Are you ready to travel on a journey of a lifetime, where all is not how it seems, where the ‘dark ones’ powers are slowly unleashing, where forbidden love touches hearts, and strong bonds of friendships are formed?
As soon as you set your eyes on the pages of Roan: The Tales of Conor Archer your journey begins.
E.R. Barr is a storyteller like no other. Within Roan he weaves a magical, mystical story that resembles those told around fires many years ago. Captivating, magical and highly addictive Eric Barr creates a story of love, spiritual being, power, control and good v’s evil.
It is rare that I am lost for words but Roan has put me there. I am spell bound by the magical journey I have travelled. From cover to content I am hooked on this trilogy. Roan fits just nicely into the world of fiction, fantasy and sci-fi, actually it probably fits too well in terms of having the ability to take control.
Within Conor, his family, his love and his friends E.R. Barr has created characters that become part of you. As I read Roan I felt every moment, I travelled every road and I visualized ever character as though they were standing in the room next to me. I was mesmerized, excited and part of every page. It has been years since I cried whilst reading a book but Roan had me sobbing. I turned the last page in disbelief of the fact that my journey was over. No! I wanted to shout. Not now, never. Where is volume 2?
There is no guessing or knowing where this book will take you from page to page. I became trapped, for use of a better word as I never wanted to leave, in the web of Roan. Just as I thought I had the plot all worked out E.R Barr had me turning an unexpected corner and gasping with elation, fear, anticipation or excitement.
Conor Archer is a young boy with a life full of adventure that he has not chosen to be part of but which instead chose him at birth. After his mother passes Conor finds himself part of a world he could never have dreamed existed in the little town of Tinker’s Grove, Wisconsin. Here magic happens, both good and evil. Here lives the ‘dark ones', children born with strange powers that diminish in adolescence.
With Celtic myth running through the town, and a century and a half of keeping the truth hidden, life in Tinker’s Grove soon changes. Conor Archer arrives in town, with his hand wrapped in a bandage and a severe fever, bearing the name of the one of the prophecy spoken. There are the stories and sightings of Piasa, the Native American river demon, and the disappearances of town folk that lay unexplained. Motivated by Piasa and a promise of fame and glory, Cathness McNabb, with the support of her three sons and Dr Nicholas Drake, a respected geo-geneticist, set out to learn the secret of the ‘dark ones’ and obtain the powers they behold. With a battle between good and evil soon looming the future of Tinker’s Grove lays unknown.
With Celtic myth running through the town, and a century and a half of keeping the truth hidden, life in Tinker’s Grove soon changes. Conor Archer arrives in town, with his hand wrapped in a bandage and a severe fever, bearing the name of the one of the prophecy spoken. There are the stories and sightings of Piasa, the Native American river demon, and the disappearances of town folk that lay unexplained. Motivated by Piasa and a promise of fame and glory, Cathness McNabb, with the support of her three sons and Dr Nicholas Drake, a respected geo-geneticist, set out to learn the secret of the ‘dark ones’ and obtain the powers they behold. With a battle between good and evil soon looming the future of Tinker’s Grove lays unknown.
As you travel the journey with Conor Archer you become at one with the Celtic myth and his inherited ties to the land. You become part of a life of a young man who is only just beginning to discover who he truly is. As you close the book on the journey you are left with the blood of Conor Archer and the folk of Tinker’s Grove running through your veins. I felt a little lost when Roan came to an end. I was numb with disbelief that my journey was over, left seeking the next volume. Conor had become part of me, part of my family. To end the book was to end a chapter of my own life.
I love everything about this book. I will admit that at first instance the thickness of the book, being that of 542 pages, had me a little overwhelmed but by the end of the first few chapters I had forgotten all about it. The cover of Roan speaks as the content does. It intrigues, provokes thought and wonderment and calls ones name. One may say the cover portrays a dark mystery, and I suppose to a degree so does the content, but not the darkness that one may find hard to take. It is a magical darkness that engulfs you and speaks a voice of its own.
Roan: The Tales of Conor Archer Vol 1 by E.R. Barr offers darkness with a ray of sunshine, mystery with a little bit of the known and romance with love and pain.
J.R.R Tolkien had it. E.R Barr is following behind.
ISBN: 978-1-93787-66-2
