Review - The Bond by Xavier Axelson

Declan is a farmer, from generations of farmers who have worked the land in his small New England town. It's never been a really easy life. Declan's wife died giving birth to their daughter, and keeping the farm going is always a challenge of coming up with new ideas. Still, Declan gets by with help from his mother and friends, such as Chester and Ivan. Those friends prove to be essential when a goblin, of all things, appears on Declan's land. Will the three men manage to learn how to use their elemental powers in time to save their town?

“The Bond” is an excellent spooky season read in the run-up to Halloween. However, this isn't a pulp fiction horror story. It's a complex psychological drama with a big paranormal angle. Fundamentally, the book is about a fight between good and evil, although perhaps light versus dark would be a better simplification. The “good” guys – Declan and his friends – are far from perfect. Their flaws play a big part in driving the plot, as Declan, in particular, has to overcome his doubts and reticence to fully realize his new elemental nature.

The story is related entirely from Declan's point of view. We get a good picture of his life in the first several chapters: How he realized as a teenager he was bisexual; meeting his future wife, Clara, at a concert; their life together making the farm a success; the birth of their daughter which triggered the death of Clara. We get a clear picture of a man who is passionate but doesn't share his feelings easily. While Declan is definitely the hero of the story, he is, as mentioned above, not perfect. His reluctance to share his feelings, or even his problems, is part of what gets him into trouble in this story, along with his resistance to the idea that there's more to the world than what he can explain. This book could easily fall into the “men don't talk” cliché, but in this case, it's very understandable that Declan would be reluctant to tell others about the very strange events happening on his farm.

We learn about Declan's friends, Chester and Ivan, through him and his memories of their friendship. The two turn out to also be elementals, and the three must work together to overcome the shadows threatening to take over the town. Yet, like Declan, the other men aren't perfect. Ivan led a relatively carefree life before his transformation, and of the three, he is the most susceptible to the lure of the darkness. It's also clear that, on some level, Declan resented Ivan's life, seemingly free of the heavy responsibilities that working the farm placed on Declan.

The storytelling is very episodic. Declan and his friends fight a series of battles as they attempt to overcome the dark forces. It's worth pointing out that this is the first book of a series, so the ending is not conclusive.

“The Bond” is available from Amazon (commissionable link).