Aran Johnson
asked:
My 9 year old son has started reading this. I'm curious if there are any adult themes in this book like the kinds of things that show up in a series like Game of Thrones or Hunger Games? He is familiar with the Lord of the Rings and has read the first 5 Harry Potter Books.
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John Leitzke
It depends on your definition of "adult". If by adult you mean sex, then no. If by adult you mean: accepting your responsibilities, defending whats right and good even though you aren't immediately involved, taking care of those in need, fighting for the greater good; then yes. These themes really come out in the 2nd book, Elf Stones. The Sword is your pretty much standard (at times silly) hero with a sword fantasy. Brooks has said he achieved a lot of maturity in re-writing Elf Stones from his initial draft.
Jerrodm
I'd say yes - there are some suspenseful moments and peril, and some scenes of high-fantasy violence (swordfights, blood streaming from wounds, etc.), but nothing too explicitly gruesome. If he's got a very vivid imagination some of the demon-like creatures in the story might give him the frights. Apart from those things, which are quite standard fare for this kind of book, I don't think there's anything to be too concerned about.
Shrimpy
It depends on your idea of 'adult themes'. This is a hands-down classic fantasy story with plenty of battles and duels between characters, and a few of the creatures have some chillingly-awesome descriptions, but in terms of sex there is almost no romance at all, let alone women (I do find the lack of strong female characters disappointing, especially since the one woman present is most assuredly a Damsel in Distress.) I read this when I was fourteen, but that's only because I got a late start on this series.
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