Isle of Stars

Isle of Swords #3

by Wayne Thomas Batson

The wedding of Griffin "Cat" Thorne and Anne Ross is on! Or is it? Captain Tobias Dredd, the infamous pirate "Toby Scratch," has been scouring the South Pacific, searching for Father Carroll, a member of the clandestine holy warriors known only as The Brethren. When Dredd's ship, The Red Corsair, levels a Brethren monastery, Declan Ross and the crew of The Robert Bruce are called upon to pursue Father Carroll and maintain his safety at all costs. The hunt for Father Carroll is on between Ross and Dredd. At stake: the lives of everyone involved and a treasure worth three times the world. For Father Carroll alone knows the location of The Isle of Stars, and he knows its secrets.

Isle of Stars is the long-awaited sequel to Isle of Swords and Isle of Fire. But it's more besides. Each Christmas season, I post a poll on my writing blog asking readers to vote on a "Gift Story." I give readers several options of books I'm willing to write, and the story concept with the most votes wins. This year, there was a bit of a glitch in the Matrix. Not a tie, exactly, but two stories needed to win. And so, what you have in Isle of Stars is a legit sequel but also a bit of a mash up with cameos of favorite characters from other Batson books. It's honestly the strangest story I've written. I hope readers will enjoy the adventure and also can't wait to see if they can find all the cameos, references, winks, and nods that I've included in the story.

Genres: Fantasy, Christian Fiction, Fiction, Christian, Adventure, Pirates, Historical Fiction

150 pages, Paperback

First published March 2, 2016

About the author

Wayne Thomas Batson was born in Seabrook, MD in 1968. He had an adventurous childhood and adolescence that included: building forts in the woods, crabbing and crayfishing in bays, ponds, and bayous, playing lead guitar in a heavy metal band, and teaching tennis lessons at the local recreation center. He attended Gabriel DuVal Senior High School where he wrote for the school’s newspaper and literary magazine. He was voted “Most Talented” in his senior year, and wrote this for his Yearbook Senior Goal: “To become a published author.” Little did he know that God had even greater plans.

Wayne Thomas Batson has spent the last thirty years teaching Reading and English to Maryland middle school students. Wayne Thomas Batson lives in Eldersburg with his extraordinary wife of 26 years. His four adult children intermittently live at home whenever their unexpected adventures lead them.

Batson’s writing career began in 2005 with the publication of fantasy epic, The Door Within. Since then, The Door Within, The Final Storm, Isle of Swords, and Isle of Fire have all appeared on the CBA Young Adult Bestseller List, including #2 for The Final Storm Fall 2007. To date, Batson has penned or coauthored seventeen novels and has sold well over half a million copies.

Wayne Thomas Batson gives thanks to God for the abundant life he’s been given. He continues to write for the people he cares so deeply about because he believes that, on a deep level, we all long for another world and yearn to do something important.

Reviews

[Nathan Musser · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was kind of disappointing. I'm torn, because I love the first two books so much, and I'm glad this one exists so we get some closure on the characters and the series. But it just wasn't anywhere near as great as the first two books.

First of all, it felt extremely rushed. It was only 130 pages, way shorter than the other books, and I read it in one sitting. Things just seemed to happen suddenly; there weren't many quiet moments, there wasn't much fun banter between the characters, it was mostly just jumping from plot point to action scene in quick succession without much depth or explanation. It felt like a rough draft or outline of a good story that was never properly fleshed out.

Also, the main character being from the Dreamtreaders books kind of bothered me. I like the Dreamtreaders books, and I don't have anything against this character, but that's not why I read this book. It just took even more time from the pirate characters in an already-short book. And since Kaylie couldn't even use her Dreamtreader powers, there wasn't much exciting about her being there. I'm still not entirely sure why, story-wise, she needed to be in the book at all. (If she was going to be there, why not go all-in and allow her to use at least some of her powers to at least make it interesting?) Her character didn't really add anything to the book for me, and it felt like she was mainly just a spectator the whole time.

The pirate characters also felt like watered-down versions of themselves, though I think that's because we only got rushed snippets of them throughout the book, through Kaylie's eyes. And the ending felt too on-the-nose and rushed with the big villain (who really didn't seem that bad compared to Thorne) suddenly converting to Christianity. There wasn't enough build-up in the character or story to really make that land for me, and it also just felt really cheesy. I thought the first two books handled religion much better.

This review seems negative, but I didn't hate the book. Like I said, I was glad we got some closure to this series. It was nice to see Cat, Anne, Ross, and the rest again, however briefly. I enjoyed the storyline even though it was rushed. I would have preferred a proper sequel, fleshed out more and without the Dreamtreaders crossover, but I'm glad overall that we got this book.

[Katherine Talbott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very different from the first two, kind of caught me off guard :). Its interesting that he brings two of his books together, don't know if I've ever seen that with any other books. its so short compared to the other two. a good book though

[Abbey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't like when there are children in dangerous/new situations that no one in real life would be like "yes, you're totally inexperienced, clueless, and we have no idea who you are. Let's trust your word and bring you on a battlefield." This is a perfect example of that book. A girl, who doesn't even know how she got there, is the one calling shots and the SEA WOLF, of all people, is like "yes, whatever you say, we will go along with it."

[E. Writes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Isle of Stars is an interesting book, in that it appears to mix up a cast of characters from two different series set in two different worlds. The intro to the first world was brief and somewhat confusing to one who had not read the other books,but then we're off to the high seas adventure, on which no one can possibly be confused, whether they know these characters or not!
Classic swash buckling ensues, and the moral of the story a la captain Patch completes the roundup. The climactic twist was good, and the demise we should have looked forward to was sad and touching instead.
In short, a classic pirate tale with a unique wrap up.

[Elizabeth M Kauffman · Rating 4 out of 5]

An exciting follow up to Isle of Swords and Isle of Fire with plenty of adventure, danger, and sword swinging fun! All around a very enjoyable read for young and old alike.

[H.S.J. Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review to come...

[A.M. Reynwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saw this and within the next .5 seconds knew I had to have it. I've loved just about everything of Batson's that I've ever read and could hardly wait. It didn't disappoint, though I was surprised to learn the nature of this story as inspired by requests from blog readers. It's the first real 'crossover' story I've ever read, with characters from the Dreamtreaders, The Door Within, and more. Going into it knowing that I felt a little nervous (I've always thought crossovers were weird) but I needn't have been. It was still a swashbuckling tale of adventure and discovery on the high seas, where the depravity of man meets the grace of God in most extraordinary ways.

Marvelous. Simply marvelous.

[Bethany Phillips · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book.

This follows the crew of the Robert Bruce as they are about to celebrate a wedding but it has to be postponed till they have to catch the Captain Tobias Dredd.

I enjoyed being with these characters in this book. I loved seeing the craziness that happened in this read.

The story was fun and made me laugh throughout the read. I thought it was an interesting story and I wanted to know where this was going to go.

It was a quick read.

I am glad to have finished this series and it was a fun read.

[Abby Nall · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book, while ostensibly a novel in the Isle Chronicles, is actually a crossover between the Isle Chronicles and Dreamtreader series, and the main character is from Dreamtreaders. If you've read and enjoyed both series, you'll probably love this. I have not read Dreamtreaders, and so was disappointed that the characters I really cared about didn't carry the story. An enjoyable read, but not nearly as good as the first two Isle books, pirate-wise.

[Abby Nall · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was so excited to find out this book existed! A conclusion to the story started in Isle of Swords! I was sorely let down. The story isn't terrible, but the main character is someone from the Dreamtreader series, which I have not yet read. Anne, Cat, Declan, and the rest seem like diet versions of themselves. I really wanted to love this book, but I just didn't. The concept is interesting, but as a follow-up to Isle of Fire, which was excellent, it was sorely disappointing.

[Heather Journey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was slightly disappointed in this one. The main characters from the first 2 novels were there, but this book was much shorter and rushed. And he tried to put so many biblical references in it it kinda ruined it for me. Also adding in the whole dreamtreaders in as a part of it I was not a fan of. Was nice to see more of Anne and Cat and the crew, though, and im glad they are all well and roughly still the same. I might go back and read the first two books and leave this one into obscurity.

[Jessica Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rollicking and Fantastical

Batson weaves immersing stories pitting darkness along light with breathless adventure, humor, faith, evil, redemption, resolution. The characters live on beyond the stories.

[serena482* · Rating 4 out of 5]

My rating 4.5 stars

[Joshua Milligan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting and unexpected end to "The Isle Chronicles" trilogy that showcases the futility of this carnal life and the saving grace of God for anyone.

[Mark Loeffler · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. It happened.

[Joni Saiz · Rating 5 out of 5]

so good!!

so good! i like how there was a lot more of Cat & Anne. and there was a lot of action!

[Jessica Lindenberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hate writing a bad review for my of Wayne Tomas Batson’s books since I know how incredibly gifted he is in writing, but this book just didn’t work for me. I felt like the author could have just been under a tight deadline or something, because I know that he could’ve definitely wrote better than this.

Reasons why I didn’t like this book:

1. I didn’t really like the added feature of having Kaylie, (a girl who was one of the main characters in another one of his book series, the Dreamtreader series) Because of this, you would have to read the others series to understand Kaylie’s behaviour. Mixing series this late after the first books had long been published didn’t add anything to the book or to the series
2. I had been very pleased with the plot and action in the two books that came before this one, but this plot didn’t seem to go anywhere at all. Mostly predictable and quite a simple storyline didn’t make it as interesting as the other books.
3. The “extremely evil” pirate, Tobias Dredd, was not very bad at all. Compared to the former nemesis, Thorne, Dredd was a soft little pussy cat! In ways such as not killing anyone unless they got in his way, and was just generally a more humane person.
4. Having Dredd get converted to Christianity didn’t help in the context of the book. With more thought and careful planning, it could have been a good part in the book, but with the decision very hasty, and chaotic, it didn’t seem to cast a good light on Christianity.
5. The characters felt more “stale” to me this book. Especially Anne, and was not a very pleasant character to read about as she was always mad about something little or anything really. The author in the other books toned down that part to make reading about them more enjoyable and more humorous, but this time the character flaws were in full blast, making it difficult to read


Element I liked about this book:
1. I enjoyed having Hopper, (a boy who was in the previous book in the series) as reading about him always brings a smile to my face
2. Just having the series continue is a main like in my mind as it was so hard to see the series end after Isle of Fire.
3. Reading more about familiar characters and hearing about how they continued on with their life, especially Cat and Anne!

Even though I have a lot of negatives about this book, I still would recommend people read this book as it still would be good for a younger audience. When I originally read this book a few years ago, I absolutely loved this book, but now as time had gone by, this book still is a familiar good book, yet I am able to see its flaws more. I do think though that all the problems that I stated before could’ve been fixed by one main element; if Wayne Tomas Batson had wrote it closer to the other books. Then the series wouldn’t feel so detached from the first two books to the last one, and the author still would’ve been in the groove to write the last one, and have so much time for small details to slip his mind about the original books.

[Spring Petunia · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 (generous)

I take back what I said about the first two; they were perfectly fine. Tell me why this was essentially a self-insert crossover fan-made book. I'm not considering this spoilers since it's literally on page 1 (even though it's not in the synopsis). The prologue has two girls in the modern day talking about these books (Isle of Swords and Isle of Fire ofc) and how they couldn't believe it was only a duology instead of a trilogy. Which, for the record, I think is stupid because the first two ended pretty nicely. I didn't think a third book was necessary even before I read it. So this modern-era girlie is a Dreamtreader (don't really know what that means since I haven't read the series because I assumed it was fully separate) and she ends up right there in the book alongside the characters. And, of course, she has to spout some modern sciency stuff several times in this 100 page book to make it clear that she doesn't belong in this world and people need to comment that she speaks such a strange language sometimes. And I know that this is Christian fiction (as were the first two), but having your big evil villain for the book start having hallucinations and believe in God out of nowhere is not the slay you think it is. It really reads like he's had a mental break and needs psychiatric help. Doesn't exactly help push what I assume is the intended message, that anyone can be saved no matter what they've done if they just believe.

TLDR: extremely disappointed and feel like I got stabbed in the stomach while making eye contact (as opposed to backstabbing because it feels like it was intentional for me to know who did it)

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

We returned to the Robert Bruce. Yay! This was short read but fun to see another enlightening adventure with these pirates on the high season. One interesting part was that is wasn't completely just a Pirate Series story but also a Dreamtreaders (another novel series by Batson) story too. In fact, the story was short enough and had both these characters in them that the book could be considered a 0.5 story in both books' series. Most of the story was from the view point of Kaylie, a character from the Dreamtreaders, who somehow ended up with the crew on board their ship. It made for an interesting reading experience and the reader got to see characters from both series and a few quick walk-ons from other books (I didn't identify them all). While this was fun, I could see a couple negatives (experienced some of them, too) by this. One, I didn't get to see as much of Ann and Cat or their perspectives and thoughts as much as I wanted to (but the book did end that made me think that there might be a possibility for another full length story some day so here's hoping [I know, the author finally writes another pirate story and, after finishing it, I'm asking for another. I guess I can't be satisfied]). Second, if the reader hadn't read the Dreamtreader series before this, they might not appreciate it as much. Still, it was a fun little adventure with an interesting and deep lesson inside it. Anyone who has read the Pirate Series will want to read this and anyone who has read the Pirate Series and Dreamtreaders will really enjoy it.

[Edmund Fletcher · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved, loved, LOVED, the rest of the Isle Chronicles.

This book, however, was a little disappointing. It is much shorter than the others, and if that wasn't bad enough Bastion combines it with another series, the DreamWalker or something like that. I don't know because I obviously haven't read it.

So I was expecting a story like the others that I fell in love with and I got something else entirely.

Like I say. Disappointing.

[Orangetails · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was...good. But weird, because it's a mashup between the Dreamtreaders series and the Isle of Swords series. Since I didn't know the former, I was confused. However, the story was still good. It lacked a little bit of the sparkle of the previous books, I think, but it was a nice send-off to the series.

[Glenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a quick fun story that combines a lot of characters... Nothing to taxing but very enjoyable... Thank you Wayne...

[Michelle D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well done, Mr. Batson!

[Julia Garcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A pocket of treasure.

This small book is jam packed with hidden treasure. To be fair, I didn't read the second book in this series and some of the cameos in this story weren't familiar to me, but now.... Yes now I think I will take up another of Sir Wayne's novels. As always, they are well worth reading. Another book well written Sir!