Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

By the Sword

3.86 of 5 stars 3.86 · rating details · 7 ratings · 6 reviews

Seventeen-year-old Talya's main goal is to bring down the Malinorian Empire. And Jalarn, the empire's prodigy general, is at the top of her list of enemies to kill. Not only has Jalarn murdered Talya's king, he's almost killed her. Twice.

But things don't go as Talya planned when a visiting prophet sends her on a mission to the highly feared Hunter Forest. It is there that...more

Kindle Edition

Published February 26th 2012 by Violet Sword Publishing

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

Christian Fantasy

125th out of 244 books — 300 voters

Best Christian Young Adult Fantasy

30th out of 76 books — 33 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-28 of 28)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Mar 18, 2012 L.e. Waters rated it 5 of 5 stars

By The Sword is a captivating novel that takes you on a journey (literally as well as spiritually). The main plot consistently fuels the story while the momentum of the subplots keep the pages turning. Since this is the first Christian Fantasy novel I've read, the storyline intrigued me. I was amazed by the wonderful detail of the powers of the dark side as well as how, through the powers of prayer, miracles occurred. Given the heavy religious undertones that takes place midway through the book,...more By The Sword is a captivating novel that takes you on a journey (literally as well as spiritually). The main plot consistently fuels the story while the momentum of the subplots keep the pages turning. Since this is the first Christian Fantasy novel I've read, the storyline intrigued me. I was amazed by the wonderful detail of the powers of the dark side as well as how, through the powers of prayer, miracles occurred. Given the heavy religious undertones that takes place midway through the book, I predict it might only appeal to readers with Christian beliefs, as the title of the genre reflects. Aware of this before reading, I was so surprised and compelled at the descriptive, haunting scenes of the lure and practices of the Dark Prince. Truly frightening and authentic.

Flower creates strong, tangible characters with realistic motivations. I originally was worried about the stereotypical `strong female warrior', but I was incredibly relieved how realistic the action scenes were written. I found Tayla's actions during battle very credible, especially for a slight girl. The battle scenes were exceptionally well written and did not feel overdone. The writer also did a good job introducing each main character slowly and carried a lesser developed cast to aid with subplots. My favorite character was Jalarn. He has deep, deep layers and I found his actions and thoughts compelling and plausible. There was no part in the book where I felt comfortable setting it down, and the writer is adept at leaving each chapter on a cliffhanger. She then transitions beautifully to another POV in the novel without losing pace. I was very satisfied with the ending as a standalone, yet the possibility of a sequel exists (and I hope she writes it!)

Since I've never read another work of Christian Fantasy, it's hard to judge if this is original, but I was deeply engaged by this subgenre of fantasy. It was so interesting to see how the usual good and evil sides of fantasy play out with the specifics of the Devil and Jesus Christ. I realized while reading this that most of your high fantasy--although they use imagined names for Lords of good and evil--are basically depicting earthly religious struggles after all. I highly recommend this book to Christian readers and to others interested in learning more about the Christian Fantasy genre.(less)

like · see review

Aug 02, 2012 Amanda rated it 5 of 5 stars

Everyone should read this book... it's jam packed full of mystery and excitement :)

like · see review

May 19, 2012 Nicole rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: religious

Find more of my reviews on my blog, The Reader's Antidote

I actually found myself enjoying this book. Here are the things I didn't like about it though: I saw the cover and automatically thought it was going to be bad (I saw the main character as an ugly albino girl, which isn't exactly what I wanted). I also came into this knowing that it was religious fantasy fiction. For me, I've sort of sworn off religion. So as to not create controversy, I believe in a higher power. That's all you need to kn...more Find more of my reviews on my blog, The Reader's Antidote

I actually found myself enjoying this book. Here are the things I didn't like about it though: I saw the cover and automatically thought it was going to be bad (I saw the main character as an ugly albino girl, which isn't exactly what I wanted). I also came into this knowing that it was religious fantasy fiction. For me, I've sort of sworn off religion. So as to not create controversy, I believe in a higher power. That's all you need to know. I used to go to church every Sunday because my parents made me, and after I turned 18 I wasn't inclined to continue going. Still, I suppose my path with religion helped me understand the references more. The religious aspects were overbearing. Everything was about trusting in god. It didn't ruin the book for me obviously, but I hate being hit over the head with things like religion.

That was really the only bad. The writing was slightly off. There were a few lines that actually really reminded me of when I was writing as a young teenager (i.e. thoughts that pointed out the obvious, simple descriptions). This isn't a bad thing, it's just not my writing style anymore. But it was interesting to see that, if I had turned in a manuscript of this one book that I finished back then, it would have sounded like this. Also, a line that really caught my attention was when Talya was in jail: "You will eat when you agree to listen to reason," Ittonifer said. "Then I will never eat again!" (Talya). In the context, it made me think of the people that denounce religion, because religious people supposedly aren't "reasonable" people. That may have been a bad choice of words on the author's part.

This book was also a thrilling adventure, and a hidden love story. It was slightly predictable, but I still enjoyed the twists and turns, and also getting the perspectives of different people. Talya had a very one-track-mind mentality for most of the novel, so she wasn't always seeing everything clearly. Then she takes a literal journey of self-discovery (which a wise, old man of god tells her to take), and she realizes that she needs to accept god back into her life and believe in him again. I also really enjoyed the interaction between her and Jalarn. There was very little romance in this book, but when there was it was powerful and sweet.

If you're into religious fiction, you should definitely give this a try. If I was more religiously inclined, I think I would have enjoyed it immensely, but the truth is that part of my life is mostly behind me. I can appreciate other people's worship of god, but I myself do not worship god publicly. (less)

like · see review

Mar 20, 2012 Elizabeth rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, christian-fiction

I wasn't really sure that I was going to like this book when I first started it, but I was pleasantly surprised the further I continued. All in all, this wasn't a bad book.

like · see review

Sep 11, 2012 Deborah rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book was amazing it was exacally what i have been looking for. It has the christian side of it bu there is also the romance and full on action of the war.

like · see review

Mar 13, 2012 Yasmeen (Yaz) rated it 2 of 5 stars

Religious fiction disguised as fantasy.

like · see review

May 16, 2013 Christine marked it as to-read

Mar 08, 2013 Dodo Nabil marked it as to-read

Jan 24, 2013 Brian Musick marked it as to-read

Dec 30, 2012 Samantha Martin marked it as to-read

Nov 27, 2012 Chidi OKORO marked it as to-read

Oct 21, 2012 Valery marked it as to-read

Jul 30, 2012 Heather marked it as to-read

Jul 28, 2012 Xiri marked it as to-read

Jul 26, 2012 Destinee marked it as to-read

Jul 19, 2012 Naj (Unputdownable Books) marked it as to-read

Jun 18, 2012 Betrys marked it as not-sorted

May 07, 2012 Tnkw01 marked it as to-read

May 01, 2012 Beerchen marked it as to-read

Shelves: ebook

May 27, 2012 Katerina (Kathe) added it

Apr 04, 2012 Jessica marked it as to-read

Apr 03, 2012 Midu Hadi added it

Mar 26, 2012 Bballer3042 added it

Mar 19, 2012 Georgia marked it as to-read

Mar 18, 2012 Brittany marked it as to-read

Mar 16, 2012 Avital marked it as to-read

Mar 21, 2012 Proserpine rated it 4 of 5 stars

Mar 12, 2012 Veronika marked it as to-read

not-sorted

1 shelf

ebook

1 shelf

religious

1 shelf

fantasy

1 shelf

christian-fiction

1 shelf

Books by Sara Kjeldsen

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About By the Sword

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

title link	preview: By the Sword
avg rating	preview: By the Sword Goodreads rating: 3.86 (7 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13520433-by-the-sword?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1331447495l/13520433.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13520433-by-the-sword?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]By the Sword by Sara Kjeldsen[/url]

By the Sword

Friend Reviews

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topic
Discuss This Book

combine
Other Editions (1)

Popular Shelves

Books by Sara Kjeldsen

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website

Trivia About By the Sword

By the Sword

Friend Reviews

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topicDiscuss This Book

combineOther Editions (1)

Popular Shelves

Books by Sara Kjeldsen

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website

Trivia About By the Sword

new topic
Discuss This Book

combine
Other Editions (1)