Quest for Celestia

“The current is so strong,” she whispered at last. “How could anyone get across? How could anyone survive?”
“I asked the sisters at the castle the same question,” I said, “after reading about this river in the Book of Blood.”
“What did they say?”
I took a deep breath. “They told me no one does.”
“What?”
“No one survives.”

Quest for Celestia is a retelling of John Bunyan’s classic, The Pilgrim’s Progress. Full of suspense and action, it delivers a new spin on the well-known tale.

Plot

When 16-year-old Kadin encounters a man he thinks is a wizard, he begins to see strange growths on his and everyone else’s necks. Yet, no one believes him. He alone sees the problem.

Finally desperate to be rid of the growth, he (in the blurb’s own words) “embarks on an epic journey to a land no one in his village believes exist, to be healed of a disease no one thinks he has.” Along the way, he fights dragons, loses friends, makes new ones, and learns life-changing truths.

All the essential story beats of the original are there, but re-imagined in a more modern and fantasy setting.

Everything that happens in the story comes back later. I can’t give examples without spoilers, but it is truly incredible. It is an inspiration to my own stories.

Characters

Kadin is brash and impulsive, struggling to trust King Kadin over his own instinct.

I didn’t connect with Kadin as much as some other protagonists, but it may have been a result of the longer time I spent reading Quest for Celestia.

Leira is an interesting character. She longs to be beautiful, and must learn that beauty is more than outward appearance.

Theme & Content Warnings

A primary theme of the book is that King Kiral—or God—is working in every situation. Coincidences are not coincidences for the Christian.

There is some…weirdness with the allegory aspects. Several antagonist characters are present who could represent Satan, but no single one does. Apollyon is but a normal dragon and is killed by Kadin and Leira.

I was confused by the scene where Kadin’s equivalent of a burden is removed. It happens in a dream, then upon waking he discovers it is gone in the waking world as well. The dream itself is odd, and I’m not sure what it’s trying to say.

Instead of pilgrim or traveler, the ones seeking Celestia are called “vagabonds.” I think the author was trying to find a unique word for the travelers, but this one might not have been the best. The definition speaks of wandering without a destination or cause. This is not what Christians are doing, nor what the protagonists do in the book.

At the opening, Kadin believes he meets a wizard who gives him a book of sorcery. But, as he finds out, neither of those things are true. No need to worry about exposure to witchcraft.

There are numerous content warning-worthy scenes in here, but they shouldn’t pose a problem to mature readers. Brutality and very vague hints at physical abuse make their way into some of the scenes.

Overall

Purely as a story—as it seems this book is meant to be judged—this is an excellent book. Doing something only few books do, it expertly reuses every unsuspecting prop and happening.

But if you’re looking for a preservation of the allegory that dominates The Pilgrim’s Progress, you’ll be confused going into this. Some things remain, like the burden—albeit in a different form—, a representation of God, the Celestial City, and a few others. But mostly it fleshes out and modernizes the storyline with new twists.

Thanks for reading, and have a great day!