This is the first book by David H. Webb, an Australian author trying his hand at fantasy. I liked the story but I had a few problems with the book.

First, things it did new and interesting. Most fantasy novels stop shortly after the good guys 'win' with a short chapter or so of clean up, and in a series the next books usually has a short chapter summing up all the stuff that happened in between the 2 books then detailing what is going on and why we care again what is happening. Well David's book spends quite a bit of time AFTER the 'final' battle cleaning up loose ends following characters to their happy endings and even setting up many of the things that are going to happen in the next book in the series. This was a surprise and I liked it.

I have to say the beginning of the book felt fairly clunky to me, I kept stumbling along and had to go back and reread passages to catch stuff I had missed. Later I was able to trace much of this to the changes in narrative mode, which seemed inconsistent to me, and in my opinion not always the best approach. After a while I got used to it and noticed a pattern that happened 'most' of the time. I would be reading Third-person, subjective-limited, to Third-person, omniscient, back to Third-person, subjective-limited with a different character, in three consecutive paragraphs.

The next was the thinly veiled Christian allegory. I have no problem with this in principle, I enjoyed the Chronicles of Narnia, but the problem I felt was in it didn't feel integrated into the story, more an add on the author wanted to push and just squished it on top.

Overall, I enjoyed the book, though I would strongly classify this as Young Adult, as it deals with many life lessons given in a fairly transparent manor. That and the mostly happy endings everyone received who tried to do what needed to be done. In many ways it reminded me of David Eddings writing style. I do plan on reading the next installment whenever it hits the shelves. ( )

As a new author, David succeeds in crafting an adventure with a story line that is interesting, compelling and coherent within the narrative's story-world. While one can discern faintly the influences of Tolkien and Lewis, the author has a sufficiently well developed style of his own which one hopes he will grow in confidence in using. Maybe the challenge is to move from the genre of medieval chivalry and customs to explore a variety of vehicles for the passion behind his writing, that is, offering strong pathways for young people to grow into maturity based on the values of love and responsibility espoused by Christ. Technically, some more astute sub-editing will eliminate some errors of spelling and syntax. These do not distract overly much from a ripping good yarn. In all - a great gift for the young person in your life.

This is the beginning (one hopes not the end) of an epic tale of heroism and faith. A tale of common and uncommon valor. Norri, a simple woodsman, is taken far beyond his known territory on the promise of a prophesy. He has no idea what his faith will cost him, or where it will lead him, but he walks in it none-the-less. Tom, Norri's friend, is called to battle with only his valor and hope for his people to guide him. Maari is a young warrior woman whose skill and determination might just save her people. These are a few of the characters in the story. It is the tale of a land under oppression and of evil and enslavement against freedom and love.

I liked this story, though it is not without fault. The author writes a great battle scene and action sequence. His pace and timing falter a bit in the day to day interactions, but when things start happening, boy, do they happen. I enjoyed the culture of the forest people, and having seen some pictures of Australia's rainforests, I could just picture these people living there amongst the trees, though the story is not set in Australia, but in an imaginary world. The grimulves were well depicted, I even liked their dialect and I am not a big fan of dialects in books. The author's message noticeably intervened a bit in the tale, but not so much that it got in my way. I happen to agree with the faith values depicted in the characters, so that obviously didn't bother me; one of the reasons I gave it four stars was for the message it carried. What did bother me was some of the repetitive details and descriptions, but I hope he will overcome that in his next installment of the Chronicles of the Corriian Wars. ( )

David Webb is a self-admitted fan of J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, and you can see the influence of these two big names of fantasy in his writing. This is not to say, however, that Beckwood Brae is a Tolkien rip-off, or just another Narnian Christian allegory. While there are many themes and motifs that are Tolkenian and Lewisian, Webb has his own stamp on his writing, with his own variants of fantasy ideas and plots, such as his forest people, and his plain-dwellers.
Webb's writing style could use a bit more of a heavy hand from an editor, but shows promise as a new writer in a fantasy sub-genre that is little seen - Australian Christian Fantasy. The drive of the plot can pull the reader into the next exciting chapter.
Fans of Christian fantasy literature will be interested to find the influence of modern Christian theorists, particularly John Eldredge of Wild at Heart and Epic fame, especially in Norri and Tom's development from Everymen on the edge of manhood to finding their own place in manhood in a difficult and changing world. They will also find their own little lessons poking through the plot in various places. Non-Christian readers may find the Christian influence laid on a little too openly, but shouldn't let that stop them trying it out for size.
Beckwood Brae is a very handsome debut novel from a new Australian author. The exciting cover art encourages you to judge it by the cover, but do read it yourself to find out more.