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Path of the Sword
Haunted by a terrifying past.
At five years of age, Jurel Histane does not understand why the horrible men are hurting his parents. His mother's twisted body lies in the corner of their home staring without seeing. His father's last words to him before joining her are that he must flee for his life. He does, running from the vicious raiders who have destroyed his family.
Hunted by a terrible foe.
Living with his foster father on a small farm, strange things begin to happen to him. Surges of darkness overwhelm him, leaving him not only confused but utterly terrified.
When one of these surges overwhelms him, he is forced into exile from the farm and his foster father. Lost and alone, he runs.
But it isn't long before he discovers that an enemy with near unlimited power and influence is searching for him.
Forced to face a dreadful secret.
The dark surges continue to overwhelm him as he flees from those who seek him and with the help of an itinerant healer, begins to understand that he is not like others.
And the more he learns, the more he wonders which is the worse capture and torture by those who seek him, or learning who he really is.
At five years of age, Jurel Histane does not understand why the horrible men are hurting his parents. His mother's twisted body lies in the corner of their home staring without seeing. His father's last words to him before joining her are that he must flee for his life. He does, running from the vicious raiders who have destroyed his family.
Hunted by a terrible foe.
Living with his foster father on a small farm, strange things begin to happen to him. Surges of darkness overwhelm him, leaving him not only confused but utterly terrified.
When one of these surges overwhelms him, he is forced into exile from the farm and his foster father. Lost and alone, he runs.
But it isn't long before he discovers that an enemy with near unlimited power and influence is searching for him.
Forced to face a dreadful secret.
The dark surges continue to overwhelm him as he flees from those who seek him and with the help of an itinerant healer, begins to understand that he is not like others.
And the more he learns, the more he wonders which is the worse capture and torture by those who seek him, or learning who he really is.
- GenresFantasy
673 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 1, 2011
5 people are currently reading
78 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 30, 2018
I'm a bit conflicted about this book. On the one hand, the writing is very good. On the other hand, the plot isn't particularly original, the book is about 1/3 too long, and ultimately, the story becomes somewhat tedious to read.
The "good": the author can write. He has a good grasp of language and description and he takes the time to "paint the picture" of his story and characters. Grammar and sentence construction is very good.
The "bad": He almost seems too impressed with his ability to describe things; taking paragraphs to describe minute and/or trivial aspects of the story when a few sentences from a more accomplished author would suffice.
The "not bad": The basic plot is a typical coming of age story where our hero learns he is more than just a farmer and is destined for greatness.
The "bad": The author tells us of this coming of age in excruciating detail. "Coming of age" is literally what over half of the book describes: we learn year by year, beginning at about age 10 and proceeding to age 18, what makes the main character who he is. Now I love books that take the time for character development, but I really didn't buy this book to learn about the main character's daily boyhood farm life for chapters and chapters.
The "good": So finally over one-half of the way through the book, the main character leaves the farm and begins his journey to greatness.
The "bad": The journey proceeds via wagon, one plodding step of the nag pulling it at a time with the author's skill at descriptive writing providing us a tedious travelogue page after page after page.
Now there are some interesting story elements and excitement interspersed throughout this eye-glazing narrative that are good. You just have to loosen up your Kindle Forward Tab finger so you can fast forward to them.
Now why give the book as many as 3 stars? Because I think the story has promise. I really would like to read the next book in the series; so kudos to the author and this book for that.
But honestly, the author either needs to get an editor to help him pare down his paragraphs or work harder at telling more with less. I wish him luck.
The "good": the author can write. He has a good grasp of language and description and he takes the time to "paint the picture" of his story and characters. Grammar and sentence construction is very good.
The "bad": He almost seems too impressed with his ability to describe things; taking paragraphs to describe minute and/or trivial aspects of the story when a few sentences from a more accomplished author would suffice.
The "not bad": The basic plot is a typical coming of age story where our hero learns he is more than just a farmer and is destined for greatness.
The "bad": The author tells us of this coming of age in excruciating detail. "Coming of age" is literally what over half of the book describes: we learn year by year, beginning at about age 10 and proceeding to age 18, what makes the main character who he is. Now I love books that take the time for character development, but I really didn't buy this book to learn about the main character's daily boyhood farm life for chapters and chapters.
The "good": So finally over one-half of the way through the book, the main character leaves the farm and begins his journey to greatness.
The "bad": The journey proceeds via wagon, one plodding step of the nag pulling it at a time with the author's skill at descriptive writing providing us a tedious travelogue page after page after page.
Now there are some interesting story elements and excitement interspersed throughout this eye-glazing narrative that are good. You just have to loosen up your Kindle Forward Tab finger so you can fast forward to them.
Now why give the book as many as 3 stars? Because I think the story has promise. I really would like to read the next book in the series; so kudos to the author and this book for that.
But honestly, the author either needs to get an editor to help him pare down his paragraphs or work harder at telling more with less. I wish him luck.
September 30, 2011
I admit I'm a little bit of a five star miser, but I came very close to giving this one a fiver. Really what it came down to was my own perceptions. First off, I felt the beginning really dragged. Books, especially the first book of a series, do tend to start slow. It's a necessary part of the story, I understand. And maybe I was just feeling impatient, but Michaud really writes in true epic fantasy form. That is, many flowery descriptions and grandiloquent prose, which I generally like. In this case though, it seemed extra specially drawn out, and while that is sometimes ok, sometimes it slows the story down to a plod. Secondly, there is some repetition of this verbose portraiture as events are recounted, and I feel like while there does need to be some of that to make sure the reader is drawn into the events as the characters are, it was expounded upon well enough the first time that it does not need to be quite as detailed the second or third go round. This is especially true as the protagonist goes through some particularly tumultuous and angsty emotions, which are recounted time and time again.
Overall though, I loved the story, the whole divinity coming of age thing, while sometimes vague enough to drive you mad, is unique and engrossing. The characters are likable and well defined; and the prose is clear and smooth. A great fantasy read, I'm already engrossed in the second book :P
Overall though, I loved the story, the whole divinity coming of age thing, while sometimes vague enough to drive you mad, is unique and engrossing. The characters are likable and well defined; and the prose is clear and smooth. A great fantasy read, I'm already engrossed in the second book :P
February 6, 2012
Well, I haven't read much fantasy so it's hard to compare it with other fantasy books, but the last half of this book was a "grabber." I couldn't put it down until I found out how it ended. It ended for me at 2:30 am, laying in bed wanting more.
The first half was wordy with a slow moving plot. It got so wordy when the author was setting the scene that I was able to skim through several paragraphs and not miss a beat. I would probably give the first half a 3+ rating.
The second half was a different story. It was a page turning race to see what happened next. A small timid farm boy becomes a raging bull of a man. The author did a great job in showing how small changes in the character's thought process and surroundings would make small changes in his personality, each building on the last. My idea of "good guys, bad guys" flip flopped several times. I would give the last half of the book a 6 star rating. So it comes out as 5 stars.
A sequel to this book is high on my priority list.
Blood of War
On with the next.
Keith
Blood of War
The first half was wordy with a slow moving plot. It got so wordy when the author was setting the scene that I was able to skim through several paragraphs and not miss a beat. I would probably give the first half a 3+ rating.
The second half was a different story. It was a page turning race to see what happened next. A small timid farm boy becomes a raging bull of a man. The author did a great job in showing how small changes in the character's thought process and surroundings would make small changes in his personality, each building on the last. My idea of "good guys, bad guys" flip flopped several times. I would give the last half of the book a 6 star rating. So it comes out as 5 stars.
A sequel to this book is high on my priority list.
Blood of War
On with the next.
Keith
Blood of War
June 27, 2011
I read this book from cover to cover and couldn't put it down. A true story of self discovery with great character development. An very well written book, I can't wait to read the second book.
November 14, 2011
Overall rating = 3 & 1/2 stars
More to come in the official review.
July 11, 2014
Got to the halfway point and felt like I was still waiting for the story to begin.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews