Jared Southwick

The town of Marysville is not a Merry place. The town is surrounded by tall hairy blood thirsty monsters called the Brean. They have six inch long black fingernails and fangs the size of daggers. The only thing keeping Marysvale from these creatures in the woods is a wall that surrounds the city. The people in town are not allowed to leave Marysvale and those that try to go to Marysvale rarley survive the trip through the woods. Things weren't always like this in Marysvale, originally the Brean we're not dangerous but something changed a few years back and the Brean started a rampage across the countryside.

One man that might hold the key to Marysvale's future is John Casey, a 22 year old man who doesn't know a lot about his past. John has the power to see into people's souls, he knows people's secrets and tries to protect his friends from evil. He also has the tendency to get himself into trouble. He's now on the run to Marysvale where he will find love, battle monsters and find out that what is within the walls of Marysvale is just as terrifying as what surrounds it.

Marysvale by Jared Southwick is a book that people of all ages will enjoy. There is some violence but it is not overly descriptive and people who like to read young adult novels will enjoy this book just as much as older readers. Marysvale is a book that works on many levels and has something for everyone.

People that are into romance will enjoy the love story between John and a woman named Jane. Horror lovers will enjoy watching John try to escape from the brean and action lovers will enjoy all the fighting scenes within the city. There is also some mystery involved as you try to figure out what happened in John's past and how much the other characters know about him.

What I enjoyed most about Marysvale is how unpredictable it is. In the beginning the author sets up who you believe are going to be the heroes and villains in the story but the main villain is quickly dealt with in the first two chapters and John takes his horse and goes on the run. At this point I wondered where this story was going as it turns from a fantasy story to a horror story as John meets the brean and has to run for his life.

Another thing I really enjoyed about Marysvale is the social commentary that is given on the people that live in Marysvale. No one can enter or leave the city and in order to have safety from the monsters outside, the people inside have given up all their personal freedoms. In the town the government holds all the wealth as the townspeople live in squalor. The townspeople fear whats outside the walls more then what is inside. I fealt Jared Southwick was giving a metaphor for how we lost some of our personal freedoms after 9/11 and he did a good job of pulling it off.

I highly recommend this book. My only two issues with it was that there were a couple of unanswered questions and some of the characters that we're introduced in the beginning we're never heard from again. Just recently though a sequel to Marysvale was released called Alyth which I'm hoping will answer all of my questions. Marysvale is an unpredictable thrill ride that will leave you anxious for the sequel.… (mehr)

John Carey hasn’t had the best life. His “gift” isn’t welcomed by a lot of people. They don’t like feeling a headache when they’re around him. But that’s what happens when he tries to sneak into their heads. He’s lived several places and, when they decide to try him for witchcraft in his current home of Syre; he takes his few belongings, his horse Smoke and leaves in the dead of night.
Passing through a forest, John and Smoke encounter what they will learn is called a Brean. Big, hairy, MEAN suckers who want nothing more than to have him for lunch. Maybe the horse as an appetizer? He is saved by a woman named Sarah who is living alone in the forest and who has been kicked out of the next town, Marysvale - and told to never return.
Sarah seems to know a lot about the Brean and has nothing good to say about Marysvale or the people who control it. A community that lives in fear. Of the Brean, certainly; of the Lord Mayor and his cronies, terror might be a better word. Sarah and John are visited by sisters Hannah and Jane who comes seeking food from Sarah. There is something familiar about Jane, but what?
Jared Southwick has written an excellent beginning to his Marysvale series. Marysvale came out earlier this year and book two, Alyth, is joining it in the Fall of 2011. These characters are in it for the long haul and Southwick plays them perfectly. I hope I get to review Alyth when it comes out. I really need to see what happens next!… (mehr)