Winner of the 2012 Indie Reader Approved Award!
5 out of 5 stars
A spine-chilling adventure-packed tale that will have you turning page after page. Once you open this book, there is no turning back. --Katie Holzman, author of Seven Ways to Kill Yourself with Shampoo
5 out of 5 stars
This novel is surely going to be interesting for intermediate and senior school students.
The story is about a girl who lives in two worlds, the world of average people and the world of native inhabitants of the American continent, Indians. Amanda (the name of the main protagonist) cannot escape from her childish habits; she's got a whole set of dolls, and she still plays them. In the world of average people she is a normal eighteen-year-old girl who is up to attend college, but in the world of Indians she is the brave warrior Neiko Kidd by name. These two worlds are very close to each other, they snarl together, or maybe they exist one in the other. But one day a third world wedges into this huddle, a world which Neiko imagined for playing with her toys. The characters of her games come to life and steal her into this imaginary world. This novel is surely going to be interesting for intermediate and senior school students who like stories about super heroes and Harry Potter. The style is easy and nice to read and understand. I would gladly recommend this piece to the above mentioned age group... Book received from author. --Vlad K. Once, UK author of One of Us, Chance Confession, and The Sigma Passion
Wulfstan Amazon Top 500 Reviewer 4 out of 5 stars
Interesting fantasy from a young writers viewpoint, May 3, 2011
Amanda (A.K.) Taylor was 16 when she started writing this fascinating fantasy. Today she's a little older, but she went back, polished it up and got it published. It's amazing. It is exactly the sort of fantasy that I would have written when I was about that age- with my favorite toys (those with real character!) coming to life and there also being an exciting secret hidden life for me.
I had toys, much like the protagonist does, which I had imbued with much backstory and character. I imagined a secret life for myself (where I was the hero of course) parallel to my real life (which wasn't very exciting, although honestly not at all bad).
Now, in this present case our hero is a teenaged girl "Captain Neiko Kidd" but she's pretty much a tomboy. It's a real blast from the past, and I imagine if any of my teenaged fantasy-world scribbles had survived, they'd read quite a bit like this.
It's not great literature or even great fantasy (remember, she was only 16!). But it's not supposed to be. It's a fun fantasy that tweens and younger teens (who don't like all that "mushy stuff") will enjoy, and one that adult readers can look back on with quite a bit of Proustian remembrances.
Plenty of action, and an inspired imagination, indeed.
I rcvd a copy for review.
Are you into fantasy?, April 5, 2011 Indie Frei 5 out of 5 stars
Are you into fantasy?
Then this book is a must for you! Amanda, a shy young teenage girl, is living her secret life as Neiko in Hawote, a hidden dangerous world. Neiko is responsible to protect Hawote and as a warrior she goes through risky fights and is confronted with various enemies until she learns ...
I will not give more details!
A.K. Taylor did something extraordinary with writing this story: Neiko's Five Land Adventure is a book which can encourage teenage girls to take their lives in their hands. This book can help them to try things which they usually wouldn't dare to think about. Neiko is a model of courage and power and she can easily be a model for all shy young teenage girls.
Accurate and precise descriptions of the main characters, the different lands, the landscapes, the tribes etc. and lively dialogues make it to a pleasure to follow the author through the story. In addition the book is provided with beautiful black and white illustrations; the reader is missing nothing.
This book has the power to transport you to another world!
First rate fantasy, April 4, 2011 Alice Dinizo 5 out of 5 stars
With a brisk, appealing, organized style of writing, author Taylor gives readers from fifth grade up to adulthood a fabulous, well-paced fastasy set in the state of Georgia, which, in this story, is actually part of a hidden world called Hawote. Eighteen years old Amanda Hawke has a secret life. Her mother accuses her of playing with toys, but Amanda has a purpose in her collection of action figures. She is Captain Neiko Kidd who fights with her Desert Storm Falcons against the dreaded Crackedskulls. Fighting off dangerous opposing forces, Neiko and her sidekick Quickstrike the scorpion go on a quest into a parallel world to save her hidden world and its Native American tribes, the Black Antlers. Neiko and Quickstrike meet up with figures from ancient history and mythology such as Ajax, Genghis Khan, Hannibal and ultimately long ago Egyptian royalty in the form of brothers Mense, Tut, Ru, and the all-powerful Ramses who has his own plans for Neiko. Wonderful full page black and white illustrations accompany the text. Neiko is a wonderful, outspoken teenage protagonist who holds her own as a character throughout the book. This is a wonderful addition to any fantasy collection and its price makes it very affordable and appealing to readers..
A journey into a new adventure awaits you., August 19, 2011 Stephen Knight 4 out of 5 Stars
Do you remember as a child playing hide and seek with a group of friends? It's a fun and exciting game with simple, easy to follow rules. It is this simplistic form of entertainment that the younger generation craves. It is this style of entertainment that new author A.K. Taylor has captured in her debut novel "Neiko's Five Land Adventure."
A teenage girl from Loganville, Georgia is known as Amanda Hawk. In this world that is; in Qari she is known as Captain Neiko Kidd. Her and her group, the Desert Storm Falcons, battle against their archenemies - the Crackedskulls. The feud runs deep as these two tribes battle. Raven and Bloodhawk, the leaders of the Crackskulls, are determined to eliminate Neiko. With her out of the way they can rule the remaining lands.
What do they have in store for Neiko? How will she defeat their evil plan? Who can she trust?
From the first word, A.K. Taylor delivers a fresh, vibrant tale of two different worlds. With each passing page, it is virtually impossible not to be absorbed into Neiko's trials and adventures. The more you read the further you get sucked into the Five Land.
The strength of "Neiko's Five Land Adventure" lies in the simplistic approach and ease of storytelling. The characters are endearing, easy to connect with, and can be related too. This novel is for those who enjoy the smooth pace, action and thrills of a fantasy adventure.
Author A.K. Taylor's debut novel is sure to capture the imagination of young readers. This is an ideal book to ignite a pre-teen or teenager's passion for reading.
a true adventure!, August 15, 2011 by Michael Dadich 5 out 5 stars
Neiko's five land adventure is a gripping young adult fantasy tale. You get an exceptional feel for the protagonist, Neiko, as you travel through the rich worlds between reality and imaginary(well not really imaginary as Neiko soon finds out!) alongside her and her cohorts(I particulary liked Quickstrike). The Attack Pack are a colorful and heroic band of super warriors that are enjoyable to learn about as the saga unfolds. The antagonists, from Raven, Bloodhawk, and Franceso to the otherworldly and sinister Ramses Sisper-Bijou are fierce and well thought out adversaries. As the story travels from the world of Hawote to Quari, the author strikes an excellent balance between fear, ferocious battles and humour and the book is full of action. The ending leaves you wanting more and I am looking forward to the next Neiko adventure. If you enjoy young adult fantasy, give this book a read!
Superb Imaginative Journey, June 19, 2011 by C.C. Cole 4 out of 5 stars
"Neiko's Five Land Adventure" is an imaginative journey that is as much of an adventure for the reader as it is for the lead character, Neiko. Imagination leads to reality as Neiko transcends from playing a game with action figures to a world where the figures come to life. The author entwines the story with Native American and Egyptian historical elements adding amazing creativity to Neiko's journey. While the story is light, danger still exists, which make this story an excellent read for young audiences. I highly recommend this story to anyone who pretended to be in alternative worlds as kids. Though the large cast of characters makes for a bit of confusion, this does not take away from this excellent, well-written story. Congratulations, four stars!
Neiko's Five Land Adventure is an interesting fantasy about strength, courage and the will to always fight for what you believe, October 4, 2011 by Renee Hand,
Children's Book Reviewer 4 out of 5 stars
Amanda Katherine Hawk is no ordinary teenager. In fact, there is nothing ordinary about her at all. She lives a double life that no one suspects. To her friends at school and even to her parents, she is just a high school senior ready to get out and go to college, playing in the band, hanging out with friends and going to church. However, the other life she leads is in no way that simple.
She is Captain Neiko Kidd, the commanding officer of the Desert Storm Falcons, an organization of woodland warriors. She is friends with most of the other Indian tribes who were on the same side. There biggest enemy was with the Crackedskulls, a band of bloodthirsty savages ruled by Raven and his son, Bloodhawk, who are half bird. What makes things worse is Bloodhawk's obsession to have Neiko as his wife. Many attempts had been made to capture her, but each one failed. Neiko is a target that is hard to defeat.
Becoming more powerful within the Desert Storm Falcons, being promoted to Admiral, Neiko was becoming almost invincible. But Raven finds a mole in the tight knit group who would gladly betray her so Raven and Bloodhawk could defeat the seven tribes and rule everything.
But to find Neiko's weakness was going to be tough, but then it was remembered that Neiko still liked to play with toys--plastic toy Egyptian pharaohs, to be more precise. She had created her own world with her toy soldiers. Being well versed in dark magic, Raven put a spell on Neiko's favorite toy, Ramses. But just like all magic, it can backfire. It does when several of Neiko's toys grow and become real, kidnapping her and taking her into her own imaginary world with their own take over agenda. What will happen to Neiko during her travels in finding salvation?
This story has many different twists and turns that will capture the reader's attention. Children who love reading fantasy will love the adventure and the world A.K. Taylor creates using powerful Egyptian Pharoahs, half bird creatures, and battles. What is most interesting is how she created a world for an ordinary teenager with Indian background to fight in, learn from, and come into her own.
Great middle school read, October 26, 2011 Sue Owen (Paper Mustang) 3 out of 5 stars
This is a great middle school or read to me book with tons of adventure and lots of characters to associate with. I loved the story line and I think for the most part the author handled the different worlds that Neiko was a part of pretty well. I did find myself lost a few times but the fact that the author used different names for the two worlds helped a lot.
However, that also led to some confusion trying to keep the characters identified. For a middle school book, there seemed to be a lot of `main' characters and it was hard sometimes to keep them straight.
I loved the pictures and the illustrator should get extra kudos for the portrayal of the author's vision. I read the descriptions of the characters and saw the pictures were so exact they almost leapt out of the pages. Great job.
My recommendation on this book would be to cut down a bit on the host of main characters. If I, as an adult, got confused, I can't imagine how a 12 or 15 year old would be able to keep track of who was whom. I did love the story line and once I stopped trying to memorize the names of those not specifically interacting with Neiko I got along better with the cast.
The story line was easy to follow, however and the adventure definitely worth the read. I look forward to reading other books by this author and in this series.
Reviewing Neiko's Five Land Adventure November 2, 2011 by Kindle Book Review 4 our 5 stars
Meet Amanda Katherine Hawk, an 18 year-old girl living in residential part of Georgia. Like other kids her age she goes to school, earns good grades, and loves video games but Amanda is not your average teen. She spends a lot of time playing with children's toys and mostly keeps to herself in order to conceal the truth of a dual life. Amanda is also known as Captain Neiko Kidd, leader of the Desert Storm Falcons and a member of a secret Indian society known as the Seven Tribes.
Neiko and her band of warriors have fought numerous battles against the evil Crackedskulls in order to protect the land and people of Howote. At the head of this enemy tribe rules Raven and his son Bloodhawk, part human, part beast and pure evil. It's this constant struggle with Neiko that drives Raven and Bloodhawk to hatch a plan to bring her down along with all of the people of the Seven Tribes.
As the plan begins to bear fruit, Neiko finds herself estranged from her family and the tribes. Now alone, she begins to unravel the plan that brought her down, the only problem is things quickly get out of control as an even greater evil enters the fray and seeks dominion over Howote and the rest of the world.
Now desperate Neiko finds some unexpected allies in her fight to save Howote and mankind. Can this new band stand against such an ancient and powerful force of evil?
This one took me back to my own teenage daydreams, where quiet time could transport me to other worlds and times. The years and responsibilities tend to weigh us down with so much that it was nice to remember what it was like to let your mind take you away on a glorious outdoors adventure.
I can certainly recommend this to younger readers as the story has some interesting characters, unique creatures and plot lines, and plenty of twists and turns. This is a book where you have to go back in time a little bit and remember that imagination is a flexible thing where every town, pet, person or place we encounter has its own fiction waiting to be explored.
That said, I didn't like some of the phrasing and I wouldn't recommend it for an adult reader but the writing is something younger readers will easily roll with and it's these readers the author tries to reach. Putting on my middle-school hat I can safely rate this four stars.
Tom Clementson (Kindle Book Review)
