Review by Ian Keogh

Nomads takes place on a world of five kingdoms, until a century ago all at war with each other. Peace is maintained by the Kings Guard, an independent organisation formed of people with no allegiance to the Sand, Sea, Sky, Snow or Sun kingdoms. The Nomads are the only people now allowed to travel between the kingdoms, and as The Sky Kingdom opens Lance has become their newest member in order to search for his missing brother.

It doesn’t start well for him, but there’s a definite step up when a magical cat upgrades Lance with super powers, and he gains another ally in the mysterious Satra.

Set as an all ages adventure, creator Captain Juuter ensures every stop is something of wonder, with plenty of secrets to be revealed along the way. Lance is determined and enthusiastic, but not always the most competent. Luck, however, goes a long way. Satra is more timid and greatly concerned about being tracked by his parents, while the talking cat eventually accepts Saber as a name.

In keeping with the general good nature of the adventure, the cartooning is bright and cheerful, lively effects accompanying simply drawn figures. There is danger, but it’s drawn to age-appropriate levels, thrilling young readers without scaring them, the cover being a representative sample.

That features four characters, but Poko, another Nomad, isn’t introduced until halfway through, by which time readers know who Satra is, but Lance doesn’t. Neither knows people are searching for Satra either.

While there is the overall mission of locating Lance’s brother, that’s just the thread onto which Juuter weaves the adventure, although it is progressed toward the end. Exploration and meeting new people are of greater importance, though, and pay attention to the properties of different coloured crystals as they’ll surely feature in future. Explanations are the order of the day in the final chapter, which is used to set up the continuation in The Sand Kingdom.