The reference to Milton is inescapable. Comparison is unnecessary - this is a story of the Rise, not the Fall, of Man.
Most Rev. Jürgen Bitteseveße
Paradise Found is a twelve volume epic that spans about a year of time in Ahmenar's life.
Twelve?! Why should I get started with something that big?
It's kind of like what they say about that famous brand potato chip: you can't read just one. Beside, it’s a tasty story, and good for you too.
Is it like Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings cycle?
It is certainly a story that pays homage to the great master, but is not a comparable work stylistically. While The Ossayu of Ahmenar Ishtam aspires to meet the expectations the master has set for immersive fiction of another world, this is not a tale of wizards, dwarves, elves, and hobbits; it is a tale of politics, secret cabals, diabolical plans, and ordinary people confronting the orcs of their own making. There is a ring, but it doesn't want to find its way to its master. Rings are rather common, so don't make a big deal of them. Except that Ahmenar's ring is far from ordinary. Nor is Atria a world of magic and disembodied evil. Rather, it is a world populated by well-meaning humans and their conflicts with the inventions of the technology they've created; and their conflicts with each other as a consequence. But also it is a world that manifests the beauty and love that exist in the hearts, souls, minds, and spirits of human beings.
Is the reference to Milton intentional?
What do you think?
How does “Paradise Found” fit in?
Think of it as: “Paradise Found: The Ossayu of Ahmenar Ishtam.”
Why do you mean by that?
It's a post-biblical story; and the meaning of that will be discussed in college literature classes for years to come.
