Fantasia Reviews Utopia

Utopia by Scott Towers
Genre – Fantasy
Published 7/12/2017
Ages 12+

About the Book – A Surreal Adventure

“The concept of reality is shattered when a young man suffers a traumatic experience and transcends worlds in his mind. The Utopia he retreats to is under siege from evil forces and its up to Scott and his newfound companions to free this brave new world from evil, but a dark force with more than meets the eye is determined to watch the world burn. In a debut effort from an emerging author, you are cordially invited to explore this Utopia.” – Publisher’s Blurb

The Review – Utopia is not quite its namesake

Mister Towers has given us an intriguing tale, full of imagination, though there are more than a couple holes in these sails. There is considerable untapped potential along with extensive room for refinement. We will just get this out of the way: Utopia could use a good editor. It’s hardly the worst book we’ve read in this regard, but it definitely stands out in the group we have read recently.

Now, we give Mister Towers credit for being brave enough to publish his first work. We can only imagine how many pages sit on hard drives all around the world that will never see the light of day. That said, a bit more polish here could have gone a long way. The characters work for the story, but they’re neither memorable or even that likable. The plot is imaginative but never executed to its fullest potential. The writing, if it had been properly edited, would have been adequate for a first time writer, but it wasn’t. What you end up with is an adventure that is high on imagination and low on fulfilling expectations. Unfulfilled expectations are the doom of books.

The Rating – C-

Honestly, for the editing alone we couldn’t give Utopia any higher than this. Mister Towers’ imagination tried its best to carry this book, but it comes up short. The three Ps apply to everything worth doing: practice, practice, practice. Utopia is in dire need of revising. If Mister Towers had perhaps sat on Utopia a bit longer, refined it further, he could have had a diamond on his hands. While there is some good there, it is so marred by mistakes and missed opportunities that it never comes into focus in a way that is enjoyable.

If you don’t believe us, feel free to check it out for yourself. Utopia is available here.