Customer Reviews

The MoonQuest (The Q'ntana Trilogy, Part 1)

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The first thing that draws me to a book is not the cover, but the originality of the author's concept ... or idea. And Mark David Gerson certainly had a "whopper" of an idea when he wrote The MoonQuest. It's an unusual, fascinating fantasy adventure about a fictional land where the light of the moon is extinguished. Since the moon symbolizes creativity, stories, music, and other forms of art are forbidden and those practicing them are put to death.

The citizens soon become oppressed, and as every good story must have its heroes, Gerson creates some of the most likable, courageous protagonists I've ever met. I was so into this story that when the young Toshar sets off to "light" the moon and save the land, I "Woo-Hooed" so loud that Tigger leaped off the bed and ran for cover. My heart and soul joined him and his friends in their search ... as though it were my own world that needed illumination ... needed creativity to be restored.

Though fictional, this world became my world due to the author's excellent description and realistic characters ... characters that drew me to them as easily as if they were my next-door neighbors.

Who is the leader of the black-clad armies that terrorize the country? Why does Toshar, a young storyteller, risk his life to come out of hiding? What is an Elderbard and how does Toshar qualify? What is the prophecy about the MoonQuest? What do stories have to do with the quest, and why is the line between vision and reality so unclear? Why does Toshar take on the quest and how does he hope to reignite the moon to save the land? What personal truths must our hero discover?

Gerson's writing is so clear, he carried me through this exciting tale with ease. Through magic, music and universal truths masterfully woven into this gripping tale, I discovered some personal truths and other readers will too.

Yes, The MoonQuest spoke to my heart and will speak to it for many moons to come.

I heartily recommend this book for mid-teens to adults, and look forward to more tales from this fine wordsmith, Mark David Gerson.

Reviewed by Betty Dravis, 2008
Author of: Millennium Babe: The Prophecy

One evening when I had a heavy heart, I asked for some inner guidance and was led to pick up The MoonQuest. I felt compelled to just open a page at random and see what message, if any, it had for me. I landed on the beginning of chapter 23, where the young Toshar and Fynda are discussing dreams, and Toshar tells her, "Patience and Trust. The answers will come...if you let them...when they're ready for you ...when you're ready for them. Are you ready for them, Fynda?"

Although not a direct answer to my quandary, the words of The MoonQuest were reassuring enough to help me out of my funk and know that I am still connected to All That Is even though at times it may not feel that way. I have used The MoonQuest as a type of divination tool many times since them, and at the very least, I have always felt better after the experience. Thank you Mark David for your bringing these sacred words and messages through.

I was enchanted by The Moonquest. I usually read books very quickly. This one was too delicious. I wanted to savor every morsel! The vivid imagery was beautiful and captivating. I enjoyed all of the wonderful twists and turns of the plot. I fell in love with the colorful characters and experienced the journey along with them. It was truly a delightful read! I didn't want the adventures to end!

As I travel with Toshar in your book, I am also having revelations and realizations for healing of myself. It certainly is a "true fantasy."

Thank you.

Blessings,
Pamela

This mystical true fantasy is a well-crafted journey to an oddly familiar place (for a fantasy!)where you grow along with the main character. It will make you want to tell your story! Joan Cerio, author of In the Key of Life, An Activational Journey to the Soul

Times in the land loomed dark and dangerous. Having outlawed all music and storytelling, an evil king threatened lovers of truth and beauty. Bards (singers and storytellers), previously revered and held in high regard in the once magical land of expression, had been exiled for years as the land wasted away in the doldrums of their absence. This fantastical country Q'ntana sprang forth from the creative genius of Mark David Gerson through the 90s and early 00s.
As I read "The MoonQuest," something extraordinary happened.
In a classic hero's tale, the protagonist of "The MoonQuest" Toshar is a bard--"youngest of the old and oldest of the young"--destined to inherit the premier Elderbard position of Q'ntana from his grandmother. First, however, it is said he must venture out of exile and set out on the quest to restore storytelling to the land that years earlier fell into the clutches of the dark king. Only he can lead "The Return."
"The MoonQuest" is obviously Toshar's story, the older bard reflecting on his youth and relating the adventure as it unfolds. As expected in any good hero's quest, I began to correlate Toshar's troubles and challenges to those of my own. Naturally, even smugly, I associated myself with the main character, knowing he was the hero of the tale. Then it happened.
Unlike most heroes I have encountered in literature--mythical heroes who confront all types of challenges without a second thought--Toshar began to demonstrate human frailties that I less than proudly identify with and avoid claiming. Toshar didn't want to go on the journey, to accept the undefined responsibility. "Do I have to decide now?" he tries to beg off. "I wouldn't know what to do, where to go."
Suddenly Toshar mirrored me more precisely than I had anticipated. Due to his vulnerability, I began to identify with him in unexpected personal ways and assimilate my own journey with Toshar's search. Almost every challenge Toshar confronted paralleled one of my own personal questions.
As new characters entered Toshar's story and aided him in furthering his quest, I began to recognize particular friends that serve me as well as other friends, relatives, acquaintances, even adversaries in my life that may only pass through yet contribute to my own evolution.
I then realized--with profound new insight--that every living being is weaving together a story. Beyond the moments, or years, that others may travel my road, their stories contain unrelated chapters that I know nothing about. A fresh awareness illuminated the meaning of "oneness"--the interconnected tapestry of all life.
As demonstrated in "The MoonQuest," our challenge is to allow or create a safe space where the complete story can be told. Most people claim that their own story is not interesting, too mundane, but dig deeper and those same people usually admit concealing the most consequential chapters in their biography because those chapters don't fit into "the norm" or are too painful to retell for fear of reprisal--criticism or judgment.
Imagine a world where everyone's most deeply concealed chapters were allowed an airing. Freed by truth, the world would enjoy no room for judgment of others, no space for arrogance, bigotry, hatred, resentment, bitterness, or any of the other less than positive aspects of human nature that prevent others, and ultimately ourselves, from progressing toward a more fruitful unfolding.
Toshar's friend Fynda's revelation near the end--one of the more difficult but most significant points in the novel--graphically demonstrates the need for permitting the hidden parts of our lives to be uncovered. As a result of Fynda's courage, her friends are given the space to free themselves from the burdens and bondage of their own secrets.
The author states that he didn't want to include this part of the journey but kept being compelled to do so, and in my estimation, Fynda's unveiling of her deepest pain is pivotal to the point of "The MoonQuest"--that the complete story must be told. As in Q'ntana, being allowed to tell all stories is the only means by which we can free ourselves and move upward.
Begun as pure entertainment, reading The MoonQuest turned into an unintended vehicle for personal growth: first, to recognize that I too am compelled to tell my own story and every decision determines the paths I travel; second, to help identify and be grateful for the other characters that play critical roles in my own enlightenment; and finally, to understand the powerful, positive impact of revealing our deepest, most closely held secrets and how such exposure frees not only us but all those around us.
In summary, I recommend "The MoonQuest" on two levels. One, it is simply a fantastical ride to another world, but more important, it is a phenomenal journey of self-discovery and personal growth--the kind of book the world should clamor for and read more of.

Mark David Gerson paints every scene so vividly that in my mind's eye, I am there - tasting, smelling, hearing, feeling, sensing - even as if I myself were Toshar [main character].

This wonderful fantasy rivets the reader from page one, set in a dismal land in a dismal time when stories are forbidden. It takes a rogue band of storytellers to set the world free from tyranny, and takes the reader on an amazing journey to discovering the storyteller in us all.

Anyone familiar with the work of creativity and writing coach/teacher Mark David Gerson knows his devotion to the art of storytelling and his belief in the power of stories to open us up to the magic that is waiting to reveal itself in our lives.

"MoonQuest" is Gerson's own intricately and powerfully received vision of the magic of storytelling, a rollicking fantasy adventure and a heartwarming affirmation of family and friendship. It is an enchanting story within a story of the mission of Toshar and his devoted companions to save their homeland of Q'ntana and to rekindle the lifegiving light of the moon, leading them--and us--to the nearly forgotten wonder that connects us all to each other and to the transcendence beyond ourselves.

Gerson constructs a universe as richly textured and compellingly detailed as any better known fantasy author I could name without ever losing sight of the shining truth that is leading his characters on the journey to save their world from evil dominion and the certain doom that would follow the loss of the blessed tradition of storytelling magic that made their world in the first place.

Any reader who believes in the merit of such a crusade--or who just enjoys an intriguing and exhilarating magical tale, would do well to join this "MoonQuest".

Dan Stone
The Rest of Our Lives

I read a lot of books. I usually read them, make some notes about them in my journals, and then pass them on to other people, especially other writers. This wonderful book, MoonQuest by Mark David Gerson---I'm keeping it.