January 2023 Indie Book Review

Emma & the Prince of Shadows by John Herrera

Trudging Through Mordor
An Indie Book Review by Joseph Poopinski
4 stars

Losing your memory should drive you nuts but how would you know you’ve lost your memory? How would you remember what memory was? Or how to talk coherently or think logically? Perhaps the varying degrees of forgetfulness hold answers to these questions. Riddles abound in Emma & the Prince of Shadows, especially paradoxes. And generally, it’s quite bleak if not morose. There’s a new villain & the principal makes a cameo with a heroic exit. However, Emma & her companions persevere as they must until they’ve spent even next month’s ration of endurance.

Supposing great stories have morals, my takeaway from Emma’s Frodoesque jaunt through the portal with her Samwise-like brother & their neigh endless trek guided by the mysterious Shadow (similar to Gollem in several ways) to save her friend is acceptance. All journeys occur with steps & make no mistake this story will burn out a truckload of pedometers. Yet some journeys aren’t necessarily traveling but rather becoming & maturing or evolving. In either case, no one progresses without that first big step of acceptance. For example: Overcoming “not having what you want” & choosing gratitude for what you do have instead. Replacing stubborn “I don’t know how” or “I can’t”s with a firm conviction to watch, listen & learn. Then & only then does success become possible in this or any endeavor. And all the rest is coasting downhill from there.