Tommy Jarvis doesn't want to save another world, he can barely endure his own. When his mother dies, him and his younger brother, Nicky, are put against bullies and their father's darker side of depression. When he falls into another world that is overwhelmed with warfare, his circumstances are about to go from bad to worse, as he is one of the five prophesied to save everyone.

Five children are the only hope to save Fillagrou and the odds against them are brutal. Fortunately, they might have just enough magical powers to overcome that, if they can learn how to work together in time to stay alive. Friendship may prove to be their strongest light of hope in the end.

This book is great for tweens and up. The characters in here are all wonderful and multi-dimensional, even the bad guys, and the theme is dark. Along with a quick pace and illustrations, this is a fantasy world filled with interesting creatures and an adventure that you won't want to put down. I look forward to reading the sequel, Liars and Thieves. ( )

Written in the spirit of the Narnia adventures five children are plunged from their Earthly existence into a strange new world where they not only have to fight to find one another, but to simply stay alive. The five children find themselves in the midst of a prophecy that even they aren't sure they are capable of fulfilling.There are moments along their journey, and even before it starts, where you simply want to cry for these children and what they go through. There are also those moments where you will find yourself cheering them along. Readers will also fall in love with the non-human creatures that inhabit the land of Fillagrou. They are both beautifully drawn and described. All of the characters in this story were so well developed that as you read you feel like you are making a new friend, or perhaps an enemy. Either way, the depth of the characters and the world they inhabit draws the you in and makes opening this book more of an experience than just reading a story.As a parent:There are points in this story where bad language is used (as in cussing, cursing, however you say it in your neck of the woods) however it is not gratuitous. The language is there for a reason and is used sparingly to bring home the point. There are definitely themes in the story that older children/young adults can relate to. Some of the characters are subjected to abusive parenting, bullies, and a tyrannical warlord who wishes to take over every world in existence (Read: great big giant bully!) And then you have the little underdogs who rise up and find an inner strength that allows them to not only stand up for themselves, but others as well. Young readers will definitely come away from this story understanding bullying better. Don't get me wrong with my parenting points. This book is not preachy, it is an amazing tale of childhood traumas and triumphs. I would easily liken it to a Lord of the Rings lite version for kids! There is a quest to save the worlds. There are many insurmountable obstacles. And then there are the friendships that develop along the way. ( )

If the events of the children's crusade (both actual and fictionalized) teach us anything, it's that children do not belong anywhere near a war. But what happens when 99 worlds are at war and a prophecy predicts that the only way to save them and protect the hundredth world, lie in the hands of five children? And what happens when those five children are insecure misfits, not exactly friends, and thrown together by unfortunate events in their lives?

That's the premise of Forts: Fathers and Sons, the first novel in the Forts trilogy. When I started the novel, I immediately took a liking to the character of Tommy. He doesn't have the best home life, which I can completely relate to. He's also routinely bullied on his way home from school. He's not the character that one would automatically think of as a hero. All of that changes when he finds a hidden doorway to another world. Joining along with him are his younger brother, former best friend, and a reluctantly observing neighborhood bully.

Upon traveling to the other world they find themselves surrounded by strange characters, in the midst of a war and suddenly capable of harassing superpowers, and quickly learn that in order to survive they must band together despite the fact that they don't always get along.

The writing of the novel is quite unique. It floats between the real and fantasy worlds with seamless ease. The characters, both human and fantasy are beautifully written and you find yourself enamored by even the most vile ones. The plot is so engaging you can't help but keep turning the pages.

There are some scenes of abuse in the early chapters of the novel that are difficult to get through, there is also some contextual swearing that may not be appropriate for younger readers. I do think that the Forts series is one that combines all the things that people love and expect from a fantasy series, while at the same time being completely unique. I feel it will be a great starting point for younger readers interested in the fantasy genre.

Despite being aimed for an audience younger than which I normally read, I was pleasantly surprised and thankful Steven offered this novel for review. No one should miss out on this series. It sticks with you long after the final page is turned.

I wan't sure of this one before reading, because it is not my normal read. I am very glad I took it on now. FORTS: Fathers and Sons is about a group of kids finding themselves in the middle of a war of a different world (or worlds). This story has magical powers, prophesies, new breeds of creatures, and all the other things I expect to find in a fantasy. But there was something much more hidden between the covers of FORTS: Fathers and Sons.

Mixed in with this epic fantasy we find characters with realistic problems. It was more more emotional than I expected. I wasn't expecting the story to touch on things like domestic abuse, but is does, and it does a wonderful job at it. Each character, even the non-human ones, had their own past and background story that they brought to the table. I really enjoyed getting to know each one of them.

The universe that Novak has created is so large. There are so many places, and so many creatures to discover. I was reminded of Star Wars for this reason. In Star Wars, there is potential for anything to happen. There are surreal surprises around every corner, but that is just the norm for the Star Wars universe. The FORTS universe works the same way. There is no way you could cover it all in one book. There is so much room for this story to go, and that makes me excited to continue on in this series.

Novak is a great writer that can keep his readers engaged. My only complaint would be the minor errors with the grammar. The story could use the keen eye of a good editor. But it wasn't enough to distract me from the story.

I really enjoyed the ending. It has me eager for the sequel, Liars and Thieves. FORTS is an abnormal world with a human heart. It's the type of book you can get lost in. Novak has come in and proved that sometimes, nothing beats a good old fashioned epic fantasy. ( )

This book is incredible. It sucks that I got sick so often over the last week or so and had to keep putting the book down to get rest. I didn't want to put it down. It reminded me a lot of The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis, which was pretty awesome.

I loved all of the characters, the plot and it had a lot of action. It is hard to pick my favorite character but I think I'm going to go with Walcott (King Walcott Shellamennes). He's a giant turtle and how can you possible go wrong with that?

I really didn't want this book to end. I want more. A lot more. ( )