Fantasy Book Reviews

Reincarnated

Author: thesongist
Title: Reincarnated
Link: https://www.wattpad.com/story/39015310-reincarnated-wattys2016

Reincarnated is a poignant story about the unfairness of life and how we learn to deal with it.

The people of the Caelum Tribe are a highly superstitious folk who allow their beliefs to define their way of life. Lucian Roux is cursed by his people as the reincarnation of Morpheus, the god that "destroyed the pathway between heaven and earth". He is an outcast of society with no friends, and even his father despises him. His only saviors are his sister and stepmother. Unfortunately, Lucian is forced to endure an onslaught of physical and emotion abuse that eventually drives him out of Caelum.

The characters in Reincarnated are strong, complex, and have purpose. The author perfectly captures their anger, fear, hope, and sadness, exposing those emotions through a series of heartrending scenes. We first meet Lucian in his home where he is mercilessly hit by his father. It's a tough scene to read, but an important one as it reveals Lucian's ultimate problem. The town of Caelum hates him, and his father couldn't care less if he died. We see his sister, whose innocence and love for Lucian is a good counterbalance to the dark theme of the story. His stepmother is also an interesting character who also serves as somewhat of a guardian and protector. Lucian's character is highly introspective, which I think is perfect for this kind of emotionally-charged storyline. The author also does a wonderful job of incorporating imagery in scenes to give the story an added boost of impact that will no doubt touch on the heartstrings of its readers.

The biggest problem with the story is it flips between POVs like a schizophrenic cow. In the first scene of Chapter 1, the author exposes each character's every personal thought and emotion. Lucian, his father, his sister Rosalie, his stepmother Melinda, every single one of their thoughts and actions are explained. There is no mystery, no questions for the reader to ask. I wanted to hate Lucian's father, but I couldn't, because through his eyes, Lucian was the devil reincarnate who killed his wife and destroyed his family and reputation. But he is clearly not bad man because he loves his daughter, "the light of his life". We also find out the reason the stepmother shows kindness to Lucian is because she pities him, and through her thoughts, we find out she actually cares and worries about what happens to Lucian. This feels extremely awkward. I couldn't tell whether it was done on purpose, but if it was, I disagree with the author's choice of style. It's hard to tell who the main character is, there is zero mystery, no plot twist will surprise me as I will already have seen it coming based on what the characters are thinking. Or maybe this is exactly what the author wants, to tell us the story from every angle. In my opinion, though, this would be a huge mistake. The story is supposed to be about a cursed boy who struggles to overcome the problems he is dealt with in life. Focus on that!

Reincarnated is not my kind of story and the unusual flip-flop in POVs ruins it for me, personally. But, I believe the author has an amazing story to tell and the writing is good enough to deserve attention. So go check it out! It might just be the story you're looking for.