The Wayfinder by Darcy Pattison

Title: The Wayfinder
Author: Darcy Pattinson
Series: ???

Published: March 1st, 2011
Publisher: Mims House
Pages: 212 (paperback)
I received this book from the author in excange for an honest review.

Young Winchal Eldras is a Wayfinder, one of the gifted few of G'il Rim who have the ability to locate anything: a lost ring, the way home, a blue dress in the marketplace, a lost child. "Finding" is a valuable talent in this city that sits dangerously close to the Rift, a mysterious, unexplored chasm. When the Rift claims his little sister in a bizarre accident, though, Win is reduced to a Wayfinder who's lost his way.

But suddenly there's no time for grief--the plague has come to the Heartland. And only healing water from the Well of Life, on the other side of the Rift, can stop it. A prophecy commands that Win must make the terrible journey to seek the Well. But no one has ever braved the dangers of the Rift and returned to tell about it! To make matters worse, Win suddenly has a traveling companion in Lady Kala, a prized-and royally stubborn--Tazi hound with a few gifts of her own. A Wayfinder with no direction can't possibly manage this imperious creature from the King's kennels, much less save a civilization on the edge of destruction.

Or can he? --Goodreads

The Wayfinder is a fast-paced high fantasy novel, written in the tradition of journey-based fantasy classics like Lord of the Rings. I was surprised how quickly I was able to accept the world and the type of magic it supports. Though the concept of guiding magic is simple, the world building is so convincing (without pages and pages of boring description) that I wonder why no one has done it before. Win himself was an unusual sort of hero, weighed down by loss and guilt with a perspective that I could understand and sympathize with.

Despite the grief, Win’s adventure of self-discovery to overcome said burden is action packed and exciting all the way up until the very end (in between one-eyed giant eagles, killer crocodiles, and killer wolf tribes, how could it not be?). It was the story about a boy and his companion, learning to trust themselves and each other. Even though it was over sooner than I had hoped for (I easily finished it one sitting), it felt completed, with an ending that left me satisfied, morally uplifted, and ready for a sequel. The Wayfinder is one of those books that shouldn’t be overlooked!