James D Troe

A Kingdom's Quest James D Troe

When Jens lost his father, he lost his bearings-like his ladder was thrust from the wall, and he'd landed in a hole too deep to climb out. That is, until the day he received a summons from his childhood friend, King Thoren.

Thoren is bound and determined to place the tiny nation of Tuva on the map-kicking and screaming if need be-but he needs help from someone he can trust. Or is it someone he can control?

It's the Seventeenth Century, and kingdoms are becoming nations. The sleek sailing vessels used previously to explore the seas have given way to wide-hulled cargo ships, satisfying the world's appetites. Tuva has one of the finest ports on the sea, and Thoren intends to take full advantage.

For Jens, it starts out as a straightforward assignment-convince farmers to grow beets for exporting. But soon, his journey morphs into a tangle of corruption that might upend the entire kingdom. Plagued and paralyzed by his anxieties, Jens finds help from a busy blacksmith, a crazy bootlegger, a brave farmer, a perceptive girl, a grizzled cook, a huge goldminer, and a mysterious Daggite priest.

Told from the first-person perspective of Jens Berrit, A Kingdom's Quest is a coming-of-age Christian allegory that explores what it means to find intimacy with God. The characters are so well-developed, they seem to step off the page and nest in your soul. It's a story of friendship, leadership, and sacrifice that sticks with you long after you've finished reading. This book is for you if you like mystery and adventure, electrified by a touch of romance.