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The Godling Chronicles #1
The Sword of Truth
Darkness comes as a new power rises in Angrääl. The Dark Knight has betrayed the Gods and stolen The Sword of Truth, trapping them in heaven. With the power of the Sword he can reshape the world and bring death to all who oppose him.
Only one thing stands between the darkness and the light. Gewey Stedding. Only he has the power to stand against the oncoming storm.
Only he can mend the world. But only if he can discover his power….
Only one thing stands between the darkness and the light. Gewey Stedding. Only he has the power to stand against the oncoming storm.
Only he can mend the world. But only if he can discover his power….
360 pages, Paperback
First published November 4, 2011
355 people are currently reading
3162 people want to read
About the author
Brian D. Anderson
47 books691 followersKnown as one of the O.G. independent authors of the 2010-2012 indie explosion, Brian D. Anderson gained massive popularity right out of the gate with his debut series, The Godling Chronicles. His follow-up series, Dragonvein, was just as popular, Book One becoming a Top Five Finalist on Audible.com for Fantasy Book of the Year in 2015 – becoming the very first independent to reach the finals. But Anderson was far from finished.
After co-authoring Akiri with Steven Savile (Warhammer, Pathfinder, Dr. Who, and Sherlock Holmes) Anderson became the first independent author in history to secure a six-figure audio only deal for his highly anticipated two-book sequel of The Godling Chronicles.
Anderson continued with his indie career with The Vale series. But even after twenty novels, he felt there was more to accomplish. So he secured a three-book deal with Tor Books for The Sorcerer’s Song series.
When not writing, Brian D. Anderson divides his time enjoying his friends and family at home in the sleepy little southern town of Fairhope, Alabama, and riding atop his Harley Davidson, dubbed The Mighty Puck, traveling the country from convention to convention, meeting fans and signing books.
After co-authoring Akiri with Steven Savile (Warhammer, Pathfinder, Dr. Who, and Sherlock Holmes) Anderson became the first independent author in history to secure a six-figure audio only deal for his highly anticipated two-book sequel of The Godling Chronicles.
Anderson continued with his indie career with The Vale series. But even after twenty novels, he felt there was more to accomplish. So he secured a three-book deal with Tor Books for The Sorcerer’s Song series.
When not writing, Brian D. Anderson divides his time enjoying his friends and family at home in the sleepy little southern town of Fairhope, Alabama, and riding atop his Harley Davidson, dubbed The Mighty Puck, traveling the country from convention to convention, meeting fans and signing books.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 198 reviews
May 30, 2017
The Sword of Truth (The Godling Chronicles #1) by Brian D. Anderson is a terrific read that includes gods and elves! The boy of the story is being chased by an evil, the Dark Knight that has stolen the Sword of Truth and for some reason he is after Gewey, our kid of the story. Gewey is not just a farm boy. Gewey and friends meet a girl, and elf, but she is not just an elf but something else. There are so many twists and turns and surprises! Wonderful epic tale of gods, godlings, good vs evil, action, adventure, coming of age of a godling, humor, great fights, wonderful world building, great characters, and plot. Love it!
November 3, 2013
I couldn't finish it. I only got halfway through before realizing that I completely hated this book. Normally in a review I make a list of the pros and cons so the people interested have a panoramic of what they should expect, but in this case I can't find any pros so I'll just give you the cons:
1)Farmer boy? Really? A little imagination no? How many farmer boys do i still need to read about?
2) The mentor was really annoying. Always saying: "I'll explain later". Why is he always withdrawing knowledge without any apparent reason?
3)Elves! Always elves! They are overused...can't you use your imagination and come up with something new? I can't read again about how awesome elves are compared to us.
4)Traveling, traveling and a little more traveling. There is also little sense to all this traveling: when the dark knight enters Gewey dream he asks him where he is...so it's obvious that he doesn't know his location....so why all the rush to get him away with not even the time for an explanation? Then if you want to find him a safe place just bring him in the middle of a forest with none around and train him, not make him go around every inn in the world for everyone to see.
5)Love interest: always too easy...seems like the main guy has never seen a pretty girl in his life: a smile, a compliment and he is falling in love. Also enough with him blushing for every little thing: he is seventeen but he acts like he is a shy twelve year old girl.
6)Magic system: there was almost no magic to the point i stopped, still the little things there were annoyed me because there was no logic behind them.
7)The main character is spineless, always going along with what the others want, and every obstacle is resolved by his companions. Probably as he gets stronger he will start doing something on his own but i expect for the first half of a book to see the main guy show a little of premise. Also i hate how goody goody Gewey is; i know it's a YA but he is always too trusting of everyone.
In conclusion i was mislead by all the good reviews. This book could have been good 30 year ago maybe, but nowadays it's just full of clichès and it's not worth wasting your time on it.
1)Farmer boy? Really? A little imagination no? How many farmer boys do i still need to read about?
2) The mentor was really annoying. Always saying: "I'll explain later". Why is he always withdrawing knowledge without any apparent reason?
3)Elves! Always elves! They are overused...can't you use your imagination and come up with something new? I can't read again about how awesome elves are compared to us.
4)Traveling, traveling and a little more traveling. There is also little sense to all this traveling: when the dark knight enters Gewey dream he asks him where he is...so it's obvious that he doesn't know his location....so why all the rush to get him away with not even the time for an explanation? Then if you want to find him a safe place just bring him in the middle of a forest with none around and train him, not make him go around every inn in the world for everyone to see.
5)Love interest: always too easy...seems like the main guy has never seen a pretty girl in his life: a smile, a compliment and he is falling in love. Also enough with him blushing for every little thing: he is seventeen but he acts like he is a shy twelve year old girl.
6)Magic system: there was almost no magic to the point i stopped, still the little things there were annoyed me because there was no logic behind them.
7)The main character is spineless, always going along with what the others want, and every obstacle is resolved by his companions. Probably as he gets stronger he will start doing something on his own but i expect for the first half of a book to see the main guy show a little of premise. Also i hate how goody goody Gewey is; i know it's a YA but he is always too trusting of everyone.
In conclusion i was mislead by all the good reviews. This book could have been good 30 year ago maybe, but nowadays it's just full of clichès and it's not worth wasting your time on it.
June 20, 2013
The only reason this book has one star is that I couldn't give it less. I could not even get through this book, and it is one of the few I will delete off my kindle. I read through the first 3rd, and talk about info dumping. Ugh. Don't let the story unfold or anything. Just dump it all in our laps. This book was terrible.
September 15, 2015
Good start to this fantasy series. Not greatly compelling, and sometimes a bit slow, but no real complaints from me. I like the characters and the relationships that are forming, with developing bonds of loyalty and camaraderie. I also like the type of magic the godling uses.
No sex, no cussing. Some bloody violence, but not too dark. Sometimes the author slips up, inserting modern slang phrases, but otherwise, decent writing style. The action scenes are better written than the dialogue, in my opinion. Here is an example of a vivid action scene from book 6:
Solid gold narration by Derek Perkins.
No sex, no cussing. Some bloody violence, but not too dark. Sometimes the author slips up, inserting modern slang phrases, but otherwise, decent writing style. The action scenes are better written than the dialogue, in my opinion. Here is an example of a vivid action scene from book 6:
"Again the Ajagara charged, its impact this time causing large cracks to form in the pillar. One more assault like that, and Gewey knew it would collapse and his protection would be gone. He looked urgently around for alternative cover, but with the mist still shrouding his surroundings, there was nothing in sight. As the beast backed away for a third assault, Gewey crouched low, his leg muscles tensed and ready to spring..."
Solid gold narration by Derek Perkins.
November 5, 2012
The Sword of Truth is the first book of The Godling Chronicles by Brian Anderson. This book has a riveting plot, great character development and beautifully written Fantasy characters.
The story starts out with Gewey Stedding, a boy who was orphaned at the age of 15 when his father passed. Gewey took over the family farm and after some resistance from the community, proved he was man enough to take care of the land. Harvests were impeded by the encroaching darkness that was befalling the land, but Gewey was able to hold his own.
While making the usual delivery into town, Gewey was confronted with a resident claiming to see his dead wife up and walking through the square. After putting the issue to rest as unfounded, the local lord Starfinder presented Gewey with a letter written years ago by his father. After reading it he had a nightmare with two voices trying to convince him what to do next.
Lord Starfinder informed Gewey he was one of the voices, and the other belonged to the Dark Knight, an evil man from a thousand years ago bent on taking over the world with the power from the Sword of Truth. Starfinder convinces Gewey to leave the village and join him on a quest.
During the quest Gewey is hindered with agents of the Dark Knight trying to kidnap him to take him to the Dark Knights land Angrääl, or just to kill him outright. To aid Gewey in staying alive long enough to fulfill the prophesies Lord Starfinder finally convinces Gewey that he is in fact a Godling, the child of two Gods, one being the God of Earth. Gewey starts learning how to access his powers to be able to defend himself.
Gewey is also found by the Order of Amon Dähl, an ancient order sworn to protect the Sword of Truth. Dina, a novice in the Order, helps Gewey escape a kidnap attempt and soon joins the merry band of travelers, convincing them Gewey needs to go to the Temple Valshara, the headquarters of the Order.
This is but a taste of the tale of the Godling. Exciting adventures lie within the pages of this book and promises to enchant the reader with narrowing brushes with death, embarrassing moments of teenage love and thrilling battles between the residents of Earth.
The story starts out with Gewey Stedding, a boy who was orphaned at the age of 15 when his father passed. Gewey took over the family farm and after some resistance from the community, proved he was man enough to take care of the land. Harvests were impeded by the encroaching darkness that was befalling the land, but Gewey was able to hold his own.
While making the usual delivery into town, Gewey was confronted with a resident claiming to see his dead wife up and walking through the square. After putting the issue to rest as unfounded, the local lord Starfinder presented Gewey with a letter written years ago by his father. After reading it he had a nightmare with two voices trying to convince him what to do next.
Lord Starfinder informed Gewey he was one of the voices, and the other belonged to the Dark Knight, an evil man from a thousand years ago bent on taking over the world with the power from the Sword of Truth. Starfinder convinces Gewey to leave the village and join him on a quest.
During the quest Gewey is hindered with agents of the Dark Knight trying to kidnap him to take him to the Dark Knights land Angrääl, or just to kill him outright. To aid Gewey in staying alive long enough to fulfill the prophesies Lord Starfinder finally convinces Gewey that he is in fact a Godling, the child of two Gods, one being the God of Earth. Gewey starts learning how to access his powers to be able to defend himself.
Gewey is also found by the Order of Amon Dähl, an ancient order sworn to protect the Sword of Truth. Dina, a novice in the Order, helps Gewey escape a kidnap attempt and soon joins the merry band of travelers, convincing them Gewey needs to go to the Temple Valshara, the headquarters of the Order.
This is but a taste of the tale of the Godling. Exciting adventures lie within the pages of this book and promises to enchant the reader with narrowing brushes with death, embarrassing moments of teenage love and thrilling battles between the residents of Earth.
August 31, 2024
1.5/5
Well, this was my fault entirely. I gave one star to the first book in his other series (Dragonvein) and I thought it might be a problem with the book, but no, it's a problem with me, that I don't match with this author.
I just don't care about his characters, they all feel predictable, single minded and just straight out of a manual of how these characters should be.
The plot is full of twists and unnecessary scenes that you see coming a mile away cause this story has been written so many times that there's nothing new to it.
The chosen kid that is surprisingly good at everything and yet he looks dumber than a bag of rocks, the grumpy mentor with a dark past who's secretly a hero, the servant with no backbone and only appears when there's a problem between mentor and student, the stray of an old race they pick along the way and no one trusts (during 20 pages, then it becomes the beloved companion).
I tried, at least I did that.
Well, this was my fault entirely. I gave one star to the first book in his other series (Dragonvein) and I thought it might be a problem with the book, but no, it's a problem with me, that I don't match with this author.
I just don't care about his characters, they all feel predictable, single minded and just straight out of a manual of how these characters should be.
The plot is full of twists and unnecessary scenes that you see coming a mile away cause this story has been written so many times that there's nothing new to it.
The chosen kid that is surprisingly good at everything and yet he looks dumber than a bag of rocks, the grumpy mentor with a dark past who's secretly a hero, the servant with no backbone and only appears when there's a problem between mentor and student, the stray of an old race they pick along the way and no one trusts (during 20 pages, then it becomes the beloved companion).
I tried, at least I did that.
September 15, 2012
This review posts at the same time the author (Brian Anderson) tours the blog-o-sphere. His topic: CHARACTER PERSONALITIES AND HOW THEY WERE CREATED: S.E. Lindberg Blog.
“I still don’t understand,” said Gewey. “If I’m a god, then why do I seem so human?”
This young-adult novel presents the coming of age of Gewey Stedding. Young readers new to the fantasy genre will enjoy the exploits and growth of his character; these "human" readers may even question whether or not they have their own hidden potential (and awesome mentors ready to help them).
Anderson's emphasis on character development keeps this interesting. The pacing is appropriately fast for the intended audience, and readers will experience what has become standard fare in the genre (elves, lots of travelling and inns, spooky forests, etc.).
Veteran readers will shrug at the lack of originality, but the storytelling is done well. The foreshadowing of the Dark Knight’s power is effective though sparse; being biased toward liking horror elements, I was left hungry for more raising of the dead! Plenty of conflict keeps Gewey and his party busy, but most is not from the antagonist; with peril at every turn, the primary destination of their travel and the conflict gets obscured. Ultimately, the conflict remains “Gewey vs. Peril.” As a leading book in a series, it successfully gets the reader attached to Gewey and anxious to delve into the sequel.
“I still don’t understand,” said Gewey. “If I’m a god, then why do I seem so human?”
This young-adult novel presents the coming of age of Gewey Stedding. Young readers new to the fantasy genre will enjoy the exploits and growth of his character; these "human" readers may even question whether or not they have their own hidden potential (and awesome mentors ready to help them).
Anderson's emphasis on character development keeps this interesting. The pacing is appropriately fast for the intended audience, and readers will experience what has become standard fare in the genre (elves, lots of travelling and inns, spooky forests, etc.).
Veteran readers will shrug at the lack of originality, but the storytelling is done well. The foreshadowing of the Dark Knight’s power is effective though sparse; being biased toward liking horror elements, I was left hungry for more raising of the dead! Plenty of conflict keeps Gewey and his party busy, but most is not from the antagonist; with peril at every turn, the primary destination of their travel and the conflict gets obscured. Ultimately, the conflict remains “Gewey vs. Peril.” As a leading book in a series, it successfully gets the reader attached to Gewey and anxious to delve into the sequel.
September 24, 2012
Darkness comes as a new power rises in Angrääl. The Dark Knight has betrayed the Gods and stolen The Sword of Truth, trapping them in heaven. With the power of the Sword he can reshape the world and bring death to all who oppose him. Only one thing stands between the darkness and the light. Gewey Stedding. Only he has the power to stand against the oncoming storm. Only he can mend the world. But only if he can discover his power....
August 5, 2015
I am truly stunned at how great a writer Brian Anderson is. This is a page turner that was very hard to put down. An easy read, and a great read don't leave your kindle without a copy. A marvel of plotting, a treat 's narrative and altogether listening experience. With a cast worth any leading popular saga is sure to capture you and I already have the next two.
August 12, 2013
This was more "see Spot run" than a story I could grab a hold of and let it take me on the magic carpet ride. The story was slow and forced with little narrative to excite and entertain. I felt like this was a book made for young adults with its lack of development. There were characters in the story that one could easily love if time was taken to explore their depth. Overall, I was disappointed.
July 31, 2012
I have a love/hate relationship with fantasy novels. Once in a while I stumble upon one that will blow my mind away. This is the case with The Godling Chronicles : The Sword of Truth. I knew from the first pages that it would be my kind of fantasy read, one I don't get totally lost and overwhelmed with a different world and its own language. There's no need for a special glossary with this one!
Before going any further, I have to mention that the book is the work of a father and son collaboration. It's safe to say they make an excellent team. Kudos to them!
The book has everything you expect in fantasy : a quest, Gods, elves, danger and of course an unlikely hero. Gewey has always taken care of himself and the farm his father left him after his death. Now he must go on a journey to save the world from the Dark Knight who has stolen the Sword of Truth. Along the way Gewey puts his newly discovered destiny and powers to use but a hero is never alone on his quest. Friends will accompany him on his adventure while enemies are not far behind. Amongst the danger and battles, love will find its way to Gewey and bound his spirit with the one of an unlikely partner. He has his hands full! Oh and did I mention the war and hate between elves and humans? It's far from being an uneventful read!
With characters you're able to connect with and just enough description to paint your very own picture, this first book in the Godling Chronicles series is an entertaining and suspenseful read by a very imaginative author. It left me pleasantly surprised and eagerly anticipating the second book. It even left me wanting to read more fantasy (The Lord of the Rings trilogy is next to me wanting to be read for the first time). The Godling Chronicles promises to be an exciting series for younger readers as well as adults. I encourage you to pick up this book even though it's not your typical read. Like me you might end up enjoying the ride.
4 out of 5 stars
Before going any further, I have to mention that the book is the work of a father and son collaboration. It's safe to say they make an excellent team. Kudos to them!
The book has everything you expect in fantasy : a quest, Gods, elves, danger and of course an unlikely hero. Gewey has always taken care of himself and the farm his father left him after his death. Now he must go on a journey to save the world from the Dark Knight who has stolen the Sword of Truth. Along the way Gewey puts his newly discovered destiny and powers to use but a hero is never alone on his quest. Friends will accompany him on his adventure while enemies are not far behind. Amongst the danger and battles, love will find its way to Gewey and bound his spirit with the one of an unlikely partner. He has his hands full! Oh and did I mention the war and hate between elves and humans? It's far from being an uneventful read!
With characters you're able to connect with and just enough description to paint your very own picture, this first book in the Godling Chronicles series is an entertaining and suspenseful read by a very imaginative author. It left me pleasantly surprised and eagerly anticipating the second book. It even left me wanting to read more fantasy (The Lord of the Rings trilogy is next to me wanting to be read for the first time). The Godling Chronicles promises to be an exciting series for younger readers as well as adults. I encourage you to pick up this book even though it's not your typical read. Like me you might end up enjoying the ride.
4 out of 5 stars
September 30, 2012
This is a very small bit like Lord of the Rings, but saying that doesn't really put you into the right mind of the story itself. There is a group of friends of different backgrounds going on a quest. Elves are involved and the cultures there are learning to get along again, but really this is a story on its own. It mixes that feel with mythology, fiction, and fantasy to create a unique story that is enjoyable to read. There were a few typos that were missed, where letters got dropped off of words, but otherwise the flow in the story was seamless. I would have liked a little bit of a more refined ending, something that was more final to this part of the series, but as it is part of a series, I suppose that can be overlooked.
Note: Though this book was a free gift from the author, the content of my review was in no way influenced by the gifting. The book speaks for itself and my review would have been worded just this way even if I'd gone out and bought it. I also give bonus points for Text To Speech enabling on Kindle format.... but that also wasn't a factor in the above review.
Note: Though this book was a free gift from the author, the content of my review was in no way influenced by the gifting. The book speaks for itself and my review would have been worded just this way even if I'd gone out and bought it. I also give bonus points for Text To Speech enabling on Kindle format.... but that also wasn't a factor in the above review.
February 8, 2012
I was blown away by this book. I expected it to be good, after reading the reviews and recommendations. What I didn't expect was the beginning of a series that would rival my lust for Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series. This is an extremely well done piece of writing with an inventive plot and an interesting take on what would otherwise be a relatively cliche concept: elves and humans, unlikely hero etc. The dialog is intriguing and the characters are rich. Anderson is a writer to watch.
November 25, 2017
What can i say, i was trolling Youtube for audiobooks and came across this, after a quick synopsis check i decided to give it a try, and i wasn't disappointed.
It starts off quite slow so took a bit to get into, but as soon as the story starts to unfold i was hooked, this author is amazing at telling and building a story, so much happens and as it progresses too the next books it just keeps expanding.
So stopwhat your reading and get on youtube and listen to theses audiobooks
It starts off quite slow so took a bit to get into, but as soon as the story starts to unfold i was hooked, this author is amazing at telling and building a story, so much happens and as it progresses too the next books it just keeps expanding.
So stopwhat your reading and get on youtube and listen to theses audiobooks
September 14, 2012
I heard so much about this book and from the first word or sentence I was hooked as a reader, it had the excitement and suspense etched in the first paragraph about the dark knight and what he was about to face, his worst nightmare. But first he had to go over the obstacles that stood in his way. He is apprehensive but courageous, not letting fear stand in the way and the author had him jumping from column to column to conclude at a mysterious platform with stairs leading up to where? He gathers his wits and ignores his gashes from the journey he travelled to arrive at his destiny and claimed his prize, the valuable Sword of Truth, ready, easy pickings yet there is someone or something thing that stands in his way for the final victory. It was the White Knight, this reader's heart was racing and laughed for now the story was to become more entertaining as the two dark vs. light fought for the Sword of Truth and so much more.
Two brothers, one of dark and the other of light are in combat fighting for what they believe, one for truth and another for revenge against the light who punished him and stole away what was rightfully his and he was insane with jealous and nothing would stand in his way, even his once beloved brother and the battle had begun.
The author switches back to a village and a young lad bringing hay to a small village, Sharpstone down on their luck and starving. They are relieved to see this lad coming with his goods. Gewey Stedding lost his mother at a young age and then his father at fifteen and left to fend, became a hay merchant and was 17 years and a woman's dream mate, 6' 2' black wavy hair, this reader swoons at his good and handsome nature, helped all villagers for free, since economic times were harsh. The dark times had invaded the village for 6 plus years and everyone was suffering through it.
Gewey was an orphan and an old friend of his father had a secret and gave it to him when he started on his travels back to his farm. This reader knew from glimpses this was going to be a heart wrenching life transforming secret and now Gewey was faced with his destiny and the events started to get more suspenseful as he is placed in his pre-destined role of being blessed and to become a hero, saving the world from the Dark Knight.
In the author's words: from a letter from his departed father:
"and your mother left the room to put you down, he told me that you were special, and that the gods had blessed you with a great destiny. At first, I thought he was playing a joke, but the look in his eyes told me otherwise. When I asked him how he knew this, he waved me off and said that eventually it would be revealed. The man has always been somewhat of a mystery, but I believe he’s right."
The departed father spoke about Lee Starfinder, the story was lee took refuge in a temple with his mother until he became bored with the temple life and was called into service as a Lord Duke's servant and his destiny was to crossed paths with the man who became the baby Gewey adopted father, and the authors goes on with their story about the young man at the age of 17 and his mentor Star Leefinder who came back into the young lad’s life and how each crossed paths with other colourful characters as they are running from the Dark Knight and his henchmen.
They journey to temples to locate the answers to defeat the dark knight, locate the Sword of Truth and unraveled the mystery of the secret treasure. Along their journey they met up with friends and foes not certain who to trust, they helped or hinder Gewey and the others along their pre-destined mission as it unfolding and defeating the evil that was claiming the lands and temples. He had conflicting thoughts about the spirits, the supernatural creatures and his purpose of protecting the world.
He and Gewey and the others are the major catalysts in the future destiny of saving humanity and unlocking the doorway to heaven and bring peace back to a broken unity between elves and humanity.
The authors have a poetic style of relating this tale and this reader was enthralled by all the hidden messages woven into this fable. In between tales of how darkness crept across and corrupted the world and The Sword of Truth was the key as was the secret treasure to be taken back from the Dark Knight and replaced back to its rightful position and the treasure unlocked for all to be balance equally in the universe once again. The tribe of Gewey, Lee and the Elf and the servant Millet and others all travelled to temple to temple to escape their pursuers of the dark, except they are blinded by others deception and placed in tricky situations. They do not know who their friends are and who are the secret agents working for the Dark Knight.
They met some shady characters along the way and were placed into dangerous circumstances and will have to use all their talents and gifts to escape them and be one step ahead of the evil claiming their lives and the world they existed in. Will they survive? Wii they located the Sword of Truth and the secret treasure unlocked and finally defeat the Dark Knight before he claims the earth as his kingdom, you will have to read this suspenseful story by a father and son team.
Their creativity of intertwining many fables and faiths together pique this reader’s curiosity to continue to read the next book planning to be published in the near future.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Godling-Chr... ebook/dp/B008WA4ZQA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1347600413&sr=8-2&keywords=the+godling+chronicles
Two brothers, one of dark and the other of light are in combat fighting for what they believe, one for truth and another for revenge against the light who punished him and stole away what was rightfully his and he was insane with jealous and nothing would stand in his way, even his once beloved brother and the battle had begun.
The author switches back to a village and a young lad bringing hay to a small village, Sharpstone down on their luck and starving. They are relieved to see this lad coming with his goods. Gewey Stedding lost his mother at a young age and then his father at fifteen and left to fend, became a hay merchant and was 17 years and a woman's dream mate, 6' 2' black wavy hair, this reader swoons at his good and handsome nature, helped all villagers for free, since economic times were harsh. The dark times had invaded the village for 6 plus years and everyone was suffering through it.
Gewey was an orphan and an old friend of his father had a secret and gave it to him when he started on his travels back to his farm. This reader knew from glimpses this was going to be a heart wrenching life transforming secret and now Gewey was faced with his destiny and the events started to get more suspenseful as he is placed in his pre-destined role of being blessed and to become a hero, saving the world from the Dark Knight.
In the author's words: from a letter from his departed father:
"and your mother left the room to put you down, he told me that you were special, and that the gods had blessed you with a great destiny. At first, I thought he was playing a joke, but the look in his eyes told me otherwise. When I asked him how he knew this, he waved me off and said that eventually it would be revealed. The man has always been somewhat of a mystery, but I believe he’s right."
The departed father spoke about Lee Starfinder, the story was lee took refuge in a temple with his mother until he became bored with the temple life and was called into service as a Lord Duke's servant and his destiny was to crossed paths with the man who became the baby Gewey adopted father, and the authors goes on with their story about the young man at the age of 17 and his mentor Star Leefinder who came back into the young lad’s life and how each crossed paths with other colourful characters as they are running from the Dark Knight and his henchmen.
They journey to temples to locate the answers to defeat the dark knight, locate the Sword of Truth and unraveled the mystery of the secret treasure. Along their journey they met up with friends and foes not certain who to trust, they helped or hinder Gewey and the others along their pre-destined mission as it unfolding and defeating the evil that was claiming the lands and temples. He had conflicting thoughts about the spirits, the supernatural creatures and his purpose of protecting the world.
He and Gewey and the others are the major catalysts in the future destiny of saving humanity and unlocking the doorway to heaven and bring peace back to a broken unity between elves and humanity.
The authors have a poetic style of relating this tale and this reader was enthralled by all the hidden messages woven into this fable. In between tales of how darkness crept across and corrupted the world and The Sword of Truth was the key as was the secret treasure to be taken back from the Dark Knight and replaced back to its rightful position and the treasure unlocked for all to be balance equally in the universe once again. The tribe of Gewey, Lee and the Elf and the servant Millet and others all travelled to temple to temple to escape their pursuers of the dark, except they are blinded by others deception and placed in tricky situations. They do not know who their friends are and who are the secret agents working for the Dark Knight.
They met some shady characters along the way and were placed into dangerous circumstances and will have to use all their talents and gifts to escape them and be one step ahead of the evil claiming their lives and the world they existed in. Will they survive? Wii they located the Sword of Truth and the secret treasure unlocked and finally defeat the Dark Knight before he claims the earth as his kingdom, you will have to read this suspenseful story by a father and son team.
Their creativity of intertwining many fables and faiths together pique this reader’s curiosity to continue to read the next book planning to be published in the near future.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Godling-Chr... ebook/dp/B008WA4ZQA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1347600413&sr=8-2&keywords=the+godling+chronicles
March 29, 2013
Book Info: Genre: Epic Fantasy
Reading Level: Young Adult
Recommended for: Fans of Epic Fantasy, those who enjoyed stories like the Chronicles of Prydain, stories about the fight between good and evil
Trigger Warnings: murder, violence
My Thoughts: I used to read a lot of epic fantasy, sword and sorcery, all that sort of thing, but in recent years my tastes have turned more toward urban fantasy. Still, it's fun to read one of these once in awhile.
The editing was pretty bad, honestly. Lots of the wrong homonyms being used (passed for past, bare for bear and so forth) and extra words, missing words, randomly added or missed punctuation. But if you're willing to look past that, the story is enjoyable enough. It certainly held my attention!
In the end, I found it to be a quick and enjoyable read, and if you're able to ignore the problems with the editing and enjoy epic fantasy, stories about the ultimate fight between good and evil for the ultimate survival of the entire world, you should enjoy this book. I found it somewhat reminiscent of the Chronicles of Prydain, at least at a certain level, with the farm boy going out into the world to fight evil. A lot of fun, and a series I want to finish. I believe I'll be asking if I can't have a review copy of the third book as well!
Series Information: The Sword of Truth is book one in the Godling Chronicles.
Book 2: Of Gods and Elves (or find it on Amazon here), to be reviewed next
Book 3: The Shadow of Gods (or find it on Amazon here), just released, I do not have
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from Great Minds Think Aloud Publishing in exchange for an honest review. I am doing the review now in conjunction with a blog tour set up by JKS Communications. All opinions are my own.
Also, see this author's guest post on my blog, linked here (where formatting allowed).
Synopsis: It has been five hundred years since the Great War between Elf and Human ripped the world apart, and the Dark Knight of Angrääl has stolen the Sword of Truth. With it, he has trapped the Gods in heaven. If left unchallenged he will kill the Gods and reshape the world into an unimaginable hell. The only hope for all of creation is a boy named Gewey Stedding, the only being born from the union of two Gods. Aided by Lee Starfinder, the son of Saraf, God of the Sea, and a mortal woman, he must discover the true nature of his power. However, this will not be easy. He is bound to the earth a mortal man, and in many ways is very human. When Kaylia, a young elf woman, joins their party, Gewey discovers that perils of the heart can be as treacherous as any sword. Gewey, Lee, Kaylia and other friends they meet on their journey, must battle the Dark Knight, find a way to heal the hatred between elf and man, and restore heaven itself.
June 15, 2015
ABR's original The Sword of Truth audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.
First thoughts about the cover of The Godling Chronicles: The Sword of Truth, Book 1? Dark, ominous, haunting. That horse looks possessed and that rider looks like something out of a nightmare. His armor makes me think of a dark night from days long past. Digging the creepy vibe.
The main character in this book is Dewey Stedding. He’s seventeen, but he looks like he’s in his mid-twenties. He’s also built like a hoss. Big, strong, sturdy. Sometimes he’s impatient and to inquisitive for his own good, but I think that’s a side affect of being a teenager. He’s also a god raised as a man and is earth bound. He didn’t know this till recently though.
This story makes me think of Hercules in a way. Except, Dewey is full god raised as a man rather than a half god. Think of it as if Hades had won already and the world is going dark. Then comes in a teenage Dewey that is supposed to save the world. He’s being trained by half man-god, a servant, and an elf. It’s all very interesting. I dig the fights scenes and when they’re training Dewey. It’s very well read.
The Narrator is Derek Perkins. I enjoyed his natural accent and his accents for the characters helped bring the story to life for me. They were very distinct and different. I didn’t have any confusions of what was going on or who was speaking each time. I did get a huge kick out of how he pronounced different words though. I think that has to do more with his natural accent. The author is Brian D. Anderson. This book is twelve hours and fifty-five minutes long.
Warning – There are a some fight scenes in this book, some death, some blood, and some scenes that are not close to being PG13. Recommended age group, in my opinion, is sixteen and up.
This book left me wondering about people from different cultures and their gods. It makes me curious about their beliefs and their different stories and histories. What makes each of these groups different than those that I know? There are always common things to tie all of them together. Those ties bring us together. They make us who we are, they make us human. What more can we ask for?
Audiobook provided for for review by the publisher.
First thoughts about the cover of The Godling Chronicles: The Sword of Truth, Book 1? Dark, ominous, haunting. That horse looks possessed and that rider looks like something out of a nightmare. His armor makes me think of a dark night from days long past. Digging the creepy vibe.
The main character in this book is Dewey Stedding. He’s seventeen, but he looks like he’s in his mid-twenties. He’s also built like a hoss. Big, strong, sturdy. Sometimes he’s impatient and to inquisitive for his own good, but I think that’s a side affect of being a teenager. He’s also a god raised as a man and is earth bound. He didn’t know this till recently though.
This story makes me think of Hercules in a way. Except, Dewey is full god raised as a man rather than a half god. Think of it as if Hades had won already and the world is going dark. Then comes in a teenage Dewey that is supposed to save the world. He’s being trained by half man-god, a servant, and an elf. It’s all very interesting. I dig the fights scenes and when they’re training Dewey. It’s very well read.
The Narrator is Derek Perkins. I enjoyed his natural accent and his accents for the characters helped bring the story to life for me. They were very distinct and different. I didn’t have any confusions of what was going on or who was speaking each time. I did get a huge kick out of how he pronounced different words though. I think that has to do more with his natural accent. The author is Brian D. Anderson. This book is twelve hours and fifty-five minutes long.
Warning – There are a some fight scenes in this book, some death, some blood, and some scenes that are not close to being PG13. Recommended age group, in my opinion, is sixteen and up.
This book left me wondering about people from different cultures and their gods. It makes me curious about their beliefs and their different stories and histories. What makes each of these groups different than those that I know? There are always common things to tie all of them together. Those ties bring us together. They make us who we are, they make us human. What more can we ask for?
Audiobook provided for for review by the publisher.
September 26, 2012
My review of The Godling Chronicles by Brian Anderson
and Jonathan Anderson
Rating 5*****
This book was provided free from the author in exchange for honest literary review.
A YATR review team production.
I was drawn into this book at first simply due to awesome cover art. It was so much more than what I truly expected. In the spirit of awesome teen series, this is sort of Harry Potter meets Percy Jackson.
Gewey is a teen who was orphaned before his age of consent. However, due to his ability to keep his farm running, the townspeople have pretty much left him alone. Out of no where a sinister voice starts entering his dreams demanding to know his location.
Lee shows up on the doorstep after one of these nightmares and changes Gewey's whole world. See Gewey is not the poor farmer he has always known himself to be.....he is a God in human form. A God who's destiny it is to change the world and end the wrongs those before him have done. To do this he must escape with Lee and train to unlock his powers which lay dormant.
I love this concept. Writing is excellent. There's a new take on elves here as well which is amazing. I fell for Gewey like I did a young Harry Potter. There has been a book like this missing from the ya genre for a while. Not only does it appeal to the female population ...but great for male readers as well! It is full of action and suspense without predictable outcomes! I can see several more novels here and the possibilities of his quest are actually endless.....great platform for the new series.
As a sidenote may I add for an indie the editing was awesome. Syntax, spelling and articulation was excellent!!
and Jonathan Anderson
Rating 5*****
This book was provided free from the author in exchange for honest literary review.
A YATR review team production.
I was drawn into this book at first simply due to awesome cover art. It was so much more than what I truly expected. In the spirit of awesome teen series, this is sort of Harry Potter meets Percy Jackson.
Gewey is a teen who was orphaned before his age of consent. However, due to his ability to keep his farm running, the townspeople have pretty much left him alone. Out of no where a sinister voice starts entering his dreams demanding to know his location.
Lee shows up on the doorstep after one of these nightmares and changes Gewey's whole world. See Gewey is not the poor farmer he has always known himself to be.....he is a God in human form. A God who's destiny it is to change the world and end the wrongs those before him have done. To do this he must escape with Lee and train to unlock his powers which lay dormant.
I love this concept. Writing is excellent. There's a new take on elves here as well which is amazing. I fell for Gewey like I did a young Harry Potter. There has been a book like this missing from the ya genre for a while. Not only does it appeal to the female population ...but great for male readers as well! It is full of action and suspense without predictable outcomes! I can see several more novels here and the possibilities of his quest are actually endless.....great platform for the new series.
As a sidenote may I add for an indie the editing was awesome. Syntax, spelling and articulation was excellent!!
September 20, 2012
This book is outstanding, as I have read more then a few of fantasy novels in my time. This is one of my top 3 favorites. Anderson does a incredible job with the character as well as the story. The moment the second book is published I will be buying it. His son and him make an excellent team, this story was original, and the way it unfolds is fast paced and gripping till the very end and will leave anyone wanting much much more. I know I do! Great work and PLEASE keep them coming.
January 15, 2012
love the book! the cliff hanger was great at the end it makes me want to read the seconde book and find out what happens next! this remindes me of the book erogon! i tried these two books that are not typacly my choice and loved it ! so this proves that any body can read this book ! cause i did cant wait for 2nd book!!!!
July 25, 2012
Really great beginning, to what seems like a great series. Lots of fantastic characters, action and suspense. I look forward to reading lots more about Gewey Stedding and Lee Starfinder!
September 13, 2012
Loved it! Waiting for the next in the series.
February 25, 2013
Recently, I've noticed a lot of epic fantasy novels in the Kindle top sellers, and taking a look at the epic fantasy category list many are Indie publications. This being my favorite genre, I figured I'd give some a try.
The Godling Chronicles: The Sword of Truth (don't confuse with Terry Goodkind's series of that name) adheres to many of the classic tropes: a sort of Indie The Book of Three meets The Eye of the World. Plotwise, we have a kind of Dark Lord, and we have a young guy from the country with a destiny. He has a mentor, he goes on a journey. There are girls (but no sex - boo!). The (relatively) unique element is that he's really a god — albeit a reduced in-human-form god who doesn't know it.
I liked this book, and if I were 13-14 again, I'd have loved it. The plot is straightforward but fine and it's actually a bit refreshing harkening back to those classic "Shanara type" fantasies of the 80s. With the exception of the brief prologue, the narrative sticks tightly to a single protagonist and that keeps the pace up. As an added bonus, the story was co-written by the author's 9-10 year-old son, which is very cool.
It's not a long novel, 344 pages, and represents an opening salvo, more of a "first part" than a traditional "giant chunk" like a Wheel of Time book. This is fine, as it's inexpensive and you can just download part 2 when you get there. I actually like that changes in publishing are allowing for more flexibility of form.
But I do have a few problems with the mechanics. The sentence work itself is fine. Workman like, but never awkward. However, the novel is simultaneously both over and underwritten. Let's start with the under part. The book is written in 3rd person omni with no strong narrative voice and a focus on a few of the characters. Fine. But, the author mainly uses two tricks from his narrative toolbox to advance the plot: dialog and inner dialog. There is some action, but it's fairly thinly painted. There is almost no narrative description, or description at all for that matter. This keeps the story lean and moving, but leaves us with a very thin sense of place and world. We pass through several cities and various countryside, but I was left with no particular sense of any of them. Most of the words are devoted to conversation and almost all plot points are revealed (and re-revealed) this way.
Which comes to the overwriting part, which isn't so much at the sentence or fragment level (this, as I said, was decent) but occurred as (often) characters felt the urge to repeat news and revelations to new parties. Of course this happens in real life, but as a reader, once we know something we don't usually need to hear it again. This is a first novel, and probably not HEAVILY edited, so I expect this kind of thing has improved by book 2, but in general fictional dialog (in books, movies, TV, etc) is like a facsimile of real dialog. It gets the point across in an ideally witty way (probably with more arguing than in real life) and stripped of a lot of the glue that real conversations contain. Those mechanics like "hello" "how are you?" and "Meet me at the fountain." "You mean the one past the statue around the corner from the butcher shop?" "No the other one, um, um, past the Inn with the greenish turtle sign and the tree that got hit by lightning the other year." I.e. Stuff we don't really care about.
The whitespace style in this book is very horizontal (i.e. few line feeds) and I think actually having more can make this sort of thing clearer to author and reader alike. Each line must strive to say something new — ideally even several new things. These things can be plot points, details about the world, revelations of character, or general nuance. If a line can't defend its right to exist, several ways, well as Faulkner said, "In writing, you must kill all your darlings."
But that being said, if you're a young fantasy fan, The Sword of Truth is still a fun little romp. It's straightforward, and unapologetic about the genre. That's fine with me. I've got nothing against some good Dark Lord action.
For more book reviews, click here.
The Godling Chronicles: The Sword of Truth (don't confuse with Terry Goodkind's series of that name) adheres to many of the classic tropes: a sort of Indie The Book of Three meets The Eye of the World. Plotwise, we have a kind of Dark Lord, and we have a young guy from the country with a destiny. He has a mentor, he goes on a journey. There are girls (but no sex - boo!). The (relatively) unique element is that he's really a god — albeit a reduced in-human-form god who doesn't know it.
I liked this book, and if I were 13-14 again, I'd have loved it. The plot is straightforward but fine and it's actually a bit refreshing harkening back to those classic "Shanara type" fantasies of the 80s. With the exception of the brief prologue, the narrative sticks tightly to a single protagonist and that keeps the pace up. As an added bonus, the story was co-written by the author's 9-10 year-old son, which is very cool.
It's not a long novel, 344 pages, and represents an opening salvo, more of a "first part" than a traditional "giant chunk" like a Wheel of Time book. This is fine, as it's inexpensive and you can just download part 2 when you get there. I actually like that changes in publishing are allowing for more flexibility of form.
But I do have a few problems with the mechanics. The sentence work itself is fine. Workman like, but never awkward. However, the novel is simultaneously both over and underwritten. Let's start with the under part. The book is written in 3rd person omni with no strong narrative voice and a focus on a few of the characters. Fine. But, the author mainly uses two tricks from his narrative toolbox to advance the plot: dialog and inner dialog. There is some action, but it's fairly thinly painted. There is almost no narrative description, or description at all for that matter. This keeps the story lean and moving, but leaves us with a very thin sense of place and world. We pass through several cities and various countryside, but I was left with no particular sense of any of them. Most of the words are devoted to conversation and almost all plot points are revealed (and re-revealed) this way.
Which comes to the overwriting part, which isn't so much at the sentence or fragment level (this, as I said, was decent) but occurred as (often) characters felt the urge to repeat news and revelations to new parties. Of course this happens in real life, but as a reader, once we know something we don't usually need to hear it again. This is a first novel, and probably not HEAVILY edited, so I expect this kind of thing has improved by book 2, but in general fictional dialog (in books, movies, TV, etc) is like a facsimile of real dialog. It gets the point across in an ideally witty way (probably with more arguing than in real life) and stripped of a lot of the glue that real conversations contain. Those mechanics like "hello" "how are you?" and "Meet me at the fountain." "You mean the one past the statue around the corner from the butcher shop?" "No the other one, um, um, past the Inn with the greenish turtle sign and the tree that got hit by lightning the other year." I.e. Stuff we don't really care about.
The whitespace style in this book is very horizontal (i.e. few line feeds) and I think actually having more can make this sort of thing clearer to author and reader alike. Each line must strive to say something new — ideally even several new things. These things can be plot points, details about the world, revelations of character, or general nuance. If a line can't defend its right to exist, several ways, well as Faulkner said, "In writing, you must kill all your darlings."
But that being said, if you're a young fantasy fan, The Sword of Truth is still a fun little romp. It's straightforward, and unapologetic about the genre. That's fine with me. I've got nothing against some good Dark Lord action.
For more book reviews, click here.
November 16, 2012
The Godling Chronicles: The Sword of Truth, Brian D. Anderson
The Sword of Truth is the remarkable first novel of The Godling Chronicles, a high fantasy series that speaks of a ravaged world as it slowly recovers from a brutal war between elves and humans that nearly tore it apart.
It is a world in which the nation of the elves has been scattered and broken, leaving the proud race on its knees. Even as their civilisation collapsed, the domain of man expanded, pushing them further and further into the fringes of the world. As a result, hatred and fear is rife between the two races and, so long as they stand apart, cannot hope to resist the Dark Knight - a evil that has sealed the gateway to Heaven and severed the gods connection to Earth.
In the turmoil of their hardening lives, Gewey Stedding is plucked from his simple life as a farmer and is forced to flee his home alongside the mysterious Lee Starfinder, a demi-god born of a mortal woman and Saraf, the God of the Sea. Unsure of why he must leave Sharpstone, his home for his entire life, Gewey quickly discovers that he is more than just a man and that he has powers that he would rather not learn how to control.
Knowing that he is destined to confront the Dark Knight and that the freedom of the souls of Earth weigh heavily on his shoulders, Gewey knows that he must embrace his powers and learn how to fight, as he journeys on a path fraught with danger and filled with the nefarious agents of the Dark Knight that will stop at nothing to corrupt or kill him.
Fortunately, not everyone Gewey meets seeks to harm him and he quickly makes friends and allies to forge a blasphemous group that unites the nations of man and elves in a manner not seen since the Great War.
The Good
The Sword of Truth is very well written and is set in a highly developed world, which has interesting cultures and a unique history. These attributes add a realism to the book that make Anderson's 'world' more plausible than it would have been otherwise and sets the events of the story in a believable context.
Furthermore, Anderson has invested time in developing the different religions of humans and elves, which adds a essential backbone to the story as the gods feature prominently in its history, both in the past events of the Great War and in those of the 'real time'.
Despite spending the time to describe his world fully, Anderson doesn't overload the information all at once. This, as well as preventing the book from becoming dull, allows Anderson to maintain the pace of the story, meaning that The Sword of Truth is packed with action and adventure that its characters respond to in a reasonably realistic manner.
The Bad
In all honesty, I have very little criticism of The Sword of Truth. The main problem that I had with it however, which is a pretentious one at that, is with poor editing that missed several discrepancies in the spelling of the name of one of the minor characters. The character, called Broin (with an acute accent on the 'i'), often appears as Brion, which leads me to believe that Anderson changed its spelling at some point after his first draft and missed many of the times the name appeared in the text. Sadly, I think that this adds a somewhat 'tacky' and unprofessional feel to the book in some places.
Final Thoughts
Although The Sword of Truth contained a few minor faults, it is extremely well written as a whole and makes for an exciting and enjoyable read. In fact, the few mistakes that I found in it had no impact on my enjoyment of the story what-so-ever, and The Sword of Truth has become one of my favourite books. Thus, I strongly recommend that you read it and look forward to the future titles of The Godling Chronicles.
The Sword of Truth is the remarkable first novel of The Godling Chronicles, a high fantasy series that speaks of a ravaged world as it slowly recovers from a brutal war between elves and humans that nearly tore it apart.
It is a world in which the nation of the elves has been scattered and broken, leaving the proud race on its knees. Even as their civilisation collapsed, the domain of man expanded, pushing them further and further into the fringes of the world. As a result, hatred and fear is rife between the two races and, so long as they stand apart, cannot hope to resist the Dark Knight - a evil that has sealed the gateway to Heaven and severed the gods connection to Earth.
In the turmoil of their hardening lives, Gewey Stedding is plucked from his simple life as a farmer and is forced to flee his home alongside the mysterious Lee Starfinder, a demi-god born of a mortal woman and Saraf, the God of the Sea. Unsure of why he must leave Sharpstone, his home for his entire life, Gewey quickly discovers that he is more than just a man and that he has powers that he would rather not learn how to control.
Knowing that he is destined to confront the Dark Knight and that the freedom of the souls of Earth weigh heavily on his shoulders, Gewey knows that he must embrace his powers and learn how to fight, as he journeys on a path fraught with danger and filled with the nefarious agents of the Dark Knight that will stop at nothing to corrupt or kill him.
Fortunately, not everyone Gewey meets seeks to harm him and he quickly makes friends and allies to forge a blasphemous group that unites the nations of man and elves in a manner not seen since the Great War.
The Good
The Sword of Truth is very well written and is set in a highly developed world, which has interesting cultures and a unique history. These attributes add a realism to the book that make Anderson's 'world' more plausible than it would have been otherwise and sets the events of the story in a believable context.
Furthermore, Anderson has invested time in developing the different religions of humans and elves, which adds a essential backbone to the story as the gods feature prominently in its history, both in the past events of the Great War and in those of the 'real time'.
Despite spending the time to describe his world fully, Anderson doesn't overload the information all at once. This, as well as preventing the book from becoming dull, allows Anderson to maintain the pace of the story, meaning that The Sword of Truth is packed with action and adventure that its characters respond to in a reasonably realistic manner.
The Bad
In all honesty, I have very little criticism of The Sword of Truth. The main problem that I had with it however, which is a pretentious one at that, is with poor editing that missed several discrepancies in the spelling of the name of one of the minor characters. The character, called Broin (with an acute accent on the 'i'), often appears as Brion, which leads me to believe that Anderson changed its spelling at some point after his first draft and missed many of the times the name appeared in the text. Sadly, I think that this adds a somewhat 'tacky' and unprofessional feel to the book in some places.
Final Thoughts
Although The Sword of Truth contained a few minor faults, it is extremely well written as a whole and makes for an exciting and enjoyable read. In fact, the few mistakes that I found in it had no impact on my enjoyment of the story what-so-ever, and The Sword of Truth has become one of my favourite books. Thus, I strongly recommend that you read it and look forward to the future titles of The Godling Chronicles.
August 27, 2013
I normally don't write reviews. I had a chance to get a copy of this book so I can do a review. I would like to start off by saying that I love, love, love the fantasy genre!! Fantasy genre is pretty much the only one I read, so I am always looking for new authors. Sure I normally read urban fantasy, but I’ll give a medieval, sword fighting, magic with gods and elves a try. I wasn't sure what I expected when starting to read this book. How can you go wrong with that formula?
So “The Godling Chronicles: The Sword of Truth” was a perfect book to cut my teeth into with reviewing! Let me start of saying that it was funny/serious in all the right places with a healthy dose of whit and sarcasm to boot. I have to admit at first it was a little hard for me to get into, but after the fifth chapter it was hard for me to put down. I usually run through books when I get them. I can read a book in one day or two if it is like an encyclopedia. ;-) This book, because of the slow beginning, it took me a week to read (like a chapter a day). But once I started reading it I finished it in a flash!!
Ok. Here is my actual review of the book. ;-)
The slow start and other miscellaneous issues:
I was literal bored to tears when I started to read The Godling Chronicles because of the slow start. You know the question I posted earlier in this review, “How can you go wrong with this formula?” I thought this book did.
I was going to email witchypoo and tell her I changed my mind and wanted to give the book back. But I didn't want to be labeled a quitter so I pushed on.
Let me just say I am horrible when it comes to grammar, so when I kept finding them (something Word would even catch with a nice blue line to point out what kind of mistakes you have. Believe me I know, I get them all the time *sigh*) I was a little worried that I will be to focus on finding grammatical errors that I would miss out on the book.
The Fantastical:
I’m glad I kept on chugging and read the entire book. It has all the key elements for an epic tale! The fight between good and evil (check), a fight to save the world (check), a hero who didn't know he was a hero (check, check, check).
Gewey was a lovable character that you are truly routing for to conquer the evil of the Dark Knight, with a little dash of elves/human animosity to throw in to make the book have more than one plot line to occupy your mind. It left me pleasantly surprise and eagerly anticipating reading the second book.
The Conclusion:
Let me say that I am glad I did hang in there with this book!! It was amazing! I love the story line, the flow (once I got into it), and the ending makes you want to buy the next book in the series. So if you like anything that has to deal with medieval times, sword fights, magic, and gods, then this is the right series for you! I know I can't wait to buy the next one in the series! What am I saying, I already did!! :D
So “The Godling Chronicles: The Sword of Truth” was a perfect book to cut my teeth into with reviewing! Let me start of saying that it was funny/serious in all the right places with a healthy dose of whit and sarcasm to boot. I have to admit at first it was a little hard for me to get into, but after the fifth chapter it was hard for me to put down. I usually run through books when I get them. I can read a book in one day or two if it is like an encyclopedia. ;-) This book, because of the slow beginning, it took me a week to read (like a chapter a day). But once I started reading it I finished it in a flash!!
Ok. Here is my actual review of the book. ;-)
The slow start and other miscellaneous issues:
I was literal bored to tears when I started to read The Godling Chronicles because of the slow start. You know the question I posted earlier in this review, “How can you go wrong with this formula?” I thought this book did.
I was going to email witchypoo and tell her I changed my mind and wanted to give the book back. But I didn't want to be labeled a quitter so I pushed on.
Let me just say I am horrible when it comes to grammar, so when I kept finding them (something Word would even catch with a nice blue line to point out what kind of mistakes you have. Believe me I know, I get them all the time *sigh*) I was a little worried that I will be to focus on finding grammatical errors that I would miss out on the book.
The Fantastical:
I’m glad I kept on chugging and read the entire book. It has all the key elements for an epic tale! The fight between good and evil (check), a fight to save the world (check), a hero who didn't know he was a hero (check, check, check).
Gewey was a lovable character that you are truly routing for to conquer the evil of the Dark Knight, with a little dash of elves/human animosity to throw in to make the book have more than one plot line to occupy your mind. It left me pleasantly surprise and eagerly anticipating reading the second book.
The Conclusion:
Let me say that I am glad I did hang in there with this book!! It was amazing! I love the story line, the flow (once I got into it), and the ending makes you want to buy the next book in the series. So if you like anything that has to deal with medieval times, sword fights, magic, and gods, then this is the right series for you! I know I can't wait to buy the next one in the series! What am I saying, I already did!! :D
May 22, 2013
I must admit to mixed feelings about this book. The usual fantasy tropes are there and it is a good read, but ... And it is the "buts" that disinclined me from rating this higher, or giving it a hearty recommendation. OK, let's concentrate on the positives ... The majority of the characters are engaging and individual enough to be able to put the book down for 24 hours and, on picking it back up again, remember who is who. That's good. The superman-Everyman central protagonist (Gewey) is interesting. There are moments where his journey towards his coming of age are compelling - his wide-eyed marvelling at multi- storey buildings and a packed marketplace ring true; the struggle to understand both the limits of his human form, as well as the anticipation of learning to control his godly powers works; the burgeoning romance and semi love-triangle is believable ... Like I said, it is a good read ... But ...the parental situation is just a little too pat ... Everyone has absent fathers and deserter mothers? No one seems to think a father wandering off for a decade to 'watch over' someone else's son, to the detriment of his relationship with his own is unusual ... And then to suddenly cast resources at 'ensuring the safety' of said natural son and ever-faithful wife ... It just doesn't ring true. I've been married for a while, and I have kids ... And Lee's wife is a better woman than I will ever be if she is content with falling second fiddle to a 17 year old orphan ... Too many inconsistencies! I guess that's why they call it fantasy!
Frustratingly, the novel ends in the middle ... The story arc is kind of halfway done when we are left with the promise of book 2 ...
Thank you to NetGalley and Mythos Press for access to the ARC. I would like to read the rest of this book someday - perhaps it is hidden in Book 2.
Frustratingly, the novel ends in the middle ... The story arc is kind of halfway done when we are left with the promise of book 2 ...
Thank you to NetGalley and Mythos Press for access to the ARC. I would like to read the rest of this book someday - perhaps it is hidden in Book 2.
April 3, 2014
I give this book a thumbs-up, with a warning -- this book has no ending. Read it only if you want to read the whole series.
I really liked this book, for the most part. The plot is very interesting (although extremely derivative of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series). There are some very well-timed plot twists. The characters of Gewey, Kaylia and Lee Starfinder, as well as the supporting characters of Millet and Dina and otheres, are endearing and well-developed. The writing is not beautiful -- it is fairly straight-ahead and matter-of-fact -- but it works well for this story.
The big problem that I have this book, and the only reason I could not give 5 stars, is the complete lack of resolution of anything. I read lots of fantasy series, and usually each individual book in a series, and ESPECIALLY the first book of a series, reaches some kind of resolution, while managing to leave some open ends to make it clear that there will be more books in the series. This book just leaves you hanging, with no attempt to even bother to disguise the fact that it is doing so.
My only other criticism would be that there are too many characters. I expect that some may re-appear in later books of the series, but there are many who just show up and then disappear without really doing anything important.
On the whole it's a very good book and a worthwhile read. Anyone who likes the Wheel of Time series should like this.
If you do decide to read book 1, keep in mind that you're going to have to read them all if you want any resolution...
I really liked this book, for the most part. The plot is very interesting (although extremely derivative of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series). There are some very well-timed plot twists. The characters of Gewey, Kaylia and Lee Starfinder, as well as the supporting characters of Millet and Dina and otheres, are endearing and well-developed. The writing is not beautiful -- it is fairly straight-ahead and matter-of-fact -- but it works well for this story.
The big problem that I have this book, and the only reason I could not give 5 stars, is the complete lack of resolution of anything. I read lots of fantasy series, and usually each individual book in a series, and ESPECIALLY the first book of a series, reaches some kind of resolution, while managing to leave some open ends to make it clear that there will be more books in the series. This book just leaves you hanging, with no attempt to even bother to disguise the fact that it is doing so.
My only other criticism would be that there are too many characters. I expect that some may re-appear in later books of the series, but there are many who just show up and then disappear without really doing anything important.
On the whole it's a very good book and a worthwhile read. Anyone who likes the Wheel of Time series should like this.
If you do decide to read book 1, keep in mind that you're going to have to read them all if you want any resolution...
April 10, 2013
This has to be one of the most exciting YA Fantasy novels I've ever read.
It was well paced, action-packed and just an all round delightful read. The characters were all enjoyable and it was fun to see their interaction with each other. I particularly loved Kaylia. She kicks butt while being graceful and beautiful at the same time. I really wanted to learn as much as I could about her elven heritage.
The story revolves around a few brave souls who set out to stop and destroy the darkness that threatens to take over the world after The Sword of Truth falls into the wrong hands. Gewey, the not so obvious hero, given that he's only seventeen and a farm boy, learns that his life is anything but normal and he is anything but a commoner. With the guidance of Lee and his new found friends, Gewey, develops into a mature, strong character. And for all the romantics out there, the beautiful romance that blossoms within the pages of this book gives new meaning to "soul mates".
There are quite a few twists within the plot of this book that kept me enthralled, and when I got to the last page I didn't want it to end, especially with such a cliffhanger! Book two is at the top of my TBR pile as I have to know what happens to Gewey and Kaylia.
Even though this book has been labeled at YA Fantasy, I think it will reach into the soul of readers of all ages, especially readers of Epic Fantasy novels, who will love this book with its mystery and magic.
It was well paced, action-packed and just an all round delightful read. The characters were all enjoyable and it was fun to see their interaction with each other. I particularly loved Kaylia. She kicks butt while being graceful and beautiful at the same time. I really wanted to learn as much as I could about her elven heritage.
The story revolves around a few brave souls who set out to stop and destroy the darkness that threatens to take over the world after The Sword of Truth falls into the wrong hands. Gewey, the not so obvious hero, given that he's only seventeen and a farm boy, learns that his life is anything but normal and he is anything but a commoner. With the guidance of Lee and his new found friends, Gewey, develops into a mature, strong character. And for all the romantics out there, the beautiful romance that blossoms within the pages of this book gives new meaning to "soul mates".
There are quite a few twists within the plot of this book that kept me enthralled, and when I got to the last page I didn't want it to end, especially with such a cliffhanger! Book two is at the top of my TBR pile as I have to know what happens to Gewey and Kaylia.
Even though this book has been labeled at YA Fantasy, I think it will reach into the soul of readers of all ages, especially readers of Epic Fantasy novels, who will love this book with its mystery and magic.
July 8, 2013
I wasn't sure what I expected when starting to read this book. Fantasy genre is a favorite of mine and always looking out for new authors that can give me my fantasy fix. I'm completely blown away by this author's first book in a series. The story isn't your typical fantasy epic yet draws you in like one of George R.R. Martin. I don't give this praise lightly either. Quite honestly I can't write my usual kind of review because I'm afraid that I'd give too much to story away and spoil someone else's enjoyment of this book. I don't like it when people do it to me, so I won't do it to someone else. The many things that you find in fantasy epics include great battle between good and evil, unlikely heroes, willingness to help, and finding the power within yourself to move forward. These are the great qualities in an epic fantasy novel that keep me coming back to this genre time and again.
Best part about this book is that it's creation is owed completely to author's son. This became father-son bonding time. What a wonderful way to encourage creativity and make plenty of memories along the way too. I look forward to the next adventure this dynamic duo creates. Until then happy reading.
Best part about this book is that it's creation is owed completely to author's son. This became father-son bonding time. What a wonderful way to encourage creativity and make plenty of memories along the way too. I look forward to the next adventure this dynamic duo creates. Until then happy reading.
March 25, 2013
I wasn’t impressed when I first started this story. The writing was mediocre and the plot was cheesy. The further along I got the more interested I became. While the writing wasn’t amazing, there was nothing blaringly wrong with it. My biggest problem with the writing was that I felt there was too much dialogue.
I liked the overall plot and I’m a bit curious to see where the story will go. There are a few cheesy moments and fantasy clichés, but it was still interesting enough to read. The romance, for example, was so typical and mushy that I’m not sure how I feel about it.
The characters were okay. Most I didn’t like and there were many instances when I felt they were too similar. I feel like the characters weren’t flushed out enough to stand out or be unique. I was also confused as to why he had unique names like Kaylia, Millet, etc and then had others like the Dark Knight and the Sword of Truth.
I’m not sure if I’ll continue the series. I’m curious but I don’t feel like the story held my interest enough.
I liked the overall plot and I’m a bit curious to see where the story will go. There are a few cheesy moments and fantasy clichés, but it was still interesting enough to read. The romance, for example, was so typical and mushy that I’m not sure how I feel about it.
The characters were okay. Most I didn’t like and there were many instances when I felt they were too similar. I feel like the characters weren’t flushed out enough to stand out or be unique. I was also confused as to why he had unique names like Kaylia, Millet, etc and then had others like the Dark Knight and the Sword of Truth.
I’m not sure if I’ll continue the series. I’m curious but I don’t feel like the story held my interest enough.
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