My thoughts on a deleted chapter of "The Keepers"

     I was looking for a good read recently, and my mom recommended a series called "The Keepers", because it was written by a colleague of hers, Ted Sanders. This series is about a group of people known as Keepers, who have powers because of the magical instruments, called Tanu, that they possess. They face off against the Riven, who are corrupted and evil versions of long limbed, humanoid creatures called Altari, makers of the Tanu. These Riven have the intent of taking all Tanu from humankind, claiming that they belong only to their species. It is a series aimed at teenagers and it is a coming of age story. I suggest you read it if you haven't, because it really is a treat.

    Anyways, I was burning through the series, and was hoping for something more to read once I was done. Out of the blue (thanks mom), Ted emailed me with a extra chapter from book one, which was cut during the writing process. Now this was exciting. The author of the series I was eating up had emailed me with an extra chapter! I was thrilled at having this opportunity to talk to Ted, and to learn more about his series. 

    This deleted chapter is told from the perspective of Gabriel (Hey, that's me!), who is blind. He is the keeper of the Staff of Obro, which emits the "humour", a fog that allows him to see far more precisely than a normal human, at the expense of everyone else's sight. The Staff of Obro is a perfect match for him, being the cure to his blindness, and he uses its power wisely and valiantly.

   When I was reading it, one thing I immediately noticed was the amount of sensory details in the chapter. A quote that I particularly like is when Gabriel is describing the golem he is imprisoned in. He says "He could still taste the golem in his mouth—bitter and electric, like batteries". A girl named Ingrid, who is supposed to be his enemy, allows him to escape from the golem because of the relationship they used to have. As he is escaping, another great detail happens: "He came to a passageway he knew—a broken tile in the floor, two curving sheets of plywood leaning against the wall". These sensory details do a great job at showing how Gabriel perceives the world around him, and it lets us follow along with him.

    Another thing I like about this chapter is that it makes some aspects of the book clearer. Before reading this, I knew that there was some sort of connection between Gabriel and Ingrid, and the chapter provided further evidence of that connection, that Ingrid cared about Gabriel enough to save him even though they were on different sides. It also explained why she switched sides. She had been disinformed that the Riven were the good guys, and they were trying to save everyone from an inevitable death. She also believed that the Wardens were trying to make sure that they did die. This is partially true, but long story short (no spoilers, read it yourself), the information had been twisted in a way that benefitted the Riven.

    Although I think that this is a cool chapter, I agree with Ted that the book is stronger without it. Being a coming of age story, the main characters are all somewhat young. Gabriel is older, and has already come of age, so it doesn't make as much sense to include his perspective, especially if its just once. Although I don't think this should have been included in the actual book, it is definitely worth reading, and I'm sure many others who have read the series would be interested in it. If I was Ted, I would make the deleted chapter accessible to readers who were interested, maybe on a webpage or something, but that's up to him. That's all I have for you, so thanks for reading!

-Gabe