Brandon A. Perron, The Quest for Truth - The Quest for Truth can be read from any or all of three levels. At the most basic level we have the racy adventures of the warrior hero Youngblood Hawke testing and challenging himself to greater and greater feats of daring-do all in the spirit of finding the truth about life and the triumph of good over evil. Youngblood is well-equipped for his task for he has a curious and intelligent mind. He also has good looks and a personality which enables him to attract the support of other people, courage and the tenacity to achieve things, and a formidable Japanese samurai battle sword called a Katana which he effectively uses to slice evil from good.

A level up from the adventurous romp is an introduction to philosophy. Here questions such as where am I, what am I, who am I, and why am I are explored. We are helped in this task through Youngblood's adventures being interspersed and supported by quotations from philosophers such as Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli and Nietzsche, etc. A full list of endnotes assist in defining the source of the quotations, and anyone with a little background in philosophy has the additional treat of trying to anticipate the source before looking it up.

And the final level in reading The Quest for Truth is the original poetry it contains. Mr Perron has interspersed his prose with apt short poems and, indeed, the final chapter of his book is entirely devoted to the poetry of Youngblood Hawke. Many of the poems articulate the passions and emotions that most humans experience in life and as such the poems are particularly striking.

Whether or not one reads The Quest for Truth solely in terms of Youngblood Hawke's adventures wielding his Katana to slice evil from good, or to use the book's philosophy to slice ignorance from truth, or both, it is a jolly good read.

The Quest for Truth: The Allegorical Journey of Youngblood Hawke - Poet, Philosopher, Soldier of Fortune, and Professional Adventurer is poetically inspirational. The story of a warrior coming of age is a reflection of the human spirit awakening in us all. He battles the proverbial beasts of ignorance, dragons of fear, and enemies of change and enlightment that litter his path to truth. The warrior Youngblood Hawke encounters all of the trials and tests of life that we encounter in our own lives. The reader is able to live through the character and understand his pain and suffering based upon the common denominator of experience. I truly enjoyed the original poems and the way the author used them to communicate the main characters thoughts and emotions. The many colorful characters in the book communicate the philosophy of western culture's greatest minds including Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Nietszche, Shakespeare, and Jose Ortego to name just a few. The dialogue is as enlightening as it is entertaining. In short, this is an allegorical tale of humanities quest for truth and an inspiritation guide for pursuing individual potentiality. This is an interesting blend of storytelling, poetry, philosophy, and inspirational literature. It is a must read for the spiritual and intellectually aware.