Amelia's Song By Kneel Downe Review

Amelia’s Song

By Kneel Downe

Illustrations by Susan Omand

She met Wolf in the deep dark forest. He wore a hat.

“Never let them domesticate you kid.”  he growled.

Amelia nodded and scented a tree…

Are you looking for something that is a little bit different and out of the norm of reality as we know it?  In the mood for a book that isn’t in the mold of the typical science fiction and fantasy fare?  If you are in the mood for something completely different and want something that will challenge your brain then Amelia’s Song is a book that fits the bill as it will take you to different places and challenge the grey matter. 

Amelia’s Song takes you to Kneel’s world of the Blurbverse.  Except there is a different spin to it this time as this story sets ups events that have taken place or will in Kneels ongoing twitter story.  The Twitter story takes different forms and has four different feeds and Amelia’s Song is one of those Twitter feeds that tells the story of the Blurbverse through Amelia’s eyes.  She/He has seen a lot of things in the Blurbverse and Amelia’s Song tell of its beginning or at least that is what the conclusion I came up with. 

Amelia’s Song is a fantastic story and there was much I had forgotten that I had already read on Twitter.  For those that don’t know Amelia’s Song and his other books Virulent Blurb: Fractures and Virulent Blurb: Reflections originated on Twitter and have been collected in book form.  So what you have to remember is that the story and each entry are 140 characters in length.  So when you are reading it each sequence is very short but right to the point.  You might find yourself scratching your head at times going what just happened but the further along you read the more it makes sense.  Sometimes it is good to go back and read a passage twice after reading it and then go I get it now.  I know I did on a couple of occasions and that made the story all the more interesting and after doing that I knew what Kneel had intended.   

The illustrations by Susan Omand are top notch and really add semblance to the overall story.  They really capture the image that Kneel is trying to portray and captures his vision completely.  All you have to do is look at the stunningly beautiful cover for the book to see how mystical the story is.  I really love the way the two dragons are chasing each other.  The illustrations really make the book all that more enjoyable and are breath taking including my favorite one of Pluto.  Susan Omand is a top notch artist and these illustrations are some of her best and I encourage you to check out her other works.

I found Amelia’s Song to be a very entertaining book and one that I could not put down.  In fact I would have finished the book in one go if it wasn’t for watching my favorite baseball team the Red Sox championship run.  It is an extremely interesting book that challenges the mind.  What makes this book an enjoyable book is that Kneel does not follow the standard rules of storytelling and does something completely different and in a different style that he came up with.  It is this style of writing a Twitter story that makes this book refreshing that it isn’t the same old same old tried and true method of science fiction stories.  So if you are in the mood for something different I recommend buying Ameilia’s Song in paperback or digital book.  Your mind will thank you for it.
Grade A -  

Amelia's Song Available Now on Lulu
http://www.lulu.com/shop/kneel-downe/amelias-song/paperback/product-21248605.html

Susan Omand's Website Omand Original
http://www.omandoriginal.com/

Words and illustration used with permission.