Miiliinda is a newly-minted mage who has tumbled to earth but doesn’t know why. She soon meets Alaric, an adventurer and treasure-hunter. He tells her his story about a journey to find a mythical cave full of riches, the perils that met those who went before him and what he found when he finally succeeded in his quest. Meeting Miiliinda turns out to be exactly what he needs.

The Treasure of the Crystal Cave by Kelsie R Gates has the subtitle “A Fairy Tale Fantasy”, which is an apt description of this vibrant story. It has all the elements of an imaginative fantasy story with magical powers, faraway lands, and a protagonist who must face danger and treachery to reach their goal. But it is definitely a fairy tale too, with an imperiled good queen, an evil sibling and the potential for love.

The author tells the story in an engaging manner with eloquently descriptive passages, such as his sketching of the bartender in ‘Rest and Drinks’: “While he stood waiting for an answer, he wiped at the counter with a rag that was as dirty as the tunic he wore.” I also found the dialogue to be interesting, as I thought it worked well and created very good rapport between the characters, although at times I felt that it was very rich and sentimental.

Readers who enjoy classic fantasy and fairy tale stories will find many of the classic tropes they have come to appreciate driving this story forward. While I enjoyed the story overall I felt that there is a lot of potential for improvement in structure and flow that an editor can catch. With these small adjustments this novel has the potential to be an epic fantasy novel.

The Treasure of the Crystal Cave is an engaging and straight-forward fantasy story that is imbued with an adventurous spirit that takes readers through a creative and fascinating story.

Pages: 156 | ISBN: 1682561453