Sep 11, 2021
In many ways, the work of a critic is easy.
We risk very little, yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgment. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read. But the bitter truth we critics must face, is that in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is probably more meaningful than our criticism designating it so.
But there are times when a critic truly risks something, and that is in the discovery and defense of the new. The world is often unkind to new talent, new creations. The new needs friends.
Earlier today, I experienced something new: an immense work of fiction from a singularly unexpected source. To say that both the novel and its author have challenged my preconceptions about writing is a gross understatement. They have rocked me to my core.
In the past, I have made no secret of my disdain for OscarHM's first work: Sequence of Kai. His prose is often far too simplistic and unrefined, his philosophy pretentious in its nature.
But I realize only now that Sequence of Kai was not meant to exist in a vacuum. No, Kai was meant to be the appetiser. It was a morsel, a snack, to tide you over before the masterpiece that is Vorelando Magic.
Vorelando does what Kai never could. Its straightforward prose works to its favour and its philosophy has redefined how I interpret the very society around me.
I will say this with complete seriousness and without the intention of being a meme: Vorelando Magic has been the most thought-provoking, funny, and overall enjoyable novel I have read on Honeyfeed.
I will be returning to OscarHM soon, hungry for more.
