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The Shards of Excalibur #2
Twist of the Blade (The Shards of Excalibur) by Edward Willett
Having saved the first Shard of the sword Excalibur from Internet mogul Rex Major (aka Merlin), Ariane and Wally are on the lookout for the second. Wally's worried that the power of the first Shard is already changing Ariane, giving her the strength to do good and evil--and when she seriously hurts his bullying sister, Flish, it seems he's right. Meanwhile, they have a serious Ariane's located the second Shard in France. Sure, her inherited powers from the Lady of the Lake enable her to travel magically through fresh water, but it hasn't escaped their notice that there's a huge saltwater ocean separating them from their next target. And Rex Major is already on his way there. As Major uses Wally's doubts--and his secret wish to be more than just a nerdy sidekick--to cause a rift between the friends, Ariane takes the chance to go it alone. But if the first Shard's power is barely controllable, how will she fare when two Shards are united? And what can Wally do to get his friend back?
- GenresYoung Adult
Paperback
First published August 15, 2014
2 people are currently reading
38 people want to read
About the author
Edward Willett
165 books117 followersEdward Willett is an award-winning author of science fiction, fantasy and non-fiction for both children and adults.
Born in Silver City, New Mexico, Willett lived in Bayard, New Mexico and Lubbock and Tulia, Texas, before moving to Weyburn, Saskatchewan with his family when he was eight years old.
He studied journalism at Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas, then returned to Weyburn as a reporter/photographer for the weekly Weyburn Review, eventually becoming news editor. In 1988 he moved to Regina, Saskatchewan, as communications officer for the Saskatchewan Science Centre, and in 1993 he became a fulltime freelance writer. He still resides in Regina.
Willett is now the author or co-author of more than 60 books, ranging from computer books and other nonfiction titles for both children and adults, to science fiction and fantasy for all ages.
His science fiction novel Marseguro (DAW Books) won the 2009 Aurora Award for best English-language science fiction or fantasy book by a Canadian author. He has also won a Saskatchewan Book Award for his YA fantasy Spirit Singer. He has been shortlisted for the Aurora Award and Saskatchewan Book Awards multiple times.
His most recent novels include Worldshaper and Master of the World, the first two books in his new series Worldshapers, and The Cityborn, a stand-alone science fiction novel from DAW Books; the Masks of Aygrima trilogy, YA/adult crossover novels published by DAW and written as E.C. Blake; the five-book YA fantasy series The Shards of Excalibur, published by Coteau Books; and the stand-alone YA fantasy Flames of Nevyana (Rebelight Publishing). He's also the author of the Peregrine Rising duology for Bundoran Press (Right to Know and Falcon's Egg).
Other novels include SF novel Lost in Translation (DAW Books), Terra Insegura (sequel to Marseguro, DAW Books), Magebane (DAW Books, written as Lee Arthur Chane), YA SF novels Andy Nebula: Interstellar Rock Star, Andy Nebula: Double Trouble, and The Chosen; and YA ghost story The Haunted Horn.
Shadowpaw Press recently released his short story collection Paths to the Stars and re-released Spirit Singer, a YA fantasy that won a Saskatchewan Book Award and other awards.
His non-fiction titles run the gamut from science books for children on topics as diverse as Ebola Virus and the Milky Way to local history books like Historic Walks of Regina and Moose Jaw for Red Deer Press, awarded a Municipal Heritage Award by the City of Regina in the education category and A Safe and Prosperous Future: 100 years of engineering and geoscience achievements in Saskatchewan, published by the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Saskatchewan (APEGS). He's also written biographies for children of Janis Joplin, Jimmy Hendrix, Johnny Cash, Andy Warhol, Orson Scott Card, J.R.R. Tolkien and the Ayatollah Khomeini.
You can find Ed online at www.edwardwillett.com, on Facebook, and on Twitter @ewillett.
His is represented by literary agent Ethan Ellenberg (www.ethanellenberg.com).
Besides being a writer, Willett is a professional actor and singer who has performed in dozens of plays, musicals and operas in and around Saskatchewan, hosted local television programs, and emceed numerous public events.
He's married to a telecommunications engineer and has one daughter.
Born in Silver City, New Mexico, Willett lived in Bayard, New Mexico and Lubbock and Tulia, Texas, before moving to Weyburn, Saskatchewan with his family when he was eight years old.
He studied journalism at Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas, then returned to Weyburn as a reporter/photographer for the weekly Weyburn Review, eventually becoming news editor. In 1988 he moved to Regina, Saskatchewan, as communications officer for the Saskatchewan Science Centre, and in 1993 he became a fulltime freelance writer. He still resides in Regina.
Willett is now the author or co-author of more than 60 books, ranging from computer books and other nonfiction titles for both children and adults, to science fiction and fantasy for all ages.
His science fiction novel Marseguro (DAW Books) won the 2009 Aurora Award for best English-language science fiction or fantasy book by a Canadian author. He has also won a Saskatchewan Book Award for his YA fantasy Spirit Singer. He has been shortlisted for the Aurora Award and Saskatchewan Book Awards multiple times.
His most recent novels include Worldshaper and Master of the World, the first two books in his new series Worldshapers, and The Cityborn, a stand-alone science fiction novel from DAW Books; the Masks of Aygrima trilogy, YA/adult crossover novels published by DAW and written as E.C. Blake; the five-book YA fantasy series The Shards of Excalibur, published by Coteau Books; and the stand-alone YA fantasy Flames of Nevyana (Rebelight Publishing). He's also the author of the Peregrine Rising duology for Bundoran Press (Right to Know and Falcon's Egg).
Other novels include SF novel Lost in Translation (DAW Books), Terra Insegura (sequel to Marseguro, DAW Books), Magebane (DAW Books, written as Lee Arthur Chane), YA SF novels Andy Nebula: Interstellar Rock Star, Andy Nebula: Double Trouble, and The Chosen; and YA ghost story The Haunted Horn.
Shadowpaw Press recently released his short story collection Paths to the Stars and re-released Spirit Singer, a YA fantasy that won a Saskatchewan Book Award and other awards.
His non-fiction titles run the gamut from science books for children on topics as diverse as Ebola Virus and the Milky Way to local history books like Historic Walks of Regina and Moose Jaw for Red Deer Press, awarded a Municipal Heritage Award by the City of Regina in the education category and A Safe and Prosperous Future: 100 years of engineering and geoscience achievements in Saskatchewan, published by the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Saskatchewan (APEGS). He's also written biographies for children of Janis Joplin, Jimmy Hendrix, Johnny Cash, Andy Warhol, Orson Scott Card, J.R.R. Tolkien and the Ayatollah Khomeini.
You can find Ed online at www.edwardwillett.com, on Facebook, and on Twitter @ewillett.
His is represented by literary agent Ethan Ellenberg (www.ethanellenberg.com).
Besides being a writer, Willett is a professional actor and singer who has performed in dozens of plays, musicals and operas in and around Saskatchewan, hosted local television programs, and emceed numerous public events.
He's married to a telecommunications engineer and has one daughter.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
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December 12, 2014Twist of the Blade is the second book in Edward Willett’s Shards of Excalibur series, a clever and modern adaptation of the legends of King Arthur.
Ariane Forsythe has inherited the magical power of the Lady of the Lake, along with a quest: she must find the five broken pieces of the sword of Excalibur before the evil reincarnation of Merlin, Rex Major, gets his hands on it. If Rex Major gains control of Excalibur, he’ll have the power to wage war on Earth and the world of Faerie. With the help of her friend, Wally, Ariane has retrieved one piece of the sword, but now she must find the second piece quickly. She thinks it’s somewhere in France but she’ll have to find a way to get herself and Wally across the ocean first.
Things get complicated as Wally begins to suspect that Ariane’s power is changing her. Ariane isn’t sure if she needs Wally anymore and begins pushing him away. Rex Major has a plan to get to the second shard and his power over technology is only helping him act upon it. Will he succeed in tearing their friendship apart before they reach the second shard? Can Ariane control her ever-growing power without losing herself, and her friend?
Canadian readers will find themselves among familiar geography, as the series is mainly set in the author’s home city of Regina, Saskatchewan, as well as Toronto, Ontario. Of course, the setting begins to expand into other geographical areas as the characters race to find the separated pieces of Excalibur. Fantasy readers will be delighted by the subtle and not-so-subtle blend of the Arthurian legend and modern life that has Merlin texting a demon, the Lady of the Lake’s heir travelling through sink drains, and a clumsy sidekick named Walter Arthur Knight III, who may have more power than he realizes.
Anyone who enjoys other young adult series, such as Percy Jackson and the Olympians, will find much to revel in here, as these seemingly normal high school students deal with discovering their magical powers, navigating relationships, and the struggle between good and evil.
Ariane Forsythe has inherited the magical power of the Lady of the Lake, along with a quest: she must find the five broken pieces of the sword of Excalibur before the evil reincarnation of Merlin, Rex Major, gets his hands on it. If Rex Major gains control of Excalibur, he’ll have the power to wage war on Earth and the world of Faerie. With the help of her friend, Wally, Ariane has retrieved one piece of the sword, but now she must find the second piece quickly. She thinks it’s somewhere in France but she’ll have to find a way to get herself and Wally across the ocean first.
Things get complicated as Wally begins to suspect that Ariane’s power is changing her. Ariane isn’t sure if she needs Wally anymore and begins pushing him away. Rex Major has a plan to get to the second shard and his power over technology is only helping him act upon it. Will he succeed in tearing their friendship apart before they reach the second shard? Can Ariane control her ever-growing power without losing herself, and her friend?
Canadian readers will find themselves among familiar geography, as the series is mainly set in the author’s home city of Regina, Saskatchewan, as well as Toronto, Ontario. Of course, the setting begins to expand into other geographical areas as the characters race to find the separated pieces of Excalibur. Fantasy readers will be delighted by the subtle and not-so-subtle blend of the Arthurian legend and modern life that has Merlin texting a demon, the Lady of the Lake’s heir travelling through sink drains, and a clumsy sidekick named Walter Arthur Knight III, who may have more power than he realizes.
Anyone who enjoys other young adult series, such as Percy Jackson and the Olympians, will find much to revel in here, as these seemingly normal high school students deal with discovering their magical powers, navigating relationships, and the struggle between good and evil.
January 27, 2023
The progression of the plot and character development were both well done. I was genuinely invested, especially once it got to the cave stuff. I've been in caves and they're spooky as hell.
That being said, I wish some more page time had been given to description. Visual cues, especially in the form of colour, were used a lot, but I felt that the book would have benefitted from more sound and touch and smell descriptors. Especially some of the cave scenes, where the visuals were low. The other thing I wanted to mention was that it felt like the author was leading me by the hand through the whole book. There was never an opportunity to get really excited or curious, I never got a chance to figure anything out on my own. Part of that is because Merlin, the antagonist, has his own POV where we get to see exactly what he's planning and why. The other part is that the characters spend quite a bit of time in self-reflection, explaining to themselves (a.k.a. to us) that they feel a certain way, and they're doing a certain thing, and it might effect another character a certain way, and so on. As a reader I wish that I'd gotten to, for example, experience Merlin's plot as it happened to Wally. Rather than be told Merlin's plot right away and then watch it happen. It would have been more interesting to have had genuine doubt about whether Merlin was truly the horrible person we thought he was. In the words of Elle Cosimano "If readers are spoon-fed watered-down versions of heroes and villains, the answers become obvious and they're left with nothing to chew."
I did like where the characters landed in the end, though.
Oh, also there were a bunch of punctuation mistakes. I already talked about the oversaturated ellipses in my review of the first book, but in this book I noticed that quite a few of them had an extra period which turned them into full stops when there should not have been a full stop. Some of them should have been full stops and weren't. I saw a missing comma somewhere as well but I forgot to mark it.
That being said, I wish some more page time had been given to description. Visual cues, especially in the form of colour, were used a lot, but I felt that the book would have benefitted from more sound and touch and smell descriptors. Especially some of the cave scenes, where the visuals were low. The other thing I wanted to mention was that it felt like the author was leading me by the hand through the whole book. There was never an opportunity to get really excited or curious, I never got a chance to figure anything out on my own. Part of that is because Merlin, the antagonist, has his own POV where we get to see exactly what he's planning and why. The other part is that the characters spend quite a bit of time in self-reflection, explaining to themselves (a.k.a. to us) that they feel a certain way, and they're doing a certain thing, and it might effect another character a certain way, and so on. As a reader I wish that I'd gotten to, for example, experience Merlin's plot as it happened to Wally. Rather than be told Merlin's plot right away and then watch it happen. It would have been more interesting to have had genuine doubt about whether Merlin was truly the horrible person we thought he was. In the words of Elle Cosimano "If readers are spoon-fed watered-down versions of heroes and villains, the answers become obvious and they're left with nothing to chew."
I did like where the characters landed in the end, though.
Oh, also there were a bunch of punctuation mistakes. I already talked about the oversaturated ellipses in my review of the first book, but in this book I noticed that quite a few of them had an extra period which turned them into full stops when there should not have been a full stop. Some of them should have been full stops and weren't. I saw a missing comma somewhere as well but I forgot to mark it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 5, 2018
I not sure how to review this book, but here goes...
I really enjoyed the first book in the series, but this one... Not so much! Twist of the Blade has an enjoyable modern take on the Lady in the Lake story, and I really like Ariane and her friend Wally, but, I was really disappointed in this book... Don't get me wrong, the story is still fun. Rex Major (aka: Merlin) is still a complete wanker, but both Arian and Wally continually fell prey to unintended, unspoken slights... Hurt feelings and sullenness became the new kind of normal as their continuing inability learn from previous mistakes took over the story! I really just wanted to shake the kids, put them into a room, and not let them out until they talked out their problems! Bet, it wouldn't have taken 20min. And they'd've been back on track and fulfilling the quest... I must admit to having a Very low tolerance for this worn out, annoying trope. It's sad that an otherwise fun tale, was dragged into the ground by this!
★★★★★ for the narration
★★1/2 for the story
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and voluntarily left this unbiased review
I really enjoyed the first book in the series, but this one... Not so much! Twist of the Blade has an enjoyable modern take on the Lady in the Lake story, and I really like Ariane and her friend Wally, but, I was really disappointed in this book... Don't get me wrong, the story is still fun. Rex Major (aka: Merlin) is still a complete wanker, but both Arian and Wally continually fell prey to unintended, unspoken slights... Hurt feelings and sullenness became the new kind of normal as their continuing inability learn from previous mistakes took over the story! I really just wanted to shake the kids, put them into a room, and not let them out until they talked out their problems! Bet, it wouldn't have taken 20min. And they'd've been back on track and fulfilling the quest... I must admit to having a Very low tolerance for this worn out, annoying trope. It's sad that an otherwise fun tale, was dragged into the ground by this!
★★★★★ for the narration
★★1/2 for the story
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and voluntarily left this unbiased review
July 22, 2018
The story continues as Ariane and Wally look for the second shard. Having her Aunt on board helps a lot. Rex Major’s intentions remain unclear. There are hints he may be the altruistic one, then again, maybe not. Tension between Flish and Ariane remain, and this only hinders Wally’s relationship with Ariane. I like the solution the author devised for the duo to cross the ocean. I think the choices made by the kids seem true to character and reality.
This is the second book I’ve listened to by this author. I’ve previously listened to Song of the Sword. I’m looking forward to the rest of the series.
This is the third book I’ve listened to by this narrator (Elizabeth Klett) and I would listen to another. I enjoy her rendition of the characters and she brings out the emotion in the story.
There are no explicit sex scenes, excessive violence or swearing.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and voluntarily left this unbiased review
This is the second book I’ve listened to by this author. I’ve previously listened to Song of the Sword. I’m looking forward to the rest of the series.
This is the third book I’ve listened to by this narrator (Elizabeth Klett) and I would listen to another. I enjoy her rendition of the characters and she brings out the emotion in the story.
There are no explicit sex scenes, excessive violence or swearing.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and voluntarily left this unbiased review
July 1, 2018
Disclaimer.
I had requested and received audible version of this book for free from the narrator, in exchange for an unbiased review.
What I liked about the book -
This is the second book of the series. And even though it somewhat works as a standalone book, it would be much better if you read the first book first. The story essentially continues from the end of the book 1 and you'll be missing out if you haven't read that. The story is still as engaging and the characters are as interesting, if not more. The story moves at a comfortable pace and has its twists n turns. You'll come out entertained.
What I disliked about the book -
Nothing specific that I can think of.
Narration -
Narration by Elizabeth Klett was well done. Her delivery matched the mood of this book perfectly. All the character voices were done convincingly.
I had requested and received audible version of this book for free from the narrator, in exchange for an unbiased review.
What I liked about the book -
This is the second book of the series. And even though it somewhat works as a standalone book, it would be much better if you read the first book first. The story essentially continues from the end of the book 1 and you'll be missing out if you haven't read that. The story is still as engaging and the characters are as interesting, if not more. The story moves at a comfortable pace and has its twists n turns. You'll come out entertained.
What I disliked about the book -
Nothing specific that I can think of.
Narration -
Narration by Elizabeth Klett was well done. Her delivery matched the mood of this book perfectly. All the character voices were done convincingly.
October 21, 2018
The exciting, wacky and dangerous adventure continue for Ariane and Wally. I loved this second installment, and I think fans of the first in the series will love it. That freaking Rex Major always trying to make things difficult, just wait to find out what he does this time!
Just when you think the twists have twisted in every possible direction, things go wonky. It's an exciting and thrilling story, and I was sucked in and wasn't let go until the end. Can't wait to get started with Book #3!
Writing and narration are AWESOME, I'm really liking this series, great stuff!
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
Just when you think the twists have twisted in every possible direction, things go wonky. It's an exciting and thrilling story, and I was sucked in and wasn't let go until the end. Can't wait to get started with Book #3!
Writing and narration are AWESOME, I'm really liking this series, great stuff!
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
May 20, 2024
This one was good, but again, it sometimes moves at a glacial speed. Some books will have a middle drag, and it did happen here, but it was bearable. The protag misanthrope is beginning to wear a bit. BUT it was a good read and kept you engaged through most of the book. You do have a few push throughs but overall, I would recommend you read this book (do read book #1 or you may be a little lost).
December 6, 2018
Once again, Edward brings the world of Arianne and Wally to life in a riveting story that leaves you wanting for more. This second book in the Swords of Excalibur series, “Twist of the Blade” is a nonstop rollercoaster ride from beginning to end, and anyone that likes thrilling stories with loveable characters will love it. I just have to find out what happens next, so I’m diving into the next book right away. This book is a must read for any fantasy lover. Heck, for any story lover.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews