The Oasis King ~ Review

The Oasis King

The Oasis Chronicles #1

By Mark David Pullen

The Oasis King is an interesting book that should appeal to middle-grade readers. Dylan, Jack, and Tripp are cousins who are about to have an adventure that takes them to a new and unknown world. But what they discover is something they never imagined - a lost world with strange and unfamiliar creatures. There are dangers they must confront, and a stranger who has dogs with him offers the cousins protection.

This is the first book in a new series that has fantastical elements to it that are best explored first-hand as a reader. What Dylan, Jack, and Tripp experience takes place over several days, and some of their "adventures" will boggle the mind. There are elements of danger and excitement but nothing too scary. Like all good Fantasy Adventures, there are a few fights for survival that will appeal to younger readers. While parents will appreciate the lack of graphic violence. 

This is one vacation that won't be forgotten anytime soon. Now the cousins just need to find a way home, if there is one to find. Get ready to explore the Oasis while you can. 

In my opinion, this book would be of greatest appeal to fourth to sixth-graders who enjoy survival-type adventure books. Would also be a good-read-aloud family story-time book.

I was provided a complimentary copy of this book with no expectations, but that I provide my honest opinion. All thoughts expressed are my own.

About the Book:

Dylan, Jack, and Tripp are looking for adventure, but when they find an entryway into a magical land, plagued by the malevolent Stranger, the cost of their new, exciting journey might prove to be too much.

While on vacation at their grandmother’s farm, cousins Dylan, Jack, and Tripp learn of a long kept family secret and the power of wishing on a star. The boys are swept away to the Valley of the Oasis—a strange, primal paradise where monsters and danger lurk around every turn. They find refuge with a lone hunter and his dogs, who have lost track of time and appear trapped in this magical land.

But the hunter and his dogs cannot rest for long. He is pursued by the Stranger, a strange green-skinned being from another time and place who also seeks to escape the Valley of the Oasis. As they narrowly escape the Stranger’s attacks, the boys worry that they, too, are trapped with no way home. Will the hunter protect the boys and send them home in time before the Stranger closes in once and for all?

The Oasis King is the first in a series of action-adventure tales for younger readers who seek new lands, heart-racing challenges, and unexpected twists.

160 pages, Paperback 
Published February 28, 2022