If you like fantasy, this is a great young adult book to read. There are other worlds, wizards, bad witches, and even dragons! Oh my! I have not read many fantasy books so, when this was given to be by a dear friend to read, I had my doubts that it would be a book I would like. I was soon proved wrong. The story was just great! I loved the plot and the characters, even some of the bad guys were written so well that I just couldn’t hate them like I wanted to.
We follow Lucky, a homeless gay teen who has lost most of his memory. Though this tale that shows him that nothing is what it appears to be, is he just another homeless teen? Does he have a family somewhere? It was interesting to see how this story unfolded.
There are many characters we meet along the way in Lucky’s journey to find his true identity. Every character in the book was well written, and we completely understand them and their motives by the end of the story; and the author left us wondering in several places during the story! You must wait and piece it all together as the story unfolds. I really enjoyed the wide range of characters and all their quirks. They were different in their own, unique ways, which made the story fun to read. I can’t stand it when all the good guys are just good guys, and the bad guys are just bad guy. Everyone in this book had a motive either for good or for bad—some to help Lucky find his destiny, some to stop him from finding it, and some to gain power for him or herself.
Now, sadly, I can’t say the book was easy to read. This author had some chapters where s/he over described to the point I had to reread many times in order to understand it all. There were a lot of descriptions, similes, and metaphors. This is not a bad thing, except when they are all in the same paragraph. Remember when writing for young adults to write not too simply, but not too complicated either. We work at school, we do want to work when reading for enjoyment.
I give this book 4 marbles and recommend it to fantasy lovers and I hope to see how Lucky’s journey ends.~Timmy
Key of Behliseth is available at
About Key of Behliseth
On his way to meet a fate he'd rather avoid, homeless gay teen Lucky steps through a wizard's door and is caught up in a whirlwind quest and an ancient war. He tries to convince himself that his involvement with sword fights, magic, and interworld travel is a fluke, and that ice-breathing dragons and fire-breathing eagles don't really exist. But with each passing hour, he remembers more about who he is and where he's from, and with help, he begins to claim his power.
Lucky might someday rule a nation, but before he can do that, he must remember his true name, accept his destiny, and master his extraordinary abilities. Only then can he help to banish the evil that has invaded earth and find his way home—through a gateway to another world.
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