were fun and relatable. They grounded the story while it traveled to new heights.
I absolutely loved this debut novel from new author Travis M. Riddle. It was a blast to read. It was just compelling enough to express the fragility of the human emotional system and the importance it has on making you a stronger person, and just simple enough to have a truly good time reading. Bravo!
I don’t typically go for portal fantasy outside of the classics like Narnia or The Neverending Story. But Travis M. Riddle’s Wondrous is a modern portal fantasy that put me very much in mind of those greats from years past. It’s an edgier story that deals with emotions from broken relationships. The main character, Miles, is relatable and I found myself aching for his situation at multiple points.
Like most portal fantasy, Wondrous takes us to a strange land filled with stranger creatures. There are half people half scorpion things, as well as bulbous, green people. And falcon-people. There are a lot of people in Wondrous that feel like something out of a nine year old’s dreams. This is far from a criticism, however, since Miles is a nine year old who is dealing with some difficult stuff at home. Riddle excels at writing that brings out the strangeness of the word. He also excels at writing stories that sort of stick with you and make you think. While I was reading Wondrous there were times when I just had to set the book down for a moment and process. Not because there was a lot of action taking place, but because I needed a moment to sort through the emotions.
I do have two criticisms of the book. The first is that the pacing sometimes felt a little slow. A few times I found myself wondering what end Miles was working toward, exactly. Happily these times weren’t frequent, but they did happen. I think tighter pacing would have served the story well. The second criticism is that Miles sometimes seemed a bit mature for a nine year old, or to have knowledge that he seemed unlikely to have. Perhaps the book wasn’t meant to be a strictly third person limited perspective, but it felt like it. Yet at times Miles knows geography of this strange land he is in, or other bits of information that he either shouldn’t know because the world is new to him or seemed unlikely to know or understand because of his age. I think keeping a tighter third person limited perspective would have really helped this book to stand out.
In any case, Wondrous is an entertaining read. If you’re looking for something that puts you in mind of some classic portal fantasy, but with a modern edgier ambience, than this book is for you. It also does a wonderful job of making you care for Miles. This young boy and his personal demons are what really makes this book shine. 3.7/5 stars.
5 – I loved this, couldn’t put it down, move it to the top of your TBR pile
4 – I really enjoyed this, add it to the TBR pile
3 – I liked it, depending on your preferences it may be worth your time
2 – I didn’t like this book, it has significant flaws and I can’t recommend it
1 – I loathe this book with a most loathsome loathing
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