Book Review – The Twilight Box

Author: Troon Harrison
Publisher: Brown Barn Books
Binding: Paperback
Publication Date: November 2007

The Twilight Box: Tales of Terre II by Troon Harrison has the feel of an oft told tale begged for by children of every generation. This is a story that brings to mind the oral traditions of our past where everyone sat around a storyteller, all ears attuned to the melodic sounds of the story with hearts thumping as the adventure unfolds. Yes, these are my favorite type of stories, the kind that make you see, hear and feel what the characters do. This one is the story of young Ambro, an orphan who finds himself in the middle of one of those adventure tales and isn’t sure why he has to be the hero.

Ambro d’Monti is a sea urchin, left ashore by the shipwreck that killed his parents; he lives with a rag tag group of orphaned children who live by their wits and the bounty of the sea. Seemingly at the right place at the right time, Ambro helps a ship around a dangerous reef and in return gets offered passage back to Terre, his homeland. With the aid of a friendly Terran merchant named Lord Tafari, Ambro has dreams of finding his long-lost family. Full of self-importance after a voyage full of the tales of boastful Terran merchants and through his observations of his ‘adopted uncle’ Lord Tafari, Ambro decides to chase after the thief who has stolen Lord Tefari’s horses. His trip into the desert is full of revelations. While traveling the desert, Ambro’s preconceived notions and prejudices are challenged at every turn. He learns that perhaps everything he has been told isn’t necessarily the whole truth but perhaps the truth as the teller sees it.

Almost the first half of the book is setup for the real story that begins with Ambro’s quest to find the horse thief. That is not to say that the first half of the book is boring, definitely not, only that it is all set down to prime you for the real story that comes later. The author utilized a great deal of symbolism which helps with that warm feeling of a fireside tale. And while this is clearly a story written for the edification of the younger reader, I’m quite sure that many adults could enjoy and learn from it as well. As this is the second in this series, I’ll most likely search out the first to discover more Tales of Terre.

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