Broken Soul

The Scholar's Legacy Book 1

Young Adult - Fantasy - General
272 Pages
Reviewed on 10/29/2016
Buy on Amazon

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Author Biography

Hey there! My name’s Joshua, and I’ve been fascinated with storytelling practically since I was old enough to talk.

A bit about myself, I suppose. I’m in my early 30s, born and raised in Sacramento (that’s the capital of California, in case you’re confused). I’m the second of five children, and I. Love. Fantasy.

Growing up I was one of those kids who would blurt out the first thing that came to mind and got all the awkward stares. Even at the age of five, I could go on tangential rants for almost an hour that went nowhere.

In elementary school, I had my first brush with the dark side of fantasy: fan fiction. I spent several of my formative years writing stories based off of favorite tv shows and video games of mine.

This continued on through high school as a group of friends and I made a roleplaying forum where we tried to collaborate on writing a single narrative between almost a dozen people. It’s about as easy as it sounds. Of course, it was moments like that that spurred me to eventually start trying my hand at writing original stories.

I’ve been working full time in the customer service industry since high school. It pays the bills, but doesn’t give me a lot of time to write, so I usually have to really make it count when I can. When I’m not writing, I tend to be either reading or playing video games. Fantasy and sci-fi novels, Japanese manga, RPGs- if it has a fantastical element to it, I’m interested. Reading in particular has always been a huge passion of mine. There’s nothing I enjoy more than a well told narrative and engaging characters.

On the other hand, I have a bit of a masochistic streak when it comes to movies and books as well. Oddly enough, I find immense satisfaction in reading a terrible book or watching a horrible movie. Well, part of that enjoyment probably comes from subjecting my friends to the same thing afterwards. Take it from me: if you show a friend Birdemic, and they’re still friends with you after that, they’re keepers.

I sincerely hope that people enjoy what I have out now, and know that this is just the beginning for me. There are dozens of other stories I’m dying to get out in the world, and if readers can find some enjoyment in what I create, then it’s more than I could possibly hope for.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Maria Beltran for Readers' Favorite

Joshua Buller's Broken Soul is the first installment in The Scholar's Legacy Book series. This young adult fantasy revolves around the fascinating adventures of Micasa, a young slave girl freed by a mysterious mute slave who doesn't have a name he can call his own. What follows is a bizarre quest to find the pieces of the soul of her most unlikely hero, which have been scattered by the wind. This quest also takes them back to his colorful past and, as they travel all over the place, Micasa is confronted by the mystery and wonders of the outside world and she realizes that life is not what she used to think it is.

What makes Broken Soul special is its unique story line and Joshua Buller's creative writing style. The story does not follow the usual fantasy novel's plot, where the heroine discovers her power and then uses it to save the world. Here, a very young girl, with a very minor power, travels with her rescuer to recover the latter's lost soul, fragment by fragment, and by doing so we get to meet a number of highly interesting characters. The pace of the story is slow and easy as if Buller wants his readers to read between the lines and digest his message correctly. And without trying too hard, he makes Micasa come across as a brave young girl with the courage to face what the fickle world will bring her. This book is certainly an interesting read!