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The Sword of Bayne #1
Bayne's Climb
Waking amid battle, the warrior Bayne has no recollection of his past, of his life, of himself. Believing the mad emperor-mage Verkanus holds the keys to his past, Bayne pursues the wizard across years and unto a mountain. Here, Bayne must climb to find Verkanus and to find himself, and among the crags are oddities and dangers never witnessed by lesser men.
In part an allegorical tale, the novella Bayne's Climb is the first part of The Sword of Bayne trilogy. This novella also takes place in the same world as the author's Kobalos Trilogy, but nearly 2,000 years before the events of those books.
In part an allegorical tale, the novella Bayne's Climb is the first part of The Sword of Bayne trilogy. This novella also takes place in the same world as the author's Kobalos Trilogy, but nearly 2,000 years before the events of those books.
- GenresFantasy
Nook
First published October 25, 2010
About the author
Ty Johnston
137 books44 followersA former newspaper journalist, Ty Johnston was born and raised in central Kentucky. Now living in North Carolina and focused upon fiction writing, mainly fantasy, he spends his time writing, reading and recalling memories of his late wife.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
February 29, 2012
Bayne’s Climb
By Ty Johnson
Synopsis:
Waking amid battle, the warrior Bayne has no recollection of his past, of his life, of himself. Believing the mad emperor-mage Verkanus holds the keys to his past, Bayne pursues the wizard across years and unto a mountain. Here, Bayne must climb to find Verkanus and to find himself, and among the crags are oddities and dangers never witnessed by lesser men.
In part an allegorical tale, the short novel Bayne’s Climb is the first part of The Sword of Bayne trilogy.
This short novel also takes place in the same world as the author’s Kobalos Trilogy, but nearly 2,000 years before the events of those books.
Overall:
I liked the tale’s beginning and end; the concept was reminding me of Lord of the Rings. The setting takes place upon a fictional ‘middle earth,’ there is a man who is being pursued, and the main character, Bayne, needs to fulfill an ultimate quest to find out who he is and where he stands in light of humanity. In midst of his journeys, he even denies the most comforting pleasures in life, marriage, friendship, and revenge. I was beginning to share sympathies with Bayne throughout the entire book because he does not know when and where to express his emotions. In one sense I feel there is a sense of guilt coming from his mysterious behavior while on the other side he does a very good job trying to be faithful to his yearning for purpose.
The Good:
The author does a tremendously good job by creating a memorable character. Like I expressed earlier in posts and reviews to other authors, there needs to be some motivating reason to make any reader want to turn a page. In this case, the desire for fulfillment in a fantasy epic is one of the few things that will get anyone to read on. Bayne’s quest for answers and truth are the main reasons to get anyone to read more of the book and move on to find out the answers.
The Really Good:
The Christian themes to Bayne’s quest are classic, right along with John Bunyan and C.S. Lewis. The moment I began reading more of the story, I started to see the parallelisms between Christians, the world, and unsaved. To some extent, the book reminded me of reading the book Pilgrim’s Progress which delves into the discussion about the walks of a true Christian in the light of life. In this case, the author has done an exceptional job with attempting to show Christian truths.
Tweaks:
In light of the positive things said, I tend to think a couple of problems with the overt transparency with the story’s theme. While there is nothing wrong with attempting to illustrate Christian truths, there is something wrong when the author attempts to insert too much of them simultaneously in the book altogether. For a non-Christian audience, I would not think there would be too much of a problem since most have never heard of these key phrases like ‘immortal, invisible’ and think ‘God only wise’ from a Baptist hymnal.
The other problem I had is that there needs to be more background information with Bayne’s overall character. He needs to have some type of past event that shapes him into the way he is. That tends to be difficult for authors of a novella, however, to make a story more effective that needs to happen with as much effective information as possible.
The last thing that needs some tweaking is the openings, closings, and of course the dialoguing in the chapters; there needs to be some satisfaction for the reader to feel like he can relate to the book and the characters to move on. Most authors have difficulty in trying to establish a kind of relationship with the reader, but with that in mind he or she needs to make the book much tighter in its dialogue, exposition, and of course the endings because the nature of these books are so tremendously short.
Overall Grade:
B+
By Ty Johnson
Synopsis:
Waking amid battle, the warrior Bayne has no recollection of his past, of his life, of himself. Believing the mad emperor-mage Verkanus holds the keys to his past, Bayne pursues the wizard across years and unto a mountain. Here, Bayne must climb to find Verkanus and to find himself, and among the crags are oddities and dangers never witnessed by lesser men.
In part an allegorical tale, the short novel Bayne’s Climb is the first part of The Sword of Bayne trilogy.
This short novel also takes place in the same world as the author’s Kobalos Trilogy, but nearly 2,000 years before the events of those books.
Overall:
I liked the tale’s beginning and end; the concept was reminding me of Lord of the Rings. The setting takes place upon a fictional ‘middle earth,’ there is a man who is being pursued, and the main character, Bayne, needs to fulfill an ultimate quest to find out who he is and where he stands in light of humanity. In midst of his journeys, he even denies the most comforting pleasures in life, marriage, friendship, and revenge. I was beginning to share sympathies with Bayne throughout the entire book because he does not know when and where to express his emotions. In one sense I feel there is a sense of guilt coming from his mysterious behavior while on the other side he does a very good job trying to be faithful to his yearning for purpose.
The Good:
The author does a tremendously good job by creating a memorable character. Like I expressed earlier in posts and reviews to other authors, there needs to be some motivating reason to make any reader want to turn a page. In this case, the desire for fulfillment in a fantasy epic is one of the few things that will get anyone to read on. Bayne’s quest for answers and truth are the main reasons to get anyone to read more of the book and move on to find out the answers.
The Really Good:
The Christian themes to Bayne’s quest are classic, right along with John Bunyan and C.S. Lewis. The moment I began reading more of the story, I started to see the parallelisms between Christians, the world, and unsaved. To some extent, the book reminded me of reading the book Pilgrim’s Progress which delves into the discussion about the walks of a true Christian in the light of life. In this case, the author has done an exceptional job with attempting to show Christian truths.
Tweaks:
In light of the positive things said, I tend to think a couple of problems with the overt transparency with the story’s theme. While there is nothing wrong with attempting to illustrate Christian truths, there is something wrong when the author attempts to insert too much of them simultaneously in the book altogether. For a non-Christian audience, I would not think there would be too much of a problem since most have never heard of these key phrases like ‘immortal, invisible’ and think ‘God only wise’ from a Baptist hymnal.
The other problem I had is that there needs to be more background information with Bayne’s overall character. He needs to have some type of past event that shapes him into the way he is. That tends to be difficult for authors of a novella, however, to make a story more effective that needs to happen with as much effective information as possible.
The last thing that needs some tweaking is the openings, closings, and of course the dialoguing in the chapters; there needs to be some satisfaction for the reader to feel like he can relate to the book and the characters to move on. Most authors have difficulty in trying to establish a kind of relationship with the reader, but with that in mind he or she needs to make the book much tighter in its dialogue, exposition, and of course the endings because the nature of these books are so tremendously short.
Overall Grade:
B+
October 3, 2017
(This review may contain spoilers).
When I first read the blurb of this book, I found it a really intriguing idea. But I felt like I was thrown into the middle of a storyline and had even less knowledge of Bayne than Bayne even had of himself.
I felt it was a pity this book wasn't longer, as there were hints of a strong fantasy world with its own mythology. Bayne was an interesting character, as he was much darker than most fantasy heroes I read about. At the same time, I couldn't really get to know him. It was difficult to form a connection to him, as even though he wasn't born in the conventional way, I had the feeling he was still a blank slate with very few real morals. It could have been interesting to see the journey of Bayne as he became a person outside of the violence that so defined him in his first creation.
It did seem like there were some lessons to be learned during the course of the climb, but I didn't feel like Bayne really took any of that in. He made decisions and took actions that quite often didn't have much motivation behind them. It seemed strange that so many people chose to try and kill a man who had killed so many people in return.
The ending of the book was, I felt, quite anticlimactic. While it is the first book in a series, I felt that the main character lacked much depth. He was a different type of main character in this fantasy world, but although he was an active character, he also came across as kind of passive. He reacted when other characters threatened him, but there were very few actions outside of violence that he took. I wouldn't have called him a neutral character. And by the end of this book, there seemed to be good and evil with very little depth to them. That can be done well sometimes, but not when the 'evil' characters have no depth and call themselves evil.
I would be likely to read more books in this series if they were longer and allowed me more than a glimpse into a world that has a lot of potential to it. I would have liked a bit more detail and some more detailed characters.
When I first read the blurb of this book, I found it a really intriguing idea. But I felt like I was thrown into the middle of a storyline and had even less knowledge of Bayne than Bayne even had of himself.
I felt it was a pity this book wasn't longer, as there were hints of a strong fantasy world with its own mythology. Bayne was an interesting character, as he was much darker than most fantasy heroes I read about. At the same time, I couldn't really get to know him. It was difficult to form a connection to him, as even though he wasn't born in the conventional way, I had the feeling he was still a blank slate with very few real morals. It could have been interesting to see the journey of Bayne as he became a person outside of the violence that so defined him in his first creation.
It did seem like there were some lessons to be learned during the course of the climb, but I didn't feel like Bayne really took any of that in. He made decisions and took actions that quite often didn't have much motivation behind them. It seemed strange that so many people chose to try and kill a man who had killed so many people in return.
The ending of the book was, I felt, quite anticlimactic. While it is the first book in a series, I felt that the main character lacked much depth. He was a different type of main character in this fantasy world, but although he was an active character, he also came across as kind of passive. He reacted when other characters threatened him, but there were very few actions outside of violence that he took. I wouldn't have called him a neutral character. And by the end of this book, there seemed to be good and evil with very little depth to them. That can be done well sometimes, but not when the 'evil' characters have no depth and call themselves evil.
I would be likely to read more books in this series if they were longer and allowed me more than a glimpse into a world that has a lot of potential to it. I would have liked a bit more detail and some more detailed characters.
July 7, 2025
The Sword of Bayne feels like a B movie: it's not good, but it's bad in an entertaining way and its very earnest.
The titular Bayne is part The Nameless One, part Roland Deschain, and part traumatic brain injury. He's trying to figure out who he is and why he's so immensely powerful, but he's otherwise uninterested in the world and most of its mysteries and inhabitants. He's a stoic warrior with an enormous sword, and when you have one of those then every problem looks like it can be solved by cleaving it in twain.
Each chapter Bayne encounters a number of goobers and weird situations that he slashes and crushes and gores his way through. At the end there's an extended lore dump and conversation that is concluded in the funniest way imaginable, and that's that.
As a book it's not great: it's full of typos, paper-thin characters, unintentionally funny sentences, and a distinct lack of editing. But so long as you approach it correctly - again, think B movie - then I think you'll have a good time with it.
The titular Bayne is part The Nameless One, part Roland Deschain, and part traumatic brain injury. He's trying to figure out who he is and why he's so immensely powerful, but he's otherwise uninterested in the world and most of its mysteries and inhabitants. He's a stoic warrior with an enormous sword, and when you have one of those then every problem looks like it can be solved by cleaving it in twain.
Each chapter Bayne encounters a number of goobers and weird situations that he slashes and crushes and gores his way through. At the end there's an extended lore dump and conversation that is concluded in the funniest way imaginable, and that's that.
As a book it's not great: it's full of typos, paper-thin characters, unintentionally funny sentences, and a distinct lack of editing. But so long as you approach it correctly - again, think B movie - then I think you'll have a good time with it.
September 24, 2012
Sword & Sorcery seems to be making a comeback. Mostly among indie writers like B.V Larson, Michael Sullivan, David Dalglish, and many others. (Big publishers seem to have forgotten and/or abandoned the genre.)
Among these quality indie Sword & Sorcery writers, there are a lot of imitators, and wannabes. Bayne’s Climb however, is no imitation eBook!
The plot is like a Sergio Leone Spaghetti Western, mixed with old school elements of S&S. The main character Bayne, is on a quest for revenge, and is on a personal journey to find out who he is. (Also if you’ve followed Western movies and TV shows, you’ll notice a few references to those. And you will notice that the story could have been made a Western.) I won’t say anymore on plot.
The character of Bayne is a very human protagonist, and I really liked his personality. (He reminded me a bit of Clint Eastwood and John Wayne if they ever were in Fantasy tales.) Bayne kills many people, not always because he wants to, but because they won’t leave him alone. I liked that he wasn’t a mindless killer, and that Johnston made Bayne a character actually thought about his actions, and about the world around him.
Let’s talk about the writing style. The style was short and to the point. I felt like I climbing with Bayne on the gray mountain, and I could hear his sword hacking into flesh and bone. (Ty’s horror stories have helped a lot in his action writing.)
Overall, I really like this novella! I give the book 4 out of 5 stars, and will be reading more of Johnston’s tales!
Note: Thanks Ty for the free reviewer’s copy!
Among these quality indie Sword & Sorcery writers, there are a lot of imitators, and wannabes. Bayne’s Climb however, is no imitation eBook!
The plot is like a Sergio Leone Spaghetti Western, mixed with old school elements of S&S. The main character Bayne, is on a quest for revenge, and is on a personal journey to find out who he is. (Also if you’ve followed Western movies and TV shows, you’ll notice a few references to those. And you will notice that the story could have been made a Western.) I won’t say anymore on plot.
The character of Bayne is a very human protagonist, and I really liked his personality. (He reminded me a bit of Clint Eastwood and John Wayne if they ever were in Fantasy tales.) Bayne kills many people, not always because he wants to, but because they won’t leave him alone. I liked that he wasn’t a mindless killer, and that Johnston made Bayne a character actually thought about his actions, and about the world around him.
Let’s talk about the writing style. The style was short and to the point. I felt like I climbing with Bayne on the gray mountain, and I could hear his sword hacking into flesh and bone. (Ty’s horror stories have helped a lot in his action writing.)
Overall, I really like this novella! I give the book 4 out of 5 stars, and will be reading more of Johnston’s tales!
Note: Thanks Ty for the free reviewer’s copy!
March 29, 2021
A curious book, that to be honest, I'm not even sure how it ended up in my collection. It crossed my path at some time, and apparently I was impressed enough to put the entire Sword of Bayne trilogy on my Amazon Wishlist. Someone in my family got these for me, and I stashed them away in the garage with the rest of my extensive collection and forgot about them. During a Spring cleaning of the garage, I rediscovered them and gave the first book a shot.
This has a weird pacing, in that each part/chapter is essentially a self-enclosed essay or episode, with only a semi-unified theme. #notaspoiler, Bayne is an immortal, almost god-like warrior. Nothing can hurt him, and if not, why?
It feels like each part/chapter was meant to explain a tiny bit more about Bayne, or to impart some sort of message/moral to Bayne. But in neither case was this underlined enough to be effective, IMO.
I'll not keep on going with the series, as I have just too many other books calling my name.
But this was not bad, FWIW, just a tad odd.
This has a weird pacing, in that each part/chapter is essentially a self-enclosed essay or episode, with only a semi-unified theme. #notaspoiler, Bayne is an immortal, almost god-like warrior. Nothing can hurt him, and if not, why?
It feels like each part/chapter was meant to explain a tiny bit more about Bayne, or to impart some sort of message/moral to Bayne. But in neither case was this underlined enough to be effective, IMO.
I'll not keep on going with the series, as I have just too many other books calling my name.
But this was not bad, FWIW, just a tad odd.
June 3, 2015
A very interesting story. Bayne was a far more interesting character than he had any right to be. Most characters written as he was are not compelling they are flat and lifeless. Bayne however is a masterpiece in character writing Johnston created a very interesting story around a man with almost no emotions, and that is a sign of a master storyteller.
September 26, 2011
This was not quite what I expected. After the first descriptions of the main character, I thought there would be more action. I would probably read the next book in the series, it was entertaining enough.
December 5, 2014
I couldn't quite finish this book. It's not the writing or storyline as they are both great. It was the bloodshed amd the way it was described...... very visual. For anyone who likes that I recommend Bayne's Climb
October 17, 2011
Check out my full review on PureTextuality.com --> http://puretextuality.com/2011/10/24/...
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews