GENERAL INFORMATION
TITLE: MERLIN’S IMMORTALS BOOK FOUR: BLADES OF VALOR
AUTHOR: SIGMUND BROUWER
PAGES: 233
PUBLISHER: WATERBROOK MULTNOMAH PUBLISHING GROUP
YEAR: 2014
GENRE: YA FANTASY FICTION
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigmund_Brouwer
I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review via Blogging for Books (www.waterbrookmultnomah.com/bloggingforbooks).
BLURB FROM THE COVER
Travel with Thomas from Jerusalem to England in this exciting conclusion to the Merlin’s Immortals series.
Thomas is finally in the Holy Land and reunited with Sir William, but is forced to travel on his own from the coast through Nazareth, and finally to Jerusalem. The road is a dangerous one—especially to a lone traveler. Bandits masquerade as slaves, traitors appear to be allies, and once again, Thomas doesn’t know whom to trust. He must rely on his own resources to discern friend from foe, and to finally discover the final key to the Druids’ master plan before returning home to expose them.
Back in England, a final storm is brewing against Thomas, for the Druids are much more powerful than the Orphan King can even imagine.
EXTRACT
Beneath the blue of clear sky and gentle breeze that carried the salt smell of the Mediterranean Sea, Isabelle Mewburn strode on the cobblestone with plans of murder in her heart. She was burdened by the ultimate task her father had assigned upon her departure from England, months before. Deciding the best way to end the lives of the two people who prevented her from fulfilling this task gave her cold satisfaction.
REVIEW
I really enjoyed Blades of Valor. I had no idea what to expect when I signed up for ‘Blogging for Books’ and received this as my first review copy. I occasionally read fantasy fiction and wondered if it had been a mistake selecting this genre in my preferences. I’d never heard of the author before and have not read the other books in the Merlin’s Immortals series.
Blades of Valor is a novel that uses Arthurian legend as a major theme. For those uneducated, books that use this as a theme are inspired by King Arthur, the Knights of the Round Table and the magician Merlin. I had no idea this was the case when I started to read Blades of Valor but could see the source of inspiration after a couple of chapter. I felt the novel had a ‘knights of the round table’ feel to it. I am familiar with the original Arthurian legend but have never, to my knowledge, read any fiction that uses this as a theme. I really enjoyed Brouwer’s take on it. I found Blades of Valor very different from anything I’ve read before and quite refreshing.
I liked the characters in Blades of Valor. I knew I was going to like Isabelle and the young boy Rowan who swears to be her protector from the well-written, powerful opening chapter of Blades of Valor. Who doesn’t like a feisty woman with murder and revenge on her mind? I thought Thomas was very well-written. I liked Katherine as well. I thought they were well-written and very realistic.
I loved all the historical details in Blades of Valor. Brouwer creates a very rich, real and detailed world. I loved the whole feel of the novel. I felt very much like I was taking part in a great adventure involving fair maidens and myth and magic and legend and battles between good and evil.
Blades of Valor is fairly fast-paced and action packed. I got pulled right into the story. There were very few lull moments in Blades of Valor. Thomas and the other characters always seemed to be in danger, having just escaped danger or about to stumble into danger. There were plenty going on. Blades of Valor held my interest all the way through.
The only negative thing is that I feel Blades of Valor does not stand well on its own. I enjoyed it but feel like there are huge gaps in my knowledge because I haven’t read the other books in the series. I also think I would have enjoyed Blades of Valor a lot more if I knew the full story. I intend to read the rest of Merlin’s Immortals at some point.
RATING
