Egbert’s World
Book One by Robert Ian Wilson—an imaginative, fast-moving fantasy adventure that hooked me immediately, even when its biggest moments needed more room to breathe.
Disclosure: I received this book as an advance reader copy (ARC) in exchange for an honest review. As promised, this review is completely honest.
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I am genuinely happy I came across Egbert’s World.
According to the Goodreads listing, the story follows Lucius Domhill, a boy who enters the world of Eve after his grandfather Egbert and his dog Sammy mysteriously disappear in a blinding light. There is also an old prophecy, an ancient evil, and the promise of two worlds at stake—which already gives the book a strong fantasy-adventure setup.
From the moment I started reading, I was hooked. The book is full of excitement. Actually, it almost feels as if the whole thing is made up of the exciting parts of a much larger, more expansive novel. There is very little breathing room, but I enjoyed the ride anyway.
One thing I really liked was how the author gives only small pieces of each character’s history, yet still manages to make them feel interesting. That is not always easy to do. Some books give you pages and pages of backstory, and somehow the characters still feel like cardboard. Here, the writing is much more economical. You get just enough to understand that there is more beneath the surface, and that made me want to know more.
I also liked how quickly different ideas merged together. The story moves through mystery, fantasy, prophecy, danger, tests, strange beings, and emotional moments without making the combination feel forced. It is fast—sometimes maybe too fast—but the world itself is imaginative and easy to get pulled into.
Spoiler section
The main reason this is not a five-star read for me is that some important moments felt rushed.
For example, when the grandfather vanishes, I wanted a little more time to feel the emotional impact of that. That is a huge event, but the story moves on so quickly that there is not much space to sit with the loss, fear, confusion, or grief. I wanted the book to slow down there, just for a moment.
The same thing happened with the test involving the wolf. When the protagonist is deemed worthy, that should feel like a major turning point. But the test itself is not really explored in the depth I expected. I wanted to see more of what happened, what was being tested, and why that moment mattered so much.
That is what I mean when I say the book is “too exciting.” It is not boring—absolutely not. It is almost the opposite. It keeps moving so quickly that some of the emotional and character-building moments do not get enough room to land.
That said, I really liked that Sammy gets to speak a little about what he wants after gaining speech. That moment stood out to me because it gave him more personality and made the magical elements feel more meaningful.
There were also a few misplaced punctuation marks that pulled me out of the story here and there. Not enough to ruin the experience, but enough that I noticed.
Overall, I enjoyed Egbert’s World. It is imaginative, fast-moving, and full of adventure. I just wish some of its biggest moments had been given more room to breathe. The book has the bones of a richer, more satisfying fantasy world, and I wanted to spend more time inside those emotional beats instead of rushing past them.
So, not quite five stars for me—but definitely a book I am glad I read.