Patricia Hamill's Blog: I read too much! - Posts Tagged "fantasy"

The Fourth Book of Lost Swords: Farslayer's Story by Fred Saberhagen

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Saberhagen weaves a tale of tragedy and vengeance in the The Fourth Book of Lost Swords: Farslayer's Story.

Zoltan, paired up with Yambu, the former Silver Queen turned pilgrim, is on a self-imposed mission to find the lonely mermaid he encountered years ago on his first adventure. Planning to proclaim his undying love and hoping to find a cure for her cursed condition, he arrives in the feud torn valley just a short time after Farslayer, a god-forged sword with the power to enact vengeance upon anyone, human or immortal, is unleased between two rival families with dire results for both.

Black Pearl, the mermaid, cautiously welcomes Zoltan but hides the fact that she had all but forgotten him and now pines for someone else, Cosmo Malalo, who disappeared into the night with the horrific Sword of Vengeance on the night it was put into play.

What I enjoy most about this book is that it makes you think. The characters are dynamic, imperfect people capable of doing wonderful things one moment and horrible the next.

A good read.



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The Fifth Book of Lost Swords: Coinspinner's Story by Fred Saberhagen

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


The Fifth Book of Lost Swords: Coinspinner's Story is excitement embodied in the written word.

Prince Murrat, a visiting diplomat from neighboring Culm, begs Princess Kristin to allow him to borrow Woundhealer so that he can bring it back to heal his ailing sovereign. When she firmly refuses, the Prince puts his own Sword, Coinspinner, a god forged sword that unfailingly puts the odds in it's owners favor (so long as they possess it), into play and steals the Sword of Love.

Coinspinner's web of luck, however is fickle and good fortune soon abandons Prince Murrat when he lends it to a bitter young relative who decides to keep it for his own benefit. Relying on the Sword in a game of chance, the young man soon loses it to the dread wizard Wood, who wields Sheildbreaker, a sword immune to Coinspinner's influence.

Wood immediately turns the sword against young Adrian, Prince Mark and Princess Kristin's eldest son, who is on a magical quest in the City of Wizards with a fellow student, Trilby. Caught in a web of enchantment enhanced by a web of luck woven by Coinspinner, Adrian and Trilby are nearly destroyed. But Coinspinner, always on the move, decides to take itself away from Wood at the last instant.

My favorite element of this story is the way the characters are influenced by Coinspinner, even as they try to use it to their own favor. For a lucky sword, this one seems determined to abandon it's owners at the most inopportune times. It makes for a fun story.





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The Sixth Book of Lost Swords: Mindsword's Story by Fred Saberhagen

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


The Sixth Book of Lost Swords: Mindsword's Story is an excellent story of tragedy and corruption of the soul.

Prince Murrat, smitten by Princess Kristin during his last visit to Tasavalta when he stole Woundhealer with the aid of Coinspinner, is determined to make it up to the lonely princess and hopes to win her away from ever-absent Prince Mark. What better way to do so than to present her with the Mindsword, a god forged sword with the power to convert all within it's radius into devoted followers.

Starting off his journey with good intentions and vowing never to use the Sword for himself, Prince Murrat soon finds that he cannot keep that promise when his and his son's fates are threatened on the road to Tasavalta. Even as he reluctantly accepts the conversion of the bandits who threatened him, the Prince vows never to do so again, holding to his goal of presenting the Mindsword to his adored Princess Kristin.

Meanwhile, Vilkata, the Dark King and once owner of the dreadful Mindsword, senses that the sword has been found and teams up with a demon, Akbar, to steal the sword away from its new owner. Posing as a blind old man who once knew Kristin, he convinces Prince Murrat to bring him along on his quest to gain the Princess' favor.

Events continue to escalate out of control and Prince Murrat falls further and further under the influence of the Mindsword's heady power.

I couldn't put this book down.



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The First Book of Lost Swords: Woundhealer's Story by Fred Saberhagen

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The First Book of Lost Swords picks up several years after the Third Book of Swords leaves off.

Mark, Ben and Barbara are still featured but tend to play a secondary role to Mark's nephew, Zoltan, and a mysterious old wizard who pops up in the strangest places to aid Zoltan in his travels. A new nemesis, The Master, is introduced and old enemies are reinvented. The storyline, as the title infers, revolves around Woundhealer, a sword with the power to heal and to transform a person's heart, but Shieldbreaker, Dragonslicer and Farslayer also play an important role.

Mark and Kristin's son, Adrian, suffers from blindness and seizures so Mark takes him. Ben, and a small escort of soldiers to a Temple rumored to possess Woundhealer (The Sword of Love) only to find it has been stolen only a short time before they arrive. Meanwhile, Zoltan is lured away from his home by a mysterious girl and captured by an old enemy. Through the aid of an odd wizard, Zoltan finds himself propelled into a quest to aid his Uncle Mark and Cousin Adrian and eventually finds himself in posession of another of the lost swords, Dragonslicer (the Sword of Heroes).

Some of the things I like most about this story are the interesting and magical characters, the quirky godforged swords, and of course the unexpected plot twists which I have left out of this review. However, I recommend reading the three Book of Swords volumes first. This story doesn't go much into the history of the featured characters or the swords and will be much more enjoyable if you go into it with a basic understanding of both.





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The Water Nymph by Alysun Sanders

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The Water Nymph is a story about Cort, a teenager dealing with the loss of his father and his brother. Feeling personally responsible for his brother's death and sometimes wishing it had been him instead, Cort keeps to himself and holds in his feelings about his brother.

The story of his inner struggle would have been a good story in itself, but Alysun Sanders takes it a step futher when a mysterious Water Nymph comes into the picture.

Visiting Greece with his mother and sister, Cort is almost drowned when a girl with golden eyes pulls him to the bottom of a lake to get a good look at him. Cort finds himself unable to forget her and later becomes attracted to a new girl in school who reminds him of the nymph he believes he dreamed up in Greece when he was drowning. The girl, Echo, and another girl, Sephie, finally draw him out of his shell. But all is not as it seems and soon Cort finds himself caught up in a battle between good and evil where ancient myths come to life in suprising ways.

Some of the things I most enjoyed about this book include the realistic and often humorous scenes bewteen Cort and his sister, the way Cort sees his 'uncle' as a good match for his mother and keeps nudging him to go for it, and of course all the surprises along the way. I found the book easy to read, well written, organized and of course highly enjoyable.

This book is appropriate for teenagers and up, but a mature middle schooler might enjoy it as well. Very well done.

I can't wait to see what happens in the next installment.



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The Goldenwealth Light by Scott McCloskey

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Danger, friendship, and adventure abound in this action packed tale of young Theo and his little sister, Marie, who join with a charismatic group of 'contrary' young people on an epic journey through a magical land.

While the scenery and imagery are dynamic as well as beautiful, I think the greatest strength of this story is the cast of unique and richly developed characters and fantasy creatures. The central theme is one of learning to accept yourself and others despite perceived differences or shortcomings.

Simply put, this is a truly unique story which will draw you in and have you turning pages for hours on end. I cannot wait to find out what's in store for Theo and the others in the next volume of The Traveler of Ord series.


I recommend this book to anyone who loves the epic adventure of The Neverending Story and the seemlessly relatable characters found in the Harry Potter series.



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The Third Book of Lost Swords: Stonecutter's Story by Fred Saberhagen

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


If you've been following this series, this one will throw you off a bit. It's still an interesting read, but pretty much abandons the main characters to go on a Sherlock Holmes-like tangent.

Stonecutter, a magical sword forged by the gods with the power to cut through any stone, is loaned to a desert prince by Prince Mark of Tasavalta and is then promptly stolen under mysterious circumstances. A young doctor, Kasimir, feels bad because he was in the tent when the sword was taken and feels obligated to find the thief and retrieve the sword. He's in luck when he runs into a famous Magistrate, Wen Chang, who agrees to take on the investigation for the prince and takes Kasimir along for the ride. Twists abound as they follow the trail of the sword which keeps changing hands as various underground groups and individuals steal the sword from each other for their own reasons.

The most fun I got out of this book was trying to identify all of the mega inspector and his trusty companion cliches. Amusing, but not the best of Saberhagan's work.





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The First Swords by Fred Saberhagen

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I really enjoyed reading the Swords books again. This volume combines the first three books in the Book of Swords series.

The books follow Mark, Ben and Barbara on their adventures, which revolve around twelve powerful swords created by the gods (look for mostly Greek gods as well as a cameo by Shiva) and given to humans for the amusement of the gods. Things backfire on the gods when they discover that the swords can be turned against them.

The three books can be read in any order. Although each of them use the same characters and follow the same storyline and premise, each story is complete in of itself. Of course, you will enjoy them better if you read them in order.



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The Second Book of Lost Swords: Sightblinder's Story by Fred Saberhagen

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


In The Second Book of Lost Swords: Sightblinder's Story, Saberhagen finally gives a name and a face to the Ancient One introduced in the First Book of Lost Swords: Woundhealer's Story to the realm of the Swords.

This story follows Yambu, Zoltan and Ben as they attempt to use Sightblinder, a god forged sword that causes it's bearer to take on the appearance of the most loved (or hated) figures in the imaginations of those who behold him (or her), to save Mark of Tasavalta from a mysterious wizard who has taken him hostage.

They come across a young man, Arfinn, who had planned to bring the Sword to the local wizard (whose castle has just been taken over by the Ancient One) and persuade him to part with it, but Arfinn soon changes his mind and steals it back, leaving Ben, Yambu and Zoltan to attempt a rescue without it.

Also making an appearance is Prince Mark's father, the mysterious Emporer, and Draffut, the Lord of Beasts.

Tragedy and adventure color this story in a web of intrigue as those involved struggle to acheive their disparate goals. All in all, a good story. I recommend reading The First Swords (Book of Swords 1-3) and The First Book of Lost Swords: Woundhealer's Story before taking on this one.





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Book One: Dragon by Rustin Petrae

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I simply could not put this down. Book One: Dragon by Rustin Petrae is an outstanding story in which fantasy and science fiction are seemlessly melded together in a believable world.

The story begins with Prince Rone, the bored heir to the throne of the Kingdom of Roanoke, a technologically advanced civilization whose citizens make use of personal nanobots and blueprint programs to build a nearly limitless variety of machines for themselves.

Feeling trapped by the duties and responsibilities that are his birthright, The Prince yearns for freedom, but settles for minor acts of rebellion instead . Getting a rare ok from his father to go on a solo flight (using a flightpack he designed for his nanobots), the Prince jumps at the opportunity, only to be shot down by a missile after an hours long chase that takes him to the far edge of the desert adjacent to his kingdom.

Meanwhile, Keiara and her little brother, Asher, are setting out to collect some herbs for a local healer in the distant Terraquois held lands. Unlike the people in the Kingdom of Roanoke, the Terraquois live a simple life, so close to nature that most of them are able to take on the form of the animal with which their souls resonate. Their homes are, for the most part, high in the bows of massive trees, which are linked together with suspended bridges.

Keiara, like Prince Rone, is unhappy with her lot in life and desires nothing more than to explore the entirety of Purga, including the land of the Rooks (the Terraquois name for the people living in the Kingdom of Roanoke). In the desert, she and her brother find Rone unconscious and critically injured and she decides to save him, though others of her race would have either finished him off or simply left him to die instead.

From there the story takes off in a whirlwind of action, social angst, love and magic. Every element of this story works: the dynamic characters, the fantastic world of Purga, the long standing fear and hate between the Rooks and the Terraquois, the technology, and the magic.

This is one of those stories that makes you want to read everything the author has written, and more than once. I can honestly say I cannot wait to read the next one.



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