A group of young people voyage from the real world to the realm of dreams and on to a strange world called the Reaches…
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The quiet town of Avan with its port, its provincial university and its conservative seafaring folk would hardly be the place you'd expect to run into an adventure and frankly neither Brent nor Sally nor Keira were going out of their way to have one. At least nothing more than the occasional torrid love affair and the awkward self-questioning typical of many young adults like themselves. Sally was finishing her studies in the Theosophy Department of the University hoping to become Professor Rafter's assistant. Keira, Sally's best friend and lover, was a young librarian who occasionally sang in a popular folk group. And Brent was a would-be writer who couldn't quite get his act together. When he wasn't exploring his dreams, he spent hours wandering the streets and lanes in and around the town in search of inspiration. Yet unbeknown to them forces had long been at work that would throw them together in a series of adventures that were going to tax them to the extreme forcing them to discover gifts and to develop abilities that went way beyond what would seem possible. Their's would be a voyage from the real world to the realm of dreams and on into another world called the Reaches that at first sight looked deceptively like their own.
The Reaches is the first book of The Storyteller's Quest by Alan McCluskey. The second and third books, The Keeper's Daughter and The Starless Square, are also available. The draft of the fourth book, The World o'Tales, is complete and the draft of the fifth book, Forget Me Not, is almost complete. There should be six books in the series.
The Prologue - “Are you sure this is right?” Jake asked. Nala hesitated at the unfamiliar ring of his voice, then nodded, her green eyes radiant. They stepped inside, bolting the door firmly behind them. Wooden benches lined the wall opposite the ticket desk. A large poster proclaimed “Make way for the future!” in bold, red gothic letters...
Brent - Brent called himself the Wanderer. Even in his dreams he meandered along interminable lanes across country and town alike or scurried through almost impenetrable labyrinths with unknown threats scuttling after him...
Sally - You might be forgiven for mistaking Sally for an out-grown elf. She loves to be outside and to dance wild dances. Passion is second nature to her...
Keira - A popular person about town, Keira works as a librarian. Her light-hearted, jovial manner and her natural communicativeness endear her to all-comers. She’s also well known as the lead singer in a local folk group...
Professor Rafter - The head of Theosophy Department walked between the armchairs in which his new batch of students sat apprehensive, wondering what was coming next. “Some say that this world is nothing but illusion, yet for most of us it is very real.” (...)
Tweets from the life of Avan - a series of tweets by characters from The Reaches.