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The Seer and the Sword (Healer and Seer #1)
Princess Torina lives a charmed life in the Kingdom of Archeld. Then her father, King Kareed, seizes the peaceful kingdom of Bellandra—and its legendary sword, rumored to be able to defeat any enemy.
On his return, he offers Torina two gifts: a beautiful crystal and the defeated king's son, Landen, as a slave. Both prove to be more precious than she could ever imagine, for...more
On his return, he offers Torina two gifts: a beautiful crystal and the defeated king's son, Landen, as a slave. Both prove to be more precious than she could ever imagine, for...more
Hardcover, 1st Edition, 341 pages
Published
October 1st 2000
by Holiday House
(first published 2000)
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Apr 22, 2008
Alisa
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
anyone who loves fantasy
King Kareed conquers Bellandra and brings his daughter, Torina, two prizes from the war: a crystal ball and the son of the conquered king, Landen. He gives Landen to Torina as a slave, but Torina frees him. Torina witnesses the murder of her father and has to run away to save her life. Landen also has to run away because he is accused of the murder. They live under false names and both become valuable to the high king, Dahmis. Dahmis unknowingly reunites Landen and Torina.
I can't say any more wi...more
I can't say any more wi...more
Nothing new. A hero; a fiery, spirited princess (with red hair too, how original); a mythical sword (that is never actually used); a totally evil villain plotting to be king; a pseudo-Medieval European setting; the only thing sort-of fresh was the fact that the princess had a crystal ball that showed her the future. And even that's been done before.
There's nothing wrong with being derivative. I mean, look at Harry Potter. The ultimate example: a trio of friends with the main hero; the old, wise...more
There's nothing wrong with being derivative. I mean, look at Harry Potter. The ultimate example: a trio of friends with the main hero; the old, wise...more
Where did I get this book?: I got it from a used book store. It looked interesting, so I went for it.
Plot: Torina is granted two gifts when her father comes back from war one day: a crystal and a slave boy named Landen. Landen is the prince of the kingdom her father has defeated, and Torina immediately frees and befriends him. She also discovers she can see the future in the crystal she carries. Years pass, and suddenly people are saying Landen is going to kill her father. How can she defend her...more
Plot: Torina is granted two gifts when her father comes back from war one day: a crystal and a slave boy named Landen. Landen is the prince of the kingdom her father has defeated, and Torina immediately frees and befriends him. She also discovers she can see the future in the crystal she carries. Years pass, and suddenly people are saying Landen is going to kill her father. How can she defend her...more
Oct 25, 2011
El Templo de las Mil Puertas
added it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
19-eltemplo,
libros-olvidados
"En 2004 Ediciones SM publicaba esta aventura medieval en su colección El Navegante Fantasía. El escaso éxito de la colección llevó a su casi total desaparición hace varios años, pero algunos de los títulos que se editaron en ella valían mucho la pena y merecen ser rescatados. Es el caso de La vidente y la espada, que nos cuenta la historia de la princesa Torina y del príncipe Landen, un relato de batallas y traiciones, de secretos y profecías, pero, sobre todo, de una amistad que se convierte,...more
Jun 07, 2013
Buchdoktor
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fantasy,
young-adult
König Kareed aus Archeld bringt seiner temperamentvollen rothaarigen Tochter von einem Raubzug ins Nachbarkönigreich Bellandra eine Kristallkugel und einen jungen Sklaven mit. In der Kristallkugel kann Torina die Zukunft anderer Menschen lesen. Dem jungen Landen gibt Torina die Freiheit; denn sie will keinen Sklaven. Landen wird nun am Königshof als Krieger ausgebildet. Obwohl er ein geübter Bogenschütze ist, hat er in der Ausbildung nichts zu lachen, weil er sich zu rücksichtsvoll zeigt. Als To...more
This book was one of my favorite books as a young adult. I loved the everything about it, the storyline, the writing, the characters, the prose. I remember poring over the pages, even to the point where I memorized a few passages. Not being a person who tends to read books or watch movies over again, I remember reading this book at least a good five times in my life. I even found this in audio format after I grew up, and listened to it again.
Everything about the story was so perfect and full of...more
Everything about the story was so perfect and full of...more
The Seer and The Sword is a very intriguing book. I really enjoyed reading this book. This book is not necassarily action-packed, but it keeps you thinking and you're always wondering what's going to happen. I would definetly reccomend this book to my friends, especially if they like books that keep them on their toes, have a little bit of action, and shows how a friendship can come from the oddest corners of the world. This book I can relate to my life because one of the main characters, Torina...more
I've read this story many times and each time I am reminded just how much I love this book. I like books that make me feel something. Whether it makes me happy or sad or angry, if it makes me feel something, I have a stronger reaction to the story. Bonus if the story makes me feel all of the above. And this story always does. There are times while reading this story that I am just so angry that I want to throw the book across the room and be done but I love he story too much for that.
At the beg...more
At the beg...more
Mar 20, 2011
Denae
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
epic-fantasy,
favorites
I just re-read this book after not reading it for a long time. All I could remember was that a princess and prince were exiled but they fell in love and there was this crystal the girl used to tell the future. And I knew I liked the book.
Wow! Even though the book covers ten years, the passage of time is handled very well and the characters change and grow (although there were many times I wanted to shake Torina), and I loved the way the author dealt with different povs. VH skipped some scenes th...more
Wow! Even though the book covers ten years, the passage of time is handled very well and the characters change and grow (although there were many times I wanted to shake Torina), and I loved the way the author dealt with different povs. VH skipped some scenes th...more
Sep 29, 2010
Maureen E
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fantasy,
young-adult
by Victoria Hanley
Opening line--"In the castle of Archeld, Queen Dreea sat at her loom."
Sometimes I go through Amazon's recommendations page, just to see what they think I would like. Every so often something catches my eye and I put it on the TBR list. That was the case with this one.
From the front flap: "Princess Torina lives a charmed life in the kingdom of Archeld. Then her father, King Kareed, seizes the peaceful kingdom of Bellandra--and its legendary sword, rumored able to defeat any en...more
Opening line--"In the castle of Archeld, Queen Dreea sat at her loom."
Sometimes I go through Amazon's recommendations page, just to see what they think I would like. Every so often something catches my eye and I put it on the TBR list. That was the case with this one.
From the front flap: "Princess Torina lives a charmed life in the kingdom of Archeld. Then her father, King Kareed, seizes the peaceful kingdom of Bellandra--and its legendary sword, rumored able to defeat any en...more
What month did you read this book for? April
Title: The Seer and the Sword
Author: Victoria Hanley
Date started/date completed: April 11- may 5th
Total Pages: 341
Rating of book (1-10): 4
Briefly summarize the book:
The story opens with the spirited young princess Torina of Archeld, a beautiful and strong kingdom -- of which she is the only heir, when she marries. Her father has just conquered the peaceful kingdom of Bellandra and brings her back two gifts: a tiny crystal globe and the captured Bellan...more
Title: The Seer and the Sword
Author: Victoria Hanley
Date started/date completed: April 11- may 5th
Total Pages: 341
Rating of book (1-10): 4
Briefly summarize the book:
The story opens with the spirited young princess Torina of Archeld, a beautiful and strong kingdom -- of which she is the only heir, when she marries. Her father has just conquered the peaceful kingdom of Bellandra and brings her back two gifts: a tiny crystal globe and the captured Bellan...more
Princess Torina is the seer, who glimpses visions in a crystal given to her by her father, the king of Archeld, who wrested it from the conquered kingdom of Bellandra. Along with the crystal, the king took Bellandra's legendary sword and hid it -- but he also took the prince of Bellandra, Landen, who longs to recover the sword and his kingdom. Eventually, Torina's fate is woven with Landen's, as her kingdom is endangered as well and they must turn to the high king, Dahmis of Glavenrell, for help...more
I came into this book with high hopes. A princess, forced into self exile by her Fathers killer, only then to be rescued by the slave she set free! Sounds great am I right?
Unfortunately, this book leaves much to be desired. First of all the writing is terrible. Coming from reading Seraphina into this book, perhaps I may be a little harsh when I say that the writing of this book reminds me of a twelve year old's fan fiction. It felt at times like the author couldn't decide which age range to wr...more
Aug 15, 2011
Kate Weber
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
favorites,
owned-books-read
Check out my full review of this novel here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kd8U0Y...
This is one book that I put off reading for years. The cover art just didn't appeal to me. And while I know it's terrible to judge a book by it's cover, I couldn't seem to help it.
I'd heard wonderful things about it and finally gave it a chance. And the instant I did, I was in love. It had been a very long time since I'd read a book with such excitement and gusto as I did this novel. It was wonderful.
Hanley has...more
This is one book that I put off reading for years. The cover art just didn't appeal to me. And while I know it's terrible to judge a book by it's cover, I couldn't seem to help it.
I'd heard wonderful things about it and finally gave it a chance. And the instant I did, I was in love. It had been a very long time since I'd read a book with such excitement and gusto as I did this novel. It was wonderful.
Hanley has...more
1 like · like · see review
This was way better than i was expecting it to be. I went into this expecting a somewhat watery, hackneyed plot line with a few good twists and characters if I was lucky, but I found myself completely hooked as soon as I started reading. Although it's still definitely not the most original story ever, Hanley's writing style and vibrant characters make the story come alive. The backstory was well-developed, and the main plot and the characters' behavior were consistent with it. Almost all the cha...more
The Seer and the Sword by Victoria Hanley, 340 pages ★★★★☆
Torina Kareed is a princess in Archeld who would rather learn how to shoot an arrow than to stitch embroidery. She is a very adventurous young lady who is friendly, brave, and strong. Whenever anyone sets their eyes on her for the first time, they can’t help but notice how beautiful she is with her flaming red curly hair and deep, sea colored eyes. As a result of her good looks, many men find it hard not to fall in love with her, but she...more
Torina Kareed is a princess in Archeld who would rather learn how to shoot an arrow than to stitch embroidery. She is a very adventurous young lady who is friendly, brave, and strong. Whenever anyone sets their eyes on her for the first time, they can’t help but notice how beautiful she is with her flaming red curly hair and deep, sea colored eyes. As a result of her good looks, many men find it hard not to fall in love with her, but she...more
This book was amazing!! it had everything a fairytale lover could want! there's deffinately romance and adventure, and suspense, and fighting and death, and the villian is actually someone you really dislike a lot.
The author does an amazing job at describing death, the first time i read it it was actually kinda creepy.
This book just makes you feel exited and really wanna read more!
The author does an amazing job at describing death, the first time i read it it was actually kinda creepy.
This book just makes you feel exited and really wanna read more!
Sep 09, 2011
Rue
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fantasy-fiction,
young-adult
This is probably one of my favorite young adult book. When I first picked it up as a kid, I didn't think it would have been a good read just by looking at the cover. However, I was totally wrong which just goes to show you can't judge a book by its cover.
The storyline was refreshing and well written and not predictable. The characters were strong and deternmined and not annoying at all. Non good books always have the tendency to start out good but then the character would have a total personalit...more
The storyline was refreshing and well written and not predictable. The characters were strong and deternmined and not annoying at all. Non good books always have the tendency to start out good but then the character would have a total personalit...more
All right, I won't lie: I honestly have no idea how "good" this book is. This, to me, is pure nostalgia, with a dtwist of soul-food. Every time I read it again (frequent) attempting to determine the book's true "quality", I'm swept away by waves of love. Given the other ratings it's garnered, I suppose it must actually be well written. I'm glad, but I don't really care. This was the very first book of a significant length I read and was the first 'real' I'd ever owned (I think it was a prize fro...more
Princess Torina, a young princess, experiences all the things in life that you could think of. Love imagined, Adventure that is unplanned, a spark of mystery, packed with action, and love gained.
This book has a little of everything to pull a reader in. It starts off when Torina is barely the age of thirteen and has just learned that her father, King Kareed, during his quest for more land came back with more than she could ever think of. A crystal ball that with time she finds out she can predic...more
This book has a little of everything to pull a reader in. It starts off when Torina is barely the age of thirteen and has just learned that her father, King Kareed, during his quest for more land came back with more than she could ever think of. A crystal ball that with time she finds out she can predic...more
A few notes:
I'm curious if Torina influenced the creation of Merida from Brave at all because I definitely got a vibe, what with the fire-haired princess with a fondness for archery. It's probably unlikely, what with the prevalence of red headed princesses who shoot things dead with all the sass, but still.
I thought some of the time skips were awkwardly done, especially when very little is changed in the kingdom other than the ages of the main characters. (Really? After 2+ years, Vesputo hasn'...more
I'm curious if Torina influenced the creation of Merida from Brave at all because I definitely got a vibe, what with the fire-haired princess with a fondness for archery. It's probably unlikely, what with the prevalence of red headed princesses who shoot things dead with all the sass, but still.
I thought some of the time skips were awkwardly done, especially when very little is changed in the kingdom other than the ages of the main characters. (Really? After 2+ years, Vesputo hasn'...more
Young Princess Torina is given a gift from her father as he returns from conquering the legendary kingdom of Bellandra, a slave. Prince Landon is shoved to his knees in front of her when he hears the her ask her father if she can do anything she wants with him. Thinking that making the heir to Bellandra a slave in his kingdom he laughs and tells her yes. "Then I set him free," she says with stubborn lift of her chin, her red hair blowing in breeze like her untamed spirit.
This book is full of fe...more
This book is full of fe...more
When Princess Torina of Archeld's father comes home from war, he brings his daughter two gifts. The first is a magical crystal which allows Torina to see the future. The second is Prince Landen of Bellandra, the son of their fallen enemy, who is to be her slave. Torina immediately releases him from slavery to instead let him train to be in the royal army. With the desire to regain the Sword of Bellandra in his heart, Landen, the Prince of Bellandra, takes on his new life to become one of the roy...more
I must admit, I was a little disappointed when I bought this, I did not realize when I picked it up that it was 'young adult'. I let it wander around the house for awhile before I gave in and started to read it. And the beginning was just what I'd been expecting, and not in a good way. Spoiled princess, blah blah blah, prince from a beautiful and (ugh..) pacifistic kingdom. I thought it was unusual that the bad guy was so close to one of the major protagonists, but I was really steeling myself f...more
I think I don't really want to get into the reasons why I didn't like this book. I griped about it to my husband for a while after I read it. Both too tangled and too neat. Obnoxious. Oh well. Lots of other people liked it, so I will leave it to them.
May 15, 2008
Twilightopal
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
teens +12
This book was totally awsome!! It is an awsome fantasy, complete with a horoine princess. There is fighting, betrayal, romance and above all........a wonderful story. It is kind of fast pased, but it is still one of my favorite books ever!!
There was a lot of overlay between different characters and their actions and motivations which made the book a fun read. While it was predictable in most sections, it was still well written and enjoyable. Landen's lifetime struggle to remain true to his father and country's mantra of peace was also well done. The author made it clear that the issue isn't black and white.
I would say that the story suffered from what I'd call misplaced clues. If something was mentioned that seemed unnecessary, yo...more
I would say that the story suffered from what I'd call misplaced clues. If something was mentioned that seemed unnecessary, yo...more
Wonderful book! I've read it twice before when I was much younger, but still enjoy re-reading occasionally. I think this is probably Victoria Hanley's best book so far (in comparison with The Healer's Keep and the Light of the Oracle). While there are some flaws, this is a fairly well-written young adult fantasy novel, especially since this was her first novel. I enjoyed the characters of Torina and Landen, Hanley did a great job developing both of their characters and the relationship between t...more
May 04, 2010
Jenny Esplin
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
smart-remarks-book-club
Adventure! Intrigue! Warring nations! Murdered kings and kidnapped princes! Seers! Swords! Grown men crying! Grown men requesting friendship in exchange for swords!
What’s not to love about this book?
And according to most reviews floating around the WWW, I’d say this is a much beloved book for many many people. Me, on the other hand, thought it was just aight. 2.5 stars.
There were several little annoyances in the book that I could forgive, if it weren’t so poorly written. For me, the writing feel...more
What’s not to love about this book?
And according to most reviews floating around the WWW, I’d say this is a much beloved book for many many people. Me, on the other hand, thought it was just aight. 2.5 stars.
There were several little annoyances in the book that I could forgive, if it weren’t so poorly written. For me, the writing feel...more
Pleasant fiction. The characters weren't terribly complex, the events rather predictable, but I still enjoyed the story's motion and action. I liked that the author introduced minor characters let them disappear from the story and then come back again in very natural ways. The growth of Torina wasn't well explored, not enough for me to feel the change. And in general there was a lack of strong female roles. But this is teen fiction. And from that perspective I'd gladly let my daughter read it si...more
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“I have lived with you and loved you, and now you are gone. Gone where I cannot follow, until I have finished all of my days.”
—
79 people liked it
“Let me tell you about weakness! Killing the strong to prove your strength is foolish weakness. Killing fools is easy weakness. Killing the weak is evil weakness. Accomplishing your ends without killing, mastering your mind when you want to kill--that is strength!”
—
40 people liked it
More quotes…
Oct 18, 2012 10:01pm