Book Review: Lichgates by SM Boyce

The way I look at it, there is really only one difference between fiction and reality, and no, it doesn't have anything to do with magic. It's that someone steps outside of the script for our lives that we're all far too familiar with. You know the one- wake up, go to work/school, have dinner, watch TV, socialize a little, go back to sleep, repeat. At some point, whether it's the most common and mundane drama or the most profoundly removed from the laws of physics kind of fantasy, the main character is put in a position where s/he makes a different choice.

I find it comforting, to think that the only qualitative difference between the adventures of the best protagonists, and myself, is that they stepped out of the ordinary. I could do that, you could do that. It doesn't seem too implausible.

S.M. Boyce's Kara Magari does just that while out hiking and is transported into another world teeming with danger, intrigue, and the sort of world building that makes the reader want to linger. I could definitely use reading more about the world of Ourea, and with Kara's difficulty adjusting to college life and the loss of her mother, Ourea was just what she needed.

In some ways I am reminded of The Lord of the Rings, in that an unsuspecting hero has great power and responsibility thrust upon him/her, and the fate of everyone is somehow tied to their journey, but in a new and wonderful turn of events, Lichgates focuses on the trials, tribulations, discoveries, and adventures of a girl.

I know that I've probably just not read enough high fantasy, but the female protagonist in a story that isn't, at it's heart, just a love story with a fantastic setting, seems kind of hard to come by. Her character may take some warming to, but if you're in for an otherworldly adventure, well, then of course, I highly recommend following Kara's example and opening the book.