The 58th Keeper _ Interesting Twist On Old Fairytale

The 58th Keeper by R. G. Bullet

Admittedly, after reading several pages, my first thought was, "Ah, here's another Harry Potter want-to-be." After all, Archy Bass is a young, poor, British orphan with few friends. He's not in magic school but a special boy's school, which is still a separate sort of realm. I found the novel slow to start and could only visualize Archy vaguely: a boy with brown hair in a bowl cut. Archy's world seemed rather ho-hum with an atmosphere slightly reminicent of the school Jane Eyre attended.

Move forward, and Vincent, son of a billionaire and, oddly enough, one of Archy's few friends presents Archy with the opportunity for a vacation, a rare thing for a boy of his means. Although the vacation turns out to be -- a surprise to Vincent too -- a working vacation, the exotic locale and opportunity to escape his humdrum existence is very pleasing to Archy. Until, that is, he meets with a strange rug merchant on the beach. From there on, the novel picks up speed and makes the reader wonder, what's next?

For Archy, what's next is beyond his wildest imagination. His life is turned upside down by the mysterious rug he is talked into purchasing from the man he met on the beach in Turkey. This is where R. G. Bullet makes a creative leap, putting a new twist on the old fable about a flying rug. I won't spoil the surprise but will just say, this isn't Ali Baba's rug. Once Archy's life begins to change, the actions of the primary characters bring them more clearly into focus although I found myself visualizing their appearance along the lines of Rowlings' Hermione and a blond in stead of redhaired Ron. I still found it difficult to come up with a visual image of Archy, however. The character I could most easily visualize was Ward who reminded me of Shaggy in the Scooby-Doo cartoons.

I happen to be a highly visual person and enjoy novels I can easily "see" in my mind, like movies unfolding. I found this novel uneven in that regard. I remember little in the way of visual images from the first part of the novel. It is as if it were filmed in a dingy black and white while later sections such as the site of the act of restitution were colorful and detailed. Perhaps this was an intentionaldevice?

All in all, the novel is something I'd pass along to my grandson who is thirteen. Would love to see what he thinks. And I would pick up another novel by this author to see how his writing continues to develop.