JAMES CAMPION CONWAY

The Vagabond King

“There were times I had to put the book down and simply reflect on how talented this author is.” Underground Book Reviews

“A masterpiece of literature” Michael Best

“…if the world and literature survive into the next age, The Vagabond King will probably be a classic.” TM Romero, Goodreads.com

Do you love powerfully written, lyrical prose?

Do you love detailed description and clever turns of phrase?

Then you’ll love the coming of age story, The Vagabond King.

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MEET JAMES CAMPION CONWAY

About The Author

James Campion Conway is the author of the literary coming of age novel called The Vagabond King. His influences are Tolkien, Kafka, Dinesen, Garcia-Marquez, Calvino, and Chandler. He is also deeply influenced by the historical writings of Winston Churchill and the mythological studies of Joseph Campbell. His favorite poets are Yeats, Keats and Bukowski. Conway’s character’s do not exist in a vacuum. They exist within the historical, metaphysical and philosophical contexts that we all exist within whether we are aware of it or not. His work frequently blends mythology, cosmology, history and modern science to reveal a deeper, more complex understanding of the world we inhabit.

What People Say About The Vagabond king
I truly enjoyed reading this novel. The author has a nice writing style and, from the first pages of the book, the reader becomes immersed in an engaging story that touches the meaning of death, a mother’s death, and the important things in life when growing up. The novel has a good mixture of reality and fantasy and several twists that are thought-provoking. Sin, redemption, and the struggle to be a good person. This one is easy to recommend!
PP Ramirez
5/5
I am an avid reader. I read books of all genres, from well-known established authors and from authors who are just starting out. A lot of books are good. Others are not so good. And then, every now and then as I dig through the hundreds of books and thousands of pages and millions of words, I will find an absolute masterpiece. The Vagabond King is that masterpiece. With some of the most beautiful prose I have ever read that manages to be simultaneously saccharine and incredibly dark - I felt like I was reading the bizarre literary love child of Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Sylvia Plath - this is not a book I will forget any time soon, and I am eagerly awaiting more from this new author.
Mel Miles
5/5
This is a story about coming of age, of loss and grief, and finding out who you are. After the death of his mother, Christopher is adrift in a sea of sorrow and loss. The book is about his handling of the grief, while trying to find his place in the world, with a father who seems indifferent, so he leaves to find answers. This book is also about connections that we forge with others. The characters are what makes this book so compelling. Is well-written and the characters are so complex that they come alive.
L. Ruetz
5/5
I’m overwhelmed by James Campion Conway’s ‘The Vagabond King’. It’s so incredibly powerful! Chris, a teenage boy triggered by his mother’s death, drops out of school and leaves home in search of meaning: of life and death, love and sex, the real and the contrived, happiness and suffering, childhood and parenthood, spirituality and materialism—in short, existence. In the process, Chris transitions into a man. While uncomplicated in its plot, the story is rich in symbolism, metaphor, and philosophy. It’s truly profound, leaving the reader much to think about.
Vibagra
5/5
Wow, wow, and wow. What a heavy book. I almost don’t know where to start. This is a powerful novel which had me hooked from the beginning. Finally! I’ve just finished a bad line up of terrible books and this was just what I needed. A novel with substance. Sometimes maybe too much substance. There were points where I didn’t exactly know what the narrator was talking about since his message could often get lost in so much purple prose, too much intellectual conjecture. I didn’t care though. Because I cared so much about this character and what he was going through. The Vagabond King touts itself as a “coming of age” story and, boy, does it ever nail that. Almost any American kid can empathize with the struggle to find their identity and place in the world while struggling with an irrational infatuation. I was right there with him. I was so impressed with this book that I was willing to forgive the typos, grammar, and tense issues. In the case of a book like this, these kinds of errors can even lend a shabby sort of charm. I loved it.
Sunday's Mail
5/5
This was a well written book that had deep meaningful moments as the main character came of age. I was impressed by the James Campion Conway’s ability to weave the narrative in a unique writing style which I’ve never seen. At the end of the book I felt like I had learned things, and missed things, and I have the feeling that I should read it again to get something new from it
Jesse
5/5