"Swordplay, witchery and warring gods abound in this fantastical adventure, the first swashbuckling book in a new series."
Whispers of the Gods Book 1
Fast-paced and brimming with earthy atmosphere, this flavorsome feast follows the high-stakes quest of Lann and Astrid in their Viking-esque kingdom. It serves up a satisfying, easy-to-digest banquet that will be devoured by younger teens and reluctant readers who love high fantasy, but struggle with huge casts of characters and excessively complicated worlds.
Lann is a foundling whose father turns on him following the death of his wife: “A curse, left by evil spirits to bring us misery!” he accuses. After encountering a terrifying wolf-man hybrid and losing his sight, Lann is taken-in by Fleya, a powerful witch to whom he has a close connection. Soon after, Lann takes-up the Dreadblade, one of the kingdom’s Swords of Destiny, which has been “woken from its torpor and desires to go about its work again”. His sight restored by the sword, Lann and the Dreadblade are now bound by fate.
Meanwhile, across the kingdom, Astrid’s father, the king, has been murdered and she must find his killer before her brother is blamed for the crime. When Astrid’s life entwines with Lann’s, it falls to them to save the kingdom from the stirring evil.
Alongside the thrill of monsters, witches and warring gods, the main characters have great appeal. Astrid is a fabulous, fiercely-minded young woman, and the loving, protective relationship between Fleya and Lann is brilliantly evoked.
| Suitable For: | |
| Other Genres: | |
| Recommendations: |
This book was an absolute smasher and I will be keeping an eye on this series from now on!
Dark Blade is a stupendous book. It persistently reminded me of some kind of legendary fairy tale and will no doubt achieve a similar status within the writing community. The different elements of this particular majik universe are introduced to you gradually, and it not daunting or forced on you in any way. In some ways, the process of understanding the rules and ways of this new world is much like the character's journey: starting off as an ignorant farm boy with no knowledge of who you are, and finishing as an accomplished adventurer. The dread blade is a supremely cool concept and the action scenes do it justice, in addition to being well paced and easy to follow. The book has hit the delightful spot whence it is not to scary for younger readers but has enough depth for the older ones.... Read Full Review
I loved reading this book it was really good and the idea was fantastic.
Dark Blade is a book about a boy called Lenn and Princess Astrid. Lenn knows nothing of his past but when Astrid’s father is murdered and her brother blamed she and Lenn set off to uncover the truth. I really enjoyed reading this book, I would recommend it to 10+ as it was slightly violent. It has a very sad ending which I really enjoyed reading.... Read Full Review
This book is full of mystery and evil. In a world of darkness Lann and Astrid must journey into the unknown to uncover a sinister plot.
At first I could not understand the plot but as the story progressed the plot became clearer as a darker story was unveiled.
This book is full of mystery and evil. In a world of darkness Lann and Astrid must journey into the unknown to uncover a sinister plot.... Read Full Review
