REVIEW: Along the Watchtower by David Litwack

Title: Along the Watchtower

Series: none

Author:  David Litwack

Published Date: June 3, 2013

Publisher: Double Dragon Publishing

Format: ebook

Pages: 214

ISBN: 9781771150972

Genre: drama, fiction

Add to: Goodreads

Purchase: Amazon

Rating: 5 stars

Synopsis: A Tragic Warrior Lost in Two Worlds…

The war in Iraq ended for Lieutenant Freddie Williams when an IED explosion left his mind and body shattered. Once he was a skilled gamer and expert in virtual warfare. Now he’s a broken warrior, emerging from a medically induced coma to discover he’s inhabiting two separate realities. The first is his waking world of pain, family trials, and remorse—and slow rehabilitation through the tender care of Becky, his physical therapist. The second is a dark fantasy realm of quests, demons, and magic that Freddie enters when he sleeps.

In his dreams he is Frederick, Prince of Stormwind, who must make sense of his horrific visions in order to save his embattled kingdom from the monstrous Horde. His only solace awaits him in the royal gardens, where the gentle words of the beautiful gardener, Rebecca, calm the storms in his soul. While in the conscious world, the severely wounded vet faces a strangely similar and equally perilous mission—a journey along a dark road haunted by demons of guilt and memory—and letting patient, loving Becky into his damaged and shuttered heart may be his only way out of Hell.

My Review: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Very few books get 5 stars from me, but this is definitely one of them. From the very first page, the author had me hooked. From an IED bombing in Iraq, to a VA hospital in Massachusetts, we go along with Freddie, the surviving lieutenant, as he goes through the very slow and painful process of recovery. Parallel to that, we experience the fantasy world of the Dauphin Frederick as he goes through his thirty day battle to save his kingdom from the demonic hordes.

The author did an incredible job of delving into the mind of a young veteran, showing the post-traumatic stress, the survivor's guilt, and the other injuries to his mind. The body heals so much more quickly than the mind, and we see this as we travel the fantasy world as Freddie's mind slowly heals.

This was an amazing book, both from a realistic point of view and fantasy. The author did a great job of balancing both stories and yet still keeping the story line progressing at a nice pace.