Oracle: Sunken Earth, the first book in C. W. Trisef’s seven-title Ret Cooper series, begins with Ret washed ashore after a particularly severe hurricane, a storm which cost the life of his Coast Guard captain rescuer.
Ret has no memory of his past, but he is in possession of a spherical object we come to know as the Oracle.
Living with the family of the missing captain, Ret tries to blend into society and brave a new adversary: high school. As odd characters and strange scars begin to put him and his new family in danger, Ret must find the answers to questions he can’t even ask.
Oracle: Sunken Earth takes a while to get started–Trisef’s writing style is a little disjointed at times, mostly in the voices of the teenaged characters–but once it does it grabs the reader it doesn’t let go. The meshing of fantasy fiction—what is the Oracle and what are its powers?—with a modern realistic setting is perfect for readers who want a bit of escapism but who aren’t fans of entire world-building novels.
Oracle: Sunken Earth is an entirely pleasant light fantasy read, set in fact-based locales with a blend of fact and fiction that serve to make the reader wonder, “What if?”
Reviewed by Mercy Pilkington for IndieReader