For Marvelous Middle Grade Monday a review of Secret Sky: The Young Universe by T. Alan Horne, illustrations by James Bernardin

Secret Sky:  The Young Universe by T. Alan Horne, illustrations by James Bernardin

Publisher: Tristellation Media 
Format:   Hardcover 
Number of pages:  484
Source:  Author
Publishing: August 21st, 2024

Links: Website / X/ Amazon

Opening Line: "This is the oldest story I know, which makes it the oldest in the world."

In this fantasy science fiction story, the first of a trilogy, the life of 10-year-old Skylar is upended when his secluded mountain village is destroyed by the decree of a faraway king.  As the king laid on his deathbed, he commanded his son, Prince Sage to burn Curon Village to the ground, sparing no one.   Miraculously, Skylar emerged from the carnage unharmed and is later rescued by a band of the king's knights who take him back to the capital under the guise that he is the "nephew" of the captain.

Yet, ever since Skylar left his small village, he has been plagued by a recurring dream.  In it, he is no longer a small boy but is transformed into a starship, voyaging across the cosmos, able to converse with the stars. Uru-Ana, the first star he encounters on his journey, reveals that a vast treasure lies at the end of Pilgrim's Road, and that Skylar's parents are alive, eagerly awaiting him.  All that he has to do is navigate his way to them using the map that is stitched into his shirt.  Just as Skylar begins his voyage, he abruptly awakens.  Magic, once thought to be only the thing of dreams, now becomes a perilous reality.  Can Skylar conceal his true identity and keep his new powers hidden now that he has entered the capital, and especially once he is confronted by Prince Sage face to face? 

Anyone who knows me knows I enjoy imaginative worlds, books with magic, some adventure.  Give me a couple of knights, a castle, some mystery and I'm pretty satisfied.  Secret Sky is that kind of story, the one you read to connect to the characters, you get to know them as they go into battle together, as one begins to develop powers and as they interact with one another.  Being character driven, the plot develops at a slower pace, but luckily there is this mysterious narrator who interjects from time to time, sometimes speaking directly to the reader, filling in some of the slower parts with well-placed lines of humor and a few moments that I'll admit totally threw me.  Let me explain that last one a little bit.  

As I said before this is fantasy and science fiction.  Most of the book takes place during what appears to be medieval times, horses and knights with a band of travelers making their way across the country.  At the same time, it's alluded to that Skylar's world is just one of many futuristic worlds, or one of many Earths.  One where there are even Shieldeater Boars, or monsters that are as big as a tractor.

Then there is the importance of stars in Skylar's world, how they play a huge part in writing destines, make their own plans and set things into motion.  How in Skylar's dreams when he's among the stars he can speak with them.  Which kind of gives me some The Little Prince vibes.  Skylar even becomes a starship following the constellations, but not just any starship, he has missiles, explosives, and energy shields.  So yeah, be prepared for some mixing of medieval times with space and a few common day things thrown in too.  Which were the moments that took me by surprise, like the narrator mentioning that confessing to murder had not been on his "bingo card."   

Overall, I must say I enjoyed the read.  The black and white illustrations are lovely, and Skylar is quite the character; I can truly imagine him growing across the trilogy.  Learning more about his powers, maybe meeting a few more stars and finally seeing how things go with Prince Sage.  Yeah, that ending really has me wanting to read the next book now.  I like surprises like that.  Plus, the interjecting narrator is quite humorous with their asides.    So read this if you like a mixing of genres, children with hidden talents and want to dive into the characters of the story.    

 A huge thank you to T. Alan Horne for the opportunity to read Secret Sky in exchange for an honest review.  Wishing you much success with its release. 

 **I hope you'll check out all the other Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday posts at Greg Pattridge's blog HERE   **  

                                About the author:

T. Alan Horne is a writer of science fiction, fantasy, and tales of high adventure. He specializes in taking familiar genres to new places and creating characters that readers get to keep forever as souvenirs to live in their imaginations.

His first book, Advent 9, garnered high praise, and was called “Absolutely Brilliant!” by bestselling author David Farland—the writing teacher and mentor of Brandon Sanderson, Brandon Mull, Stephenie Meyer, and James Dashner.

Mr. Horne spends most of his time writing but occasionally answers fan inquiries. Visit him at his website and on Twitter.

To learn more about Secret Sky, the first twelve chapters of the audiobook read by Andew Eiden are available on YouTube and are well worth a listen.