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The Swords of Xigara #1
The Foundlings
The world’s only hope is in a prophecy hardly anyone believes in anymore.
Long ago, Chashak and his demonic kin led the peoples of the Five Races astray, placing them on the path of war and destruction. Onúl, the One God, took pity on his creation and banished the evil ones from the sphere of the world for a season. Millennia have passed and Chashak has returned, though the world seems unaware and ill-prepared.
Tenna and Tander live peaceful lives far from one another, until destiny and tragedy draws them together. One of them is ready for adventure while the other feels like they’re little more than extraneous baggage. Neither of them are prepared for what’s to come. Befriended by dragons, guided by a legend, and protected by new friends, they embark on a journey to recover the only weapons capable of standing against the Deceiver—the seven Swords of Xigara.
THE FOUNDLINGS is the beginning chapter in the epic Swords of Xigara trilogy—a coming-of-age story full of peril, intrigue, and discovery. If you’re a fan of Tolkien, Terry Brooks, or David Eddings, you’ll enjoy following these adventurers as they strive against impossible odds to save their world—a world that may not want to be saved.
Long ago, Chashak and his demonic kin led the peoples of the Five Races astray, placing them on the path of war and destruction. Onúl, the One God, took pity on his creation and banished the evil ones from the sphere of the world for a season. Millennia have passed and Chashak has returned, though the world seems unaware and ill-prepared.
Tenna and Tander live peaceful lives far from one another, until destiny and tragedy draws them together. One of them is ready for adventure while the other feels like they’re little more than extraneous baggage. Neither of them are prepared for what’s to come. Befriended by dragons, guided by a legend, and protected by new friends, they embark on a journey to recover the only weapons capable of standing against the Deceiver—the seven Swords of Xigara.
THE FOUNDLINGS is the beginning chapter in the epic Swords of Xigara trilogy—a coming-of-age story full of peril, intrigue, and discovery. If you’re a fan of Tolkien, Terry Brooks, or David Eddings, you’ll enjoy following these adventurers as they strive against impossible odds to save their world—a world that may not want to be saved.
469 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 25, 2013
1 person is currently reading
50 people want to read
About the author
J. Mark Miller
9 books23 followersJ. Mark has been a writer since his childhood years. Like most adults, he got distracted by other things and left his stories to languish for a while. He’s picked them back up again, and wants to share them with the world. With the ever-changing nature of modern publishing, he was convinced that this self-publishing thing would be a better fit, and decided to give it a go. (We’ll see how that works out for him.)
J. Mark is a minister, a musician, a former school teacher, and an amateur chef. He lives in North Texas with his wife, three budding authors, and several Apple products.
J. Mark is a minister, a musician, a former school teacher, and an amateur chef. He lives in North Texas with his wife, three budding authors, and several Apple products.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 26, 2013
C.S. Lewis and J.R.R Tolkien Meet
Weaving together multiple story lines to create a tapestry of political intrigue, fantasy, and adventure, Miller's story is a work of art. Characters are complex, with both action and words that allow the reader to feel their motivations, while also hinting at future layers to be pulled back. Combining the fantasy races of Tolkien, including such favorites as elfs, trolls, and dragons with other mythological beings like the tann, he creates a whole new world to be transported to.
I especially appreciated the clear parallels to Christian stories without being overt. This kind of not-so-subtle allusion paired with metaphor is reminiscent of C.S. Lewis. Because of this, the story has a purpose, a theme that begs to be thought about and possibly transferred to learning real-world morality.
I'm looking forward to the sequel.
July 22, 2013
OK, I dropped this at 30% of the reading. I've recently decided that life is too short to read to the end books I can't get into.
It's honestly probably a good book, even if the writing is still a little bit immature. The idea is nice and well exposed if not so original (7 mystical swords, good dragons, bad dragons, old minstrel, young unhappy boy, young ex-slum girl, bad guy coming back from magical exile, elves living in the woods, dwarves into the mountains... ).
At moments the story is nice and a few pages here and there are quite well written, but I missed any emotional connection with the characters, and that made it difficult for me to keep reading (ok, I liked the boy in the first page, and the girl while she was running).
It's honestly probably a good book, even if the writing is still a little bit immature. The idea is nice and well exposed if not so original (7 mystical swords, good dragons, bad dragons, old minstrel, young unhappy boy, young ex-slum girl, bad guy coming back from magical exile, elves living in the woods, dwarves into the mountains... ).
At moments the story is nice and a few pages here and there are quite well written, but I missed any emotional connection with the characters, and that made it difficult for me to keep reading (ok, I liked the boy in the first page, and the girl while she was running).
January 4, 2014
What a excellent book. Fantasy, adventure, and it ends with a cliff hanger. Wow.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews