Book Analysis – Avala: Spirit of the Mindscapes (Book 1) by Caleb Teal
For today’s book review, I will be speaking on a book full of magical realism, advanced technology, highly complex world development, and amazing characters. This book was a perfect length, not too long, to make you want to grab the second book in the series instantly. Avala, the main character, is a young girl who is half-human and half-Yajiran. She has very special psychic abilities including the ability to swap bodies with people. She also has spirits trapped in her mind.
Avala is a very well-developed character, full of both basic human emotions such as fear and happiness, and abnormal behaviors such as psychic abilities. She is taken from her world by her husband, whom she was forced to marry at the age of eight and was brought to the Republic of Earth. This organization helped her own self-discovery by providing her freedom and the ability to develop amazing fighting skills.
Along the way there are plenty of obstacles, all centered around the mindscapes. The mindscapes were made by Yajixa who enslaves people and their spirits to these mind confinements.
I do not want to spoil this book but give it a go if you are interested in escapism and magical realism, for this book brings out ideas towards our world that may spark a new perspective within your imagination.
Overall, the world's development was phenomenal. I loved the fantastical worlds, the means of transportation being teleportation, the high technology in the Republic of Earth. It was easy to visualize the differences between the worlds. The one where Avala is originally from consists of men dominating women, villages, and extreme weather conditions along the borders. The other world, however, consists of a woman running the organization, Silvia, with very high technological concepts, and the spaces being very minimalistic, clean, and white. I appreciate the distinct features in each realm so that I could imagine being in each place experiencing it with Avala.
The number of characters provided throughout the novel would seem overwhelming if I were to list all their names here, but the author does a great job in signifying each with unique personalities and abilities, just as he did with the world plotting.
This book was a treat to read, I definitely recommend it to anyone and everyone who is looking into a short but majestic book that dives into fantastical concepts. I cannot wait to read book two, so stay tuned for that review soon!
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