Luka and the Fire of Life

Luka curses a traveling circus and finds that it comes back to haunt him. A mysterious, magical night brings a strange sleeping sickness to his father, an avid story teller. As the sleeping sickness begins to drain his father’s life away, Luka becomes desperate to help. Early one morning, Luka walks out the front door to meet someone who looks strikingly like his father. Doing so, has brought Luka into contact with the being sent to claim his father’s life. Luka has stepped sideways into a magical, parallel universe where his pet dog and bear can speak, his father’s stories all come to life and magic is real. Luka embarks upon a quest to steal the Fire of Life and save his father’s life. Along the way he will ride on King Solomon’s Flying carpet, face down obstacles that feel remarkably like the video games he is used to playing and encounter a whole collection of gods and goddesses of yore.

Luka will appeal to a broad cross-section of readers, particularly those looking for a unique story. Older readers with an eye for detail will enjoy the treasure hunt of gods and goddesses. This fantastical tale has Greek and Roman goddesses and Queen of the Valkyries mud wrestling for the title of most beautiful; Coyote plays a significant supporting role and the whole pantheon of cultural gods and goddess make cameo appearances. Those who enjoyed Neil Gaiman’s American Gods will enjoy a similar cultural treasure hunt. The book will also appeal to younger readers looking for a great adventure / quest story full of obstacles and monsters and riddles and puzzles. It will also invite younger readers who are avid gamers to engage a different kind of entertainment. Luka enjoys electronic games. In fact the entire quest is structured as a game complete with Luka collecting lives, numbers in his field of vision that keep track of his levels and lives remaining; and golden balls to be touched at the end of each level to save progress. Readers looking for romance will be disappointed. But those looking for a quest novel and literary treasure hunt are in for a treat. Luka is a realistic, sympathetic character for whom it is easy to like and cheer. His desire to help his father is authentic. While this is a sequel to Haroun and the Sea of Stories, it stands alone as a satisfying read.