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Reviewed by Jamie Michele for Readers' Favorite
A. Greenheart’s Tester follows a young fortune seeker, Tester, who agrees to escort Squirm, a talking worm, to the Edge of the World, where the ocean spills into an endless abyss. Bark, a brawler, joins the quest alongside Lily, a woman once kept by Bark as a pet frog. Their journey brings them to Port Kilu, a coastal village threatened by the Sea Wolf, a pirate captain whose glowing pendant has placed his crew under a curse that transforms them into monsters. When the pirate carries off his daughter Rabbit, Tester joins the child’s aunt, Captain White Tip, in pursuit. Their course leads into the Triangle, a dangerous region of the ocean where ships disappear. With the cursed pirate ahead of them, Tester’s expedition must venture deeper into waters that stand between him and Squirm’s destination.
A. Greenheart’s Tester is a brilliant quest fantasy, and the author has an exceptional gift for making an unfamiliar world feel tangible. The best is the Forever Caves, with glowing mushrooms casting their light over subterranean lakes. The same imagination is heightened with suspense, bringing the dangers of the ocean to life when giant starfish gnaw through a ship’s wooden mast, as cannon fire sends splinters raining onto the deck. The magic is fantastic, particularly the power markers embedded in fortune seekers’ tattoos, which briefly enhance their abilities. When Tester activates his during combat, time seems to slow around him, giving him extraordinary speed of thought at a dangerous moment. Of all the character traits, I most liked Squirm’s affectionate teasing, particularly his habit of calling Tester ‘Bokken Boy,' because of Tester's attachment to a Japanese wooden sword. Well written and immersive, readers who enjoy high-caliber quest fantasies will adore this.
