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Author of children’s stories Oaf in Ophir and Oaf in Bear River, and the Nila fantasy series: Nila: Water, Nila: Air, and Nila: Fire, Daniel shares his enthusiasm for inspiring and uplifting stories—where entering the realm of the magical and spiritual blend with the heartbeat of all life—and creatures see answers to those deep questions that stir within us.
Daniel received two BAs from the University of Santa Barbara and spent most of his career as an IT programmer, but his passion is creating stories.
Reviewed by Divine Zape for Readers' Favorite
Nila: Water by Daniel G Linsteadt is a spellbinding opening into a fantasy series, a tale with great originality and that features themes with strong appeal to environmentalists and advocates against climate change. Meet young Seth, torn between a devastating illness and strange dreams — and he’d rather navigate the world of his fantasies. His father disappears, leaving him a house which he shares with his caretaker, Kate. An adventure to get treatment unveils new realities, and opens a new dimension into Seth’s life. In fact, his treatment journey doesn’t only enable him to live in water, freely like a Nila, but equally unveils his destiny: the survival of the Nila species depends on him. Threatened by the reckless actions of humans, their world is undergoing a serious crisis and Seth is the key to saving it.
This is a beautiful story with powerful lessons for humanity, filled with symbolism. The conflict is developed around Seth's complex nature. From the start, his illness just seems like something mysterious, but as Seth starts treatment, his understanding of the illness begins to deepen with his knowledge of his abilities to live as a Nila. The Nila is very symbolic, the representation of sea life that is affected by human pollution. The disappearance of Seth’s father is one of the elements that help to build the suspense that makes this narrative very enjoyable.
Fans of the movie Avatar will love this narrative. Daniel G Linsteadt’s novel is beautifully written and the prose is exquisitely good, but it is the message that held me spellbound. The conflict is strong and readers will love to follow the protagonist as he struggles to come to terms with his reality and to make sense of his dreams. Nila: Water is both entertaining and inspiring, a story of how human recklessness is destroying other life forms in the ecosystem. It is intelligently plotted and written to a satisfying finish. Emotionally intense and psychologically exciting!
