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Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Mark Kendrick, author of Stealing Some Time and Into This World We’re Thrown, wrote the following review of The Return of Innocence: A Fantasy Adventure, at Amazon.Com.

In 'The Return of Innocence', Duane Simolke once again proves his writing mastery. Populated by at least two dozen characters, the story focuses on Sasha, a young female swordswoman, and her quest to destroy the evil Tay-lii. With well-fleshed out characters at her side, Sasha (or Innocence) goes on a classic fantasy adventure through the world of Theln, which exists right along the dimensional edge of another one of Duane's stories called 'Degranon'. So, along with his other offerings in the genre of contemporary fiction and sci-fi, Duane has produced this fantasy story; again proving his ability to write in any genre he needs.

To me, the mark of an excellent writer is the ability to write in a voice not his own - and to stay consistent in that character. Duane achieves that in spades by writing from the point of view of a young female warrior and taking it to its inevitable conclusion in 'The Return of Innocence'. Another mark of an excellent writer is the ability to shift genres when necessary to achieve an aim. I have read stories from three genres that Duane has written in and I've found them superb. This is an author you don't want to miss!