Distant Cousin: Two Worlds Daughter

Distant Cousin: 
Two Worlds Daughter
by Al Past
(CreateSpace / 1-496-13199-1 / 978-1-496-13199-7 / March 2014 / 316 pages / $13.66 paperback / $12.29 Amazon / $2.99 Kindle)

This is not going to be the traditional book review you might expect to find at PODBRAM. This book was reviewed here a couple of months ago. Consider this one a booster shot to encourage further reading of the series! Two Worlds Daughter is the sixth book in the Distant Cousin Series by Dr. Al Past. I have reviewed the books in the series, including this one, at both PODBRAM and Amazon. Therefore this will be the last word that I shall publicly say about Two Worlds Daughter.

I cannot say for certain where I rank this one in relation to the other five. Of course it cannot offer the introductory excitement of the first book, but it is clearly superior to the the second in the series, probably the weakest of the bunch. My second favorite has always been Reincarnation, the third book, and Two Worlds Daughter fails to knock that one out of second place. Of course your opinions are your own and all are subject to personal interpretation. I can state for certain that if you have enjoyed the previous Distant Cousin books, you will be pleased with this one, too.

The focus in this story is clearly on Ana Darcy's daughter and not Ana herself. If there is a weakness in the reading experience, this is most certainly it. Again, your opinion may differ, but as far as I am concerned, most of the magic of the Distant Cousin storyline comes from the central Ana Darcy character. As with many long-running, successful television series, the storyline has to diversify or it dies the death of repetition. On the other hand, the first season of most sitcoms is comparable to the first book in a fiction series. The recapturing of the initial magic is by nature always fleeting.

Dr. Past continues to educate himself on the mechanics of book publishing and the results are obvious. The editing and proofreading mistakes in this edition are practically nonexistent. The design and layout continues to improve as well. I do have a quibble about the cover: the image is too dark and fuzzy.It certainly lacks shelf appeal to the unseasoned reader of the series. This detail and the fact that Ana Darcy is not the leading character are my only complaints. Overall I cannot recommend all the Distant Cousin books enough, including this one. A new reader might skip books 2-5, but a reading of the original Distant Cousin first would definitely be a good idea. The reader needs a good dose of the origin of Ana Darcy and her story to fully comprehend this one. If you want to learn much more about the Distant Cousin Series, be sure to follow the links below. (The two links listed lead to many others.) For several years now, Dr. Past and his work have consistently remained two of the bright spotlights of The PODBRAM Experience!

See Also: Ana Darcy's Blog
Interview with Dr. Al Past
Review of the original Distant Cousin