They say he was an outsider. A man with no home, no family, no friend to call his own. The man with nothing left to love. The empty man.
Welcome to one of the May 21st stops on the blog tour for The Legend of Black Jack by A.R. Witham with Escapist Book Tours! (#EscapistBookTours | Twitter | Instagram) Look for others participating in this tour across social media and on your favourite bookish blogs May 19-25, and don’t forget to enter the giveaway! More on that at the end of this post.
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About the Book
The Legend of Black Jack
by A.R. Witham
Published 17 May 2022
Nepenthe House
Genre: YA Fantasy
Page Count: 458
Add it to your Goodreads TBR!
They say he was an outsider. A man with no home, no family, no friend to call his own. The man with nothing left to love. The empty man.
They say he talked to animals. They say he traveled between worlds. They say he killed a god, and they may be right. He prowled the border between light and dark. He beat the devil himself with a walking stick. He healed a thousand people in a single day and killed a dragon the same midnight.
They say there was a woman. They say he died for her. No one knows the truth.
Those are the legends about him.
If you want to know the truth I will tell you.
The Legend of Black Jack is a coming-of-age fantasy adventure complete with full-page illustrations, written by Emmy-winning writer A. R. Witham. It begins on a stormy night in Chicago but Jack Swift’s true destination lies far, far away. The skillful magic of A.R. Witham’s story whisks you away from your everyday world to an unbelievable journey with unexpected action and unforgettable characters.
Amazon US | Amazon CA | Amazon UK
Content/Trigger Warnings:
Shown on page:
- Child Abuse (foster mom hits main character)
- Child Abduction (main character kidnapped by monster)
Alluded to:
- Child Neglect (foster mom ignores her wards)
My Review
My Rating: 4 Stars
Consider liking my review on Goodreads
I was granted complimentary access to The Legend of Black Jack by A.R. Witham as part of my participation in a blog tour for this title with Escapist Book Tours. Thank you to all involved in affording me this opportunity! My thoughts are my own and my review is honest.
The Legend of Black Jack is the story of a boy genius named Jack who ends up on a Gulliver’s Travels type adventure displaced in time and space. It’s a science fantasy adventure that introduces a gargantuan cast of great characters that are entertaining and manages to keep everything clear and distinct despite the large number of characters, settings, etc. to remember.
This book is billed as YA but given the protagonist’s age I think it will appeal more to a middle grade audience. I, as a woman in her 30s, felt very far removed from this boy’s experience, so it was difficult to connect with him. The early chapters introduce Jack as a bit of an arrogant child genius who doesn’t think fiction is worth reading (ironically refuses to read Gulliver’s Travels) and gets through several subjects worth of homework in a ridiculously short amount of time with dismissive ease, so he didn’t exactly have my heart from page one and the book had a lot of leg work to do to leave me neutral on this character by the end. If I’d been neutral on him from the beginning, maybe I’d like him now, but I do think younger readers will give him more leeway as equally inexperienced youths.
I would also like to say that the tragedy in the prologue would have been more effective for me, as an international and older reader, if it hadn’t leaned so hard into being historically accurate about the language and storyline a boy of Jack’s time would use “playing Indians.” I get why, he’s an archeologist’s kid with a wild imagination, but it pulled me out of the moment every time Jack imagined an “Indian Chief” who felt straight out of Neverland.
Overall I really did enjoy the adventure, wild cast, and rich world that this book has to offer, and I would highly recommend this title to young readers who love the genre.
About the Author
A.R. Witham is a three-time Emmy-winning writer-producer and a great lover of adventure. He is the world’s foremost expert on the history of Keymark. He loves to talk with young people and adults who remember what young people know. He has written for film and television, canoed to the Arctic Circle, hiked the Appalachian Trail and been inside his house while it burned down. He lives in Indianapolis.
If you would like a sneak peek at his upcoming work or upcoming events, please reach out to him:
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Amazon
Giveaway Alert!
Prize: An eBook or Physical Copy of The Legend of Black Jack!
Starts: May 19, 2022 at 12:00am EST
Ends: May 25, 2022 at 11:59pm EST
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
