Brett Salter's The Search for Synergy was published in May 2017.
In his own words:
"My background in writing stems mostly from the inspiration I found as a kid when I read Fantasy and Sci-Fi books. These include The Chronicles of Narnia, The Xanth Novels, The Time Quintet, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, and everything from Shakespeare to Dr. Seuss. In my formative years, I joined several punk rock bands and wrote songs, poetry, and short stories aplenty. As an adult (?) I took on a dare and wrote the first book in my Talisman Series. I loved the feeling it gave me and the idea of inspiring others so much that I kept writing until I had an entire series."
The Talisman #1
by Brett Salter
"The Search For Synergy" is the story of two young men who are brought together by design to help save the world from the evil that lurks in the void. Rome and Julian will have to join their fledgling powers and become a fighting duo as knight and dragon working to fulfill a primordial destiny. This will be especially hard for Rome, who up until now, thought he was merely human.
REVIEW: THE SEARCH FOR SYNERGY BY BRETT SALTER
Brett Salter's The Search for Synergy is the first book in The Talisman Series.
The Search for Synergy is a story about two young men, Rome and Julian, who are destined to be together and save the world from the dark forces that threaten mankind. Although this book is a fantasy story, it's also a story about accepting who and what you are and becoming the person you're meant to be.
The story begins with Rome feeling restless and in need of doing something exciting and a bit reckless. He doesn't know what is happening to him, but he feels that everything is not normal. When he decides to light a few fireworks, he suddenly notices that he is not hurt by fire. A bit later, a guy from school, Julian, tells Rome that he saw what happened to him. Julian takes Rome to meet Mr. Jones who tells him that he comes from a long blood line of great power and is a fire dragon. Mr Jones believes that Rome is one of the last surviving members of the Den of Volcana. Rome also learns that Julian is a descendant of The House of Rider...
I was positively surprised by this powerful beginning and became intrigued by the story. In my opinion, this book is an entertaining and fast-paced YA fantasy book. The story is pretty straight-forward and could use a bit more depth (there were a few moments in which I would've liked to see more character development and attention to details), but it's a fun and quick read that is pure escapism from start to finish.
Rome and Julian are interesting protagonists. The friendship between Rome and Julian is charmingly funny and believable, because they're both teenagers and act like ones. At first, they're merely acquaintances, but their friendship develops fast and soon they become best friends, partly due to them searching for the means to achieve the synergy, which will allow both of them to unlock their full powers. Julian has a bit more experience about things related to his powers, but Rome is just learning to use his powers. It's good that the author writes about Rome wondering why he should be the one to risk his life for the world, because it's one of those little things that make the story interesting.
One of the things that I enjoy about this book is that the author has created a good backstory for the events. There's a lot of history in the story and the historical events date back to Camelot and beyod (these parts of the story were very much to my liking, because I enjoy historical fantasy). I also want to mention that the author has added a pleasing amount of humour to the story (the humorous moments are enjoyable).
The action scenes are surprisingly well written and intense. The authors keeps up the action with ease and fluently builds tension. These scenes will surely please the target readership.
I think that this book will be of great interest to teenage readers, especially boys, but it will also be an enjoyable reading experience to adults who are looking for fast-paced fantasy escapism. It has a fair amount of action, adventure and mystery that will appeal to many readers. It will also be of interest to those who enjoy the British historical fantasy TV series Merlin.
My final words are:
If you're looking for an easy-to-read and fun story with magic, action and humour, Brett Salter's The Search for Synergy is a good choice, because it's fluent YA fantasy with a focus on entertainment values. It's harmless fun for readers who love entertaining and fast-paced stories.