Red Leaves and the Living Token: Book 1 - Part 1 [NOOK Book]

Boo

Ok bn. Here is another book i cant buy due to these long winded plot spoilers. They are costing you sales. Why buy book when these long winded plot spoiling posters tell everything that happens?

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

It was a good read. Not one of my usual reads, but I'm glad I di

It was a good read. Not one of my usual reads, but I'm glad I did. It was well written, interesting story, story flowed nicely, warm outstanding characters. Nothing really gripping, but the story didn't need anything like that. You will be left wanting more, when the sequel comes out.

I would recommend this book to people who wants a light read

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

The blurb for this book describes the essence of the story perfe

The blurb for this book describes the essence of the story perfectly, so there's no need to elaborate on that aspect. But what the blurb doesn't cover, is the amazing fantasy world Burrell has created. He's crafted fantastic imagery, as I read I envisioned a cross between modern world and...think Lord of the Rings perhaps. The amount of detail, sheer imagination, and talent to bring such a world to life through words is truly impressive. Normally this genre of book is one I might skim over, but never read. But I'm glad to have agreed to read the first of this series, because it's one amazing tale!


The characters were well thought out, realistic, and touching to get to know. I do wish perhaps that there was some sort of reference key in the beginning of the book to help keep track of them. Not that it was terribly confusing, but I'm a busy mom - constant interruptions while I read, so while the story was very interesting, it sometimes took a minute to remember who was who. But I don't fault the author for my distracted memory.

The plot pace also was very well done. I would think a book of this style/genre, that it would be hard to nail down the right mix of description and detail, with dialogue and action - but Burrell did a wonderful job here. The action kept it's pace nicely, while still giving beautiful descriptions of the scene. And what descriptions in deed. Really, just beautifully worded, bravo to Burrell.

This is the first book of a series, I won't give any spoilers, but Burrell did a great job at the cliffhanger. Overall this was a surprisingly good book. Coming from a girl who normally wouldn't stray to this genre, it says a lot that I would gladly read the next book in the series. Burrell is clearly a very talented writer, with many great works yet to come. Keep an eye on this guy, he's going places.

**I was provided a copy for review.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Edit

This may be a good story but all of the errors are ruining it for me. How about editing or atleast spell & grammar check.

This is part of a fantasy story for children which ends with a

This is part of a fantasy story for children which ends with a lot of unanswered questions for the next part. On the plus side it has everything a young child could want-strange characters, new lands, bears, flowers, kings and princes. It creates a new world of fun and adventure, allowing for numerous questions to get the imagination flowing. This story also makes use of names of actual places or items and gives them new meaning, such as Petra, raj, zo and bota. The writing flows well and is easily understood by a child. It has small chapters, which allows for short attention spans. Good and bad are easily distinguished. The only thing I would suggest is to go to the back and read the descriptors before starting the actual story.

I received the kindle version of this story and it contained seveal editorial errors.

Okay!

Okay, but will not continue with the series

Reviewed by Lee Ashford for Readers Favorite ¿Red Leaves and th

Reviewed by Lee Ashford for Readers Favorite

“Red Leaves and the Living Token” by Benjamin David Burrell is a riveting fantasy featuring multiple interwoven sub-plots, with a captivating over-arching theme. Three distinct “species” of characters are the primary personalities in this story: Bota, Zo, and Petra. The Bota are a BOTAnical species, the Zo are a ZOoligical species, and the Petra are a rock species. It took me more than half the book to recognize the relationship between their names and their composition, but thereafter it was quite helpful in keeping track of who was what. The three kingdoms maintained an uncomfortable détente, and generally kept to themselves. Long before the story began, the magical “Reds” were destroyed, and the “Token” was lost. A long-believed prophecy held that one would come to restore the Reds, with the help of the Token. The Reds, no doubt reflecting a time of greater inter-kingdom cooperation, consisted of a bird (zoological), a bush (botanical) and a stone (rock), each of which was red in color, and each of which possessed magical healing powers. The Token was a memento containing each of these three symbols.

This story was very absorbing. Several parties were seeking the Token, in the belief that some remnant of the Reds still remained, but could only be found with the help of the Token. Much distrustful cooperation between and within the kingdoms factored into the search for the ancient artifact, largely fueled by the disappearance of a sick 13-year old boy believed to possess some knowledge the others wanted. The story contained a great deal of action, and would really make an intriguing movie, in my opinion. I not only recommend this book; I URGE you to read it. Without spoiling it for you, I think I can disclose that one of the three Reds was found, leaving open the way for, presumably, two sequels to follow! I will be anxiously keeping a lookout for the appearance of the first sequel.

This review is written for the whole book not the individual sec

This review is written for the whole book not the individual sections
that the book is broken into on B&N. One quick note before I get
into the meat of my review, I received an early edition of this book
before it had been seen by a professional editor (I have since received
an edited copy but don't have time to reread the book in it's entirety).
As such I will be reviewing on characters, story, etc, ignoring any of
the editing issues I saw within. Red Leaves was originally written as
a screenplay with the goal of a CG production in mind. The cover shows
off the skill that the characters can be rendered in and if it ever
happens I will be eager to see it. The story follows the journey of a
young man, who is terminally ill, seeking a cure for his condition. When
his nurse takes him to find the mythical Red for a cure without his
father's permission a journey with far reaching consequences is begun.
The characters were interesting, but an index would have been helpful at
the beginning. I had trouble keeping the races straight at first,
having to flip to the beginning to keep things straight. Honestly that
is not an uncommon experience for me when starting a new series with
original species. I really liked the young boy's father and his
dedication to finding his son, the abilities he develops are also
fantastic. The whole story following the Token and the temple that
can be reached using it has a ton of potential. The only issue is the
sudden stop at the end of this book. There is obviously more to come,
but there was very little resolution for the book. I really am not a
fan of cliffhanger endings so that was a bit of a negative for me, but
not something that deducts from the story overall. I believe the second
book should be out soon and hopefully it will continue to keep the
strength of the story going. Review copy received from the author.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Burrell creates a wonderful fantasy world in Red Leaves and The

Burrell creates a wonderful fantasy world in Red Leaves and The Living
Token. There are three distinct races and interesting characters within
each race. I love the parent/child family dynamic which infuses the
narrative. The relationship between Raj and his son Emret makes this
novel worthwhile. As does the relationship between the Master Cleric
Bedic, his daughter Moslin (who is Emret's nurse) and her daughter
Sinesh. There is true sweetness radiating between them which I found
very appealing. The action is good and the tension rises throughout the
novel as more and more people become aware of the token. Lord Valance is
an interesting villain. He has good and negative qualities and I found
myself wonderfully surprised at his intelligence and nuance. I enjoyed
Red Leaves and the Living Token very much but there were a few things
which bothered me. Burell used the same descriptive words within close
proximity to each other and so I sometimes found myself confused about
who was doing what. Emret is driving the action but it is Raj who truly
seems to be the protagonist. Indeed it seems Emret is not in charge of
his own destiny until closer to the end and then it feels Raj is being
pulled along. This also gets a tad confusing. Still this was a
wonderful book, and I had so much fun reading it. My only final comment
was I thought it would have more closure at the end so I guess now I
will have to look forward to the sequel.

0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

The description of this book says everything that you need to kn

The description of this book says everything that you need to know as a reader. I couldn’t possibly add to it, so I won’t try. Emret is a sick little boy and most likely going to die. In a desperate attempt to get a miracle, he goes on the run with his nurse and without his father’s knowledge. Raj is frantic to find his son missing and follows them but finds himself on a much more complicated journey than he first expected. I really enjoyed this book, it intrigued me and kept me entertained at every page. With that said, I must point out a few things that prevented this from being a five-star review.

There is some editing issues with this book. There is nothing too egregious but the minor problems were so frequent that I have to comment on it. For example, on nearly every page I could find things such as: “I’m am” or sentences that seemed to be missing words or had a plural form of the word when the sentence called for singular. My only other complaint would be that I felt as if not very much was explained to me. I still enjoyed the story immensely, but I would have preferred getting a more complete history and explanation of a few things.

But enough with the minor issues this book had, because the rest was simply fabulous. I loved the story! Emret was such a great character and was very relatable and likeable. He believes in miracles and is determined to find his miracle. No matter how many times he ended up being disappointed and Moslin lost faith, he never did. I liked that about him and I found myself rooting for him to find his cure because he worked more than hard enough to get it. Raj was also a really likeable characters. He’s not a perfect man but he’s trying to be the best father he can be for his son and protect him from some of the more unpleasant realities of his situation. But when it all comes down to it, he will cross nations to find and protect his son, and he does just that. His journey isn’t perfect. He makes a lot of wrong decisions that ultimately make it harder for him, but he never gives up. I get so used to reading characters that are perfect in every way that I found Raj to be very refreshing. He’s not a perfect guy, but he tries his damnedest to make it right anyway. Great, great cast of characters.

The imagery in the plot is also fantastic. Some authors have a hard time conveying action scenes, because these scenes rely so heavily on what is happening and not what is being said. But Ben Burrell does this in a very vivid and engrossing manner. I find it interesting that this author got his start in script writing, since I have found that script writers often have a hard time making the transition to full length fiction. Nothing could be further from the case for this book. This holds true for the different races that are present in the book. Each is different and you can tell has their own motivation, but all of them seem to center around finding this Token.

It’s a quick, fun, interesting read that will have you fervently turning the pages until the very end. And even after it’s over, you’ll find yourself thinking about the story a few days later and wondering what happens next. Hopefully you won’t have to wait very long…I hear there are at least a few other books planned as follow-ups to this one. I know that I will be reading it, because I want to know what happens next. And I want to know if the beings mentioned at the temple are humans, I really just have to know.

0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

My Expectations Based on the blurb I expected a coming of age st

My Expectations
Based on the blurb I expected a coming of age story mixed with myths and magic including twists and turns. The cover promise a lot of non human characters.

The Delivery
The 200 pages of the story are divided into a prologue and thirteen numbered chapters.
Without any judgement let me say, that this is short compared to most of the books I read.So I could read the book in just two sessions.

I will not give any more detailed information about the story itself because the blurb above delivers enough about the plot.

But do not think it delivers all aspects of the story. There is more behind the story as you may think after reading the blurb. And the revelation of information about characters and especially about the past is well dosed and intertwined with current development. There is much more to unveil in the following books.

Benjamin David Burrell knows to tell a story. The mix of action, inner thoughts, descriptions, dialogue and information from the past has been varied in a manner that keeps the pace steady.

Remember I mentioned the non humans on the cover. And indeed I could not detect one human being. There are three main races of people:
- the zo with their hunched over furry animal like bodies
- the botann with their bodies of branches and leaves
- the petra with their bodies of stone
Each of them inhabitat specific areas of the world and do not allow others to pass them. There is always the danger of conflicts. Beside that there are also areas where the three races intermingle.

But as ancient journals show there has been another, superior race called the Reds. They disappeared with the murder of the last living Red which lead to a disastrous war. Until today the past in form of the Reds has an impact on the daily life. With every page the urge to get more information about the Red rises. A hunger which will hopefully satisfied in the following books.

It is not difficult to connect with the main characters. Fortunately there are characters who are neither black nor white and what you always hope and not always get there are characters which follow their very own plans.

The description of the landscape is well done and transport enough information to create images in your head.

All in all this is a well done debut novel with a lot of potential and a minor flaw. To have a cast of characters at hand in the beginning would have been helpful. Thanks to the notes I took while reading it was not necessary for me to page back and forth.

I know there will be people complain about the cliffhanger like end of the book. Let me tell you that the end of Red Leaves and the Living Token looks much more like a rest on a long journey and I must say I lookforward to continue the journey.

All in all is fantasy novel which delivers more as you may assume at first sight. It is a good start into a world full of mysteries interesting characters and races. it has the potential to be a series beyond the well-trodden path of coming of age stories. The heyday lies ahead.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Don't judge this book by its cover! A fantastic read.

MY OVERVIEW: This is one of those books that you don’t want to judge by the cover. Honestly, the cover freaks me out and I almost didn’t read the book because of it. But I am glad that the author provided a copy for me to review – otherwise I would have never read this great book!

PROS: Emret! I love him. He is such a stubborn and determined young boy. The author did a fantastic job creating three different races of “people” and a wonderful new world. I could picture everything perfectly.

CONS: There are still a few places that need a little editing, but it isn’t that bad. Raj was pretty annoying at points. It seemed like all he wanted was his son back no matter what it did to Emret. He would rather have a son back who died in a few days than help Emret find the Reds and be healed.

MY FINAL THOUGHTS: An enjoyable read and one that I will continue reading when the next in the series comes out.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Charmingly Imaginative!

Lend this story your mind, it will capture your imagination, and twist it in new directions. It is an ambitious fantasy within an epic new world. The action is steady and the conflicts hit home as we see a desperate father trying to save a dying son. The story is philosophically charged with struggles of power, survival, family, and religion. Expect a thought provoking ride with a scenic view.

A delightful and captivating read

“Red Leaves and the Living Token” by Benjamin David Burrell is a well-written, fast-paced adventure that takes place in a fantasy realm. The book is descriptive and easy to read, which is fitting for readers of various backgrounds. The characters are optimistic, compassionate, and strong-willed.

The story is about a world where the beings are unique species. There is the botann - who are made of trees, the petra - who are made of rocks, and the zo - who are hunched-over furry animals. The botann, petra, and zo have conflicts with each other because of their differences (but occasionally they intermingle). They each have their own areas of the world and do not allow trespassing by other species.

Emret, who is a young zo boy, has a terrible illness and will die if he doesn’t get cured soon. His father, Raj, doesn’t know what to do, but needs to do something soon. Emret’s nurse, Moslin, a female botann, takes good care of Emret, and they think highly of each other.

Emret likes it when Moslin reads to him. One book in particular inspires the two of them to go on an adventure to the other side of the world, which encourages Raj, and others, to follow. Emret is in search of a cure for his illness. Their travels become a wild adventure in which their inner strength and dedication to each other will be tested. Will Emret find what he seeks?

Burrell has a talent for creating lively characters that his readers will grow to care for and love. His book demonstrates his skill of knowing what will satisfy readers’ needs for plot description and clarity of storyline.

I greatly enjoyed this book. The ending left me hungry for more. There is a sequel that will be released in the near future. I recommend this book to readers of fantasy and adventure books. You will not be disappointed!

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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