I am hoping to find who want to form a critique group for novels- so this would be a somewhat long term commitment. It doesn't have to be a nano novel, that is just what inspired me to write recently.

My novel is YA fantasy, currently 55k, but with editing will probably be more like 65k.. It is a re-imagining of Journey to the West (aka Monkey King). In my story, a young man, Inesh, is blackmailed by the gods into accompanying a young monk, Ani on a journey to another country to get scriptures, which will make mankind better. While Inesh's fighting skills make him extremely useful, he is rash and violent, which conflicts with Ani's piousness and pacifism. In order to reach the scriptures, they must escape from demons who want to destroy them, avoid enemy troops who view them as possible spies, overcome exhaustion as they cross difficult lands and learn to trust each other.

And since I doubt anyone remembers me or my writing, I can give you my first 13 lines- I have not yet edited so by January, these should be better. At this point, I am not asking for critiques- just sharing so you can get a feel for my style and potential problems.

Inesh did not see his father die. He always thought that when that moment came, he would know. He would be aware. The battlefield had been intense that day, picking out a specific scream would have been impossible. And all his focus at the time was used on staying alive. Watching another man’s fight would have left him dead. Over a hundred demons had attacked, with nearly a thousand of Inesh’s warriors falling in the effort to repel them. But even knowing this, he felt deprived. He should have been beside his father at that moment, sung the songs of mourning. Instead, after two days on the field, exhausted from the efforts, but exuberant with success, he had stumbled back to the camp, to his father’s simple tent.