When stories come alive – My review of Hollow Road by Dan Fitzgerald

Hello! Well met and westu hal to you, welcome to the latest review on my blog! I have a review today of a brilliant self published fantasy story, a story of what happens when you meet legends, what happens when folk stories come to life. Putting it simply this was one fantastic story that grew and grew on me.

Firstly, I want to shout to Justine and Timy from Storytellers on Tour for organising and including me in this tour, these two do so much to promote indie works. Please also check out the rest of the brilliant bloggers and bookstagramers taking part by following this link.

Now it’s time for the premise

Legends describe the Maer as savage man-beasts haunting the mountains, their bodies and faces covered with hair. Creatures of unimaginable strength, cunning, and cruelty. Bedtime stories to keep children indoors at night. Soldiers’ tales to frighten new recruits.

It is said the Maer once ruled the Silver Hills, but they have long since passed into oblivion.

This is the story of their return.

Carl, Sinnie and Finn, three companions since childhood, are tasked with bringing a friend’s body home for burial. Along the way, they find there is more to the stories than they ever imagined, and the mountains hold threats even darker than the Maer. What they discover on their journey will change the way they see the world forever.

Travel down Hollow Road to find out which legends are true, and which have been twisted.

What struck me the most about this book, was the development of the friendship and bond between Carl, Sinnie and Finn. They are three friends, reunited again after taking different paths, tasked with taking a friend’s body home. Right from the beginning, I knew I was in for a treat with this strong, character driven fantasy story and at 243 pages it’s a great read.

Dan uses a traditional western fantasy setting, imbued with a bit of magic to draw the reader in to this most intriguing of fantasy worlds. I love stories where legends and folk lore come to to life and this was right up there for me, ultimately for me this is a story of friendship. You can see this in the bond between Carl, Sinnie and Finn the way it develops through the story, the story transforms them and draws them together in a wonderful way.

The idea of stories is a major theme through the book, the subject of the Maer being the most important. The humans of this world believe that they are no longer a threat, or do not exist and live their lives accordingly. What becomes apparent, is that this is a society on the brink of change and Dan does brilliantly to bring this to the fore. This is what makes this such a fantastic first novel, we are introduced to an intriguing world and the uncertainty and danger are present – but alliances are made. My last point is that this is a story of the everyday, it at least begins like that and is impactful on the story and how influential the characters are. Needless to say, this is a brilliant work of fantasy and well worth your time and a fine addition to the self published fantasy scene! Dan I salute you and easily award this book 10/10, I cannot wait for the next book!

Before I go, I want to draw your attention to a great competition that is being run. It’s a free competition and you can enter here, Dan is giving away 3 x signed copies of Hollow Road it is only for the US I am afraid. Think how nice it will look on your bookshelf!

About Dan

Dan Fitzgerald is a fantasy writer living in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Washington, DC with his wife, twin boys, and two cats. When he is not writing, he might be gardening, doing yoga, cooking, or listening to French music.

Find out more about Dan and his books at http://www.danfitzwrites.com, or find him on Twitter or Instagram, with the handle danfitzwrites in both places.