Dion: A Tale Of The Highway

Author Jonathan Maas gifted me this book a while back without expectation of a review, but hey it's what I do.

Dion: A Tale Of The Highway; what to say about this book. It totally blew me away! I personally like stories of a lone character on a quest, it speaks to my favorite fantasy of being the "last man on earth".

There are so many things going on in this simple precept: a lone man being forced to "Drive until this road ends, and then drive some more" (pg 24). 

Our hero doesn't remember who he is or why he is where he is, but he has some wild encounters along his way. In the beginning, the book started to sound like a treatise on climate change and I got a bit worried (not my kind of story), but it quickly left that tone behind. 

Dion: A Tale Of The Highway is pure fantasy, with so many underlying themes that those readers who enjoy dissecting such things will find a treasure trove here. We have the mythology of ancient gods, currant social conditions, far-flung cosmic connections, philosophy and the full range of human emotion.

I did figure out who Dion was early on, which tells me it was probably no great secret to begin with. Sherlock Holmes I'm not (but then a blind squirrel does find an acorn now and then, right?).

The writing is so evocative that I could watch the story unfold completely in my minds eye (since the title of my blog is "Theater of the Mind", this is right in my wheelhouse).

Dion goes to Hell and back (repeatedly) to complete the quest. There are various factions vying to control the outcome of his quest and Dion struggles with figuring out who is actually right. Author Maas does an incredible job of weaving together so many different ideas, emotions, and agendas into a coherent and wildly entertaining tale.

Having read Mr. Maas' two City of Gods books and enjoying them thoroughly (I gave them 5 stars each), I was stunned by Dion: A Tale Of The Highway, it caught me completely off-guard.  It breaks from City's mold and is such a strong story I have to say it is my favorite Jonathan Maas book so far. In fact I will go so far as to say it makes my top ten favorite books. When I had around fifty pages left to read, I actually forced myself to stop for the night. I just didn't want it to end. I prolonged my time in his world one more day.

Okay, enough gushing. Dion: A Tale Of The Highway by Jonathan Maas is an incredible read and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys mythic fantasy. You will not be disappointed! Enjoy!

Mike