Oday the Healer
By E.B. Roshan
Genre: Christian Fiction
Pages (Kindle): 259
Via: Author Request
Note: We received a complimentary copy of this book for honest review.
Southeast Europe, circa 900 A.D.
Kurosh is in desperate circumstances: a single mistake could cost him and his family their lives. His father, Rayis Sikandar, is among the most respected of the nomadic warlords, but he is very ill. If the Rayis dies, Kurosh must lead the clan in his stead-assuming he can prove his strength and escape his rival’s schemes.
Oday, the privileged heir of nobility and only Christian in his clan, joins his servants for the annual cattle drive. However, when he wakes one morning, his mind is full of a strange and vivid dream, a dream that convinces him God has given him power to be a Healer.
When the two boys meet unexpectedly, underlying tensions within their clans rise to the surface, and both must decide what is worth sacrificing for. Indeed, both Oday and Kurosh are outcasts of sorts – Kurosh due to his “fits” and Oday due to his faith. But the two boys more have more in common than meets the eye…
“The firm ground of all he had believed for years about himself and the Almighty God seemed to be sliding away beneath him, like a river bank during a spring flood.”
There’s also betrayal. Failure. Rejection. Ransom. Redemption. Family. Friendship. Forgiveness. Bondage. Freedom. And hope. Much more! In fact, just about the time you think you know where the plot’s heading. Well, whoa! Hold on there, pardner!
“Why do you persist in devotion to a god who has forgotten you?”
Soaked in sagacity and marinated in mercy, Oday the Healer is clever and as fresh as a new dawn. It’s gently faith-flavored without being preachy. Think Dances With Wolves meets End of the Spear. With a side of Braveheart. It also tackles some tough questions while neatly side-stepping canned cliches or cellophane-wrapped responses.
“Oday’s God is not like other gods…”
Beautifully written and masterfully told, the story features impressive world-building skills as well as rich settings and descriptions. Like: “That evening, when the earth had swallowed the sun leaving a yellow sky clotted with dark clouds, the smell of roasting grain and beef broth from dozens of cooking fires hung rich and warm in the air…”
Kimber: When’s dinner? What?
Scene stealers: Diti, Oday’s twelve-year-old half-sister; Niko, Oday’s bond servant with a secret; Otish, Kurosh’s faithful steed.
First-rate story-telling propels a nimble narrative, keeping readers engaged and turning pages. The number of characters is limited so the plot is uncluttered, allowing the story to focus on the conflict and tension between the two principals, Oday and Kurosh. Moving briskly, the reader is soon immersed in a fascinating tale of intrigue, insight, and more plot twists than the tilt-a-whirl at the county fair. (We’re not crazy about the cover art. Just sayin’.)
Finally, reading Oday the Healer is like standing under a hot shower after a bone-weary, frostbitten day on the frozen tundra. Seeing a firefly light up an ink-black sky. Watching a rainbow spill through the clouds. Or waking up on the first day of summer vacation. Arf! Arf!
Pages & Paws 