The Voyages of Delticos: The Petronicus Legacy
by Peter Tomlinson
Published by Bewrite Books
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Reviewed by Alex McGilvery
The Voyages of Delticos is the third in a trilogy by Peter Tomlinson. Not having read the first two books, I had to struggle to place the characters and happenings in context. I had the distinct feeling that I had started the book in the middle.
Kadrik has journeyed across the ocean with Bantius to the Far Away People to find a solution to the plague that has struck his own land. While in the Far Away land he has met up with Delticos, a healer. The story picks up at this point, assuming that the reader is familiar with everything that has gone on before that point. Kadrik and his companions wander through the Far Away land to learn about his distant ancestor, who had made this journey ten generations before. He learns not only about healing but that he needs to question everything. At the end of his year of learning and questioning, he travels home with Bantius and Delticos. At home he learns that he had been given up for dead. Marauding bands roam through the countryside, and without leadership, Kadrik’s people are fractured and hopeless.
Peter Tomlinson writes with a gentle low-key style that makes even the few battle scenes less than exciting. His characters are more interested in personal growth than in redeeming their homeland. The greatest conflict is not with the villain of the story, but within Kadrik as he contemplates becoming the leader of his people.
In spite of the low-key writing, the characters are engaging and well developed. The thesis that individuals must be prepared to constantly question their beliefs is presented in a way that moves the story forward.
Tomlinson’s book is that rarest of creatures, the story that has a moral, yet does not feel like I am being preached to. I would be interested in reading the first two books of the trilogy to fill in the gaps in the story.
Armchair Interviews says: Good book, however it does not totally stand alone from series.