What do you think?
Rate this book
The Shardheld Saga #2
Runemaster
Muus, Kjelle and Tuuri; three young men, separated by allegiance but intertwined by Fate. Birthe and Moirra; two young women with their own goals.
Muus found the mysterious blue stone that crashed down near his home. Now he is both a Runemaster, learning the terrible power of the runes, and the Shardheld, on whose shoulders rests the fate of the world's magic. He is desperately trying to resist the pull of the skyshard before it takes over his mind. Step by step, Fate brings him nearer to Falrom, the Burning Land, and the standing stone that waits for the skyshard.
Kjelle is the dispossessed Lord, whose disgruntled men are the Norden's line of defense against hordes of Fynni barbarians plundering the lands. He has to stop the Fynni from reaching their goal, the return of the Old Gods and with them, all the horrors from the distant past.
Tuuri, follower of the powerful warlord bent on conquering the north. Troubled by doubts, hatred of his Fynni heritage, hunted by both sides of the conflict, he hurries south to a choice he doesn't yet know he has to make.
Birthe, widow and mother at sixteen, both Völva - mistress of the magic of the Nords - and huntmaster, accompanies Kjelle in the hope of finding a new purpose now everyone she loved, is dead.
Moirra, the Un-a-Dach druidess, small, doughty and wise, joins Muus on his journey to Falrom, the Burning Land. But she has secrets in her past, and a purpose she doesn’t speak of.
And there are others, like the far too clever little boy Hraab, the young Prince Ottil, the fearsome bear berserker Ajkell and the Lady Paladin Valiantrude. Join them on their journeys through danger in the lands of Brytanna, Gaul and Lotharn, for theirs is high adventure in a world filled with rebels, Vikings and idolaters of false Gods.
Muus found the mysterious blue stone that crashed down near his home. Now he is both a Runemaster, learning the terrible power of the runes, and the Shardheld, on whose shoulders rests the fate of the world's magic. He is desperately trying to resist the pull of the skyshard before it takes over his mind. Step by step, Fate brings him nearer to Falrom, the Burning Land, and the standing stone that waits for the skyshard.
Kjelle is the dispossessed Lord, whose disgruntled men are the Norden's line of defense against hordes of Fynni barbarians plundering the lands. He has to stop the Fynni from reaching their goal, the return of the Old Gods and with them, all the horrors from the distant past.
Tuuri, follower of the powerful warlord bent on conquering the north. Troubled by doubts, hatred of his Fynni heritage, hunted by both sides of the conflict, he hurries south to a choice he doesn't yet know he has to make.
Birthe, widow and mother at sixteen, both Völva - mistress of the magic of the Nords - and huntmaster, accompanies Kjelle in the hope of finding a new purpose now everyone she loved, is dead.
Moirra, the Un-a-Dach druidess, small, doughty and wise, joins Muus on his journey to Falrom, the Burning Land. But she has secrets in her past, and a purpose she doesn’t speak of.
And there are others, like the far too clever little boy Hraab, the young Prince Ottil, the fearsome bear berserker Ajkell and the Lady Paladin Valiantrude. Join them on their journeys through danger in the lands of Brytanna, Gaul and Lotharn, for theirs is high adventure in a world filled with rebels, Vikings and idolaters of false Gods.
- GenresFantasy
253 pages, Paperback
First published September 19, 2013
2 people are currently reading
265 people want to read
About the author
Paul E. Horsman
22 books122 followersPaul E. Horsman (1952) is a Dutch and International Fantasy Author. Born and bred in the Netherlands, he now lives in Roosendaal, a town on the Dutch-Belgian border.
He has been a soldier, a salesman, a scoutmaster and an instructor of Dutch-as-a-Second- Language and Integration to refugees from all over the globe.
Now retired, he is a full-time writer of fantasy adventure stories suitable for a broad age range. His books are both published in the Netherlands, and internationally.
His works are characterized by their rich, diverse worlds, colorful peoples and a strong sense of equality between women and men.
Many of his stories, like The Shardheld Saga trilogy and The Shadow of the Revenaunt books, have mythological or historical elements in them, while others, especially Lioness of Kell. the Wyrms of Pasandir-series and his current Space Fantasy Broomriders in Space books, contain many steampunk elements.
He has been a soldier, a salesman, a scoutmaster and an instructor of Dutch-as-a-Second- Language and Integration to refugees from all over the globe.
Now retired, he is a full-time writer of fantasy adventure stories suitable for a broad age range. His books are both published in the Netherlands, and internationally.
His works are characterized by their rich, diverse worlds, colorful peoples and a strong sense of equality between women and men.
Many of his stories, like The Shardheld Saga trilogy and The Shadow of the Revenaunt books, have mythological or historical elements in them, while others, especially Lioness of Kell. the Wyrms of Pasandir-series and his current Space Fantasy Broomriders in Space books, contain many steampunk elements.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 4, 2013
Read the complete review @ http://readmuse.blogspot.in/2013/11/r...
The book picks off from the first book Shardfall. Muus continues his journey to kalmari to return the skyshard stone. Muus gets separated from his ex-master Kjelle and the Volva, Birthe. The journey of Kjelle and Muus are thus separately narrated by the writer.
Then there is a third narrative line of Tuuri, follower of the Jarl Rannar. Tuuri is caught by Kjelle but he somehow escapes only to be caught and doubted by his own master. Fate turns when he escapes once again with the help of a little boy.
The flow of the three narratives were really clear. It perfectly made sense to narrate the story line as three parts. Characters like Oddil, Harab who weren't exactly given high importance in the previous book got their much deserving attention.
Overall the three narratives have more or less the same goal : Fight the evil Fynni who are wrecking havoc all over, collect the runes & deposit the stone at Kalmari.
Kjelle falls in love with Birthe and uses her help along with Ajkelle, the bear warrior to fight various enemies along their path.
Muus on the other hand falls in love with the Druidess Moirra who guides him on a quest in collecting all the runes (in the form of knuckle bones). They are accompanied by Prince Ottil, Handman Geir, Hraab. They fight against plenty of naked-painted false druids who terrorize innocent people using magic and try to bring back the old gods.
My previous complaint of lack of proper introduction to character sort of got answered in this book. The slight hazy feeling that I had while reading the first book completely disappeared while reading this one. Reason: This book was faster and neater than the first book though the narration style of the writer remains the same in both.
The story is typically written along the lines of various fantasy fictions like Eragon, Percy Jackson series. Yet it’s a unique book. For someone who has no idea of Nordish names (The writer was kind enough to reply me via my mail and clarify what Norden means: the Norden are the lands in the north that is Scandinavia, especially Norway) or about Scandinavia, the book was crystal clear with proper glossary.
The characters had that depth though I found Muus's character a bit vague. May be the mystery around him would be cleared up in the next book.
The plot was very much alive. The writer ensured that there were just enough twists to keep the reader engrossed.
One more thing I found rather odd was that the book just ended! It just ended BAM! (Yeah. Just like that!) I was expecting more and the book ended. The best trick in the work. End the book BAM! Make the readers want more and put that as a separate book to keep the interest alive. The writer accomplished that perfectly. Not that I am pointing that as a mistake. Some smartness that was from the writer! (I'd do the same too. So no! I am not complaining!)
For someone who is a weenie bit old to read fantasy, the book didn't really make me feel like I was 12 to read fantasy. It was perfectly written for a 12 year old as well as for a 20 year old (Er......I am neither 12 nor 20)
But then there is no “perfect” age to read a particular genre of book, is it?!!
The book picks off from the first book Shardfall. Muus continues his journey to kalmari to return the skyshard stone. Muus gets separated from his ex-master Kjelle and the Volva, Birthe. The journey of Kjelle and Muus are thus separately narrated by the writer.
Then there is a third narrative line of Tuuri, follower of the Jarl Rannar. Tuuri is caught by Kjelle but he somehow escapes only to be caught and doubted by his own master. Fate turns when he escapes once again with the help of a little boy.
The flow of the three narratives were really clear. It perfectly made sense to narrate the story line as three parts. Characters like Oddil, Harab who weren't exactly given high importance in the previous book got their much deserving attention.
Overall the three narratives have more or less the same goal : Fight the evil Fynni who are wrecking havoc all over, collect the runes & deposit the stone at Kalmari.
Kjelle falls in love with Birthe and uses her help along with Ajkelle, the bear warrior to fight various enemies along their path.
Muus on the other hand falls in love with the Druidess Moirra who guides him on a quest in collecting all the runes (in the form of knuckle bones). They are accompanied by Prince Ottil, Handman Geir, Hraab. They fight against plenty of naked-painted false druids who terrorize innocent people using magic and try to bring back the old gods.
My previous complaint of lack of proper introduction to character sort of got answered in this book. The slight hazy feeling that I had while reading the first book completely disappeared while reading this one. Reason: This book was faster and neater than the first book though the narration style of the writer remains the same in both.
The story is typically written along the lines of various fantasy fictions like Eragon, Percy Jackson series. Yet it’s a unique book. For someone who has no idea of Nordish names (The writer was kind enough to reply me via my mail and clarify what Norden means: the Norden are the lands in the north that is Scandinavia, especially Norway) or about Scandinavia, the book was crystal clear with proper glossary.
The characters had that depth though I found Muus's character a bit vague. May be the mystery around him would be cleared up in the next book.
The plot was very much alive. The writer ensured that there were just enough twists to keep the reader engrossed.
One more thing I found rather odd was that the book just ended! It just ended BAM! (Yeah. Just like that!) I was expecting more and the book ended. The best trick in the work. End the book BAM! Make the readers want more and put that as a separate book to keep the interest alive. The writer accomplished that perfectly. Not that I am pointing that as a mistake. Some smartness that was from the writer! (I'd do the same too. So no! I am not complaining!)
For someone who is a weenie bit old to read fantasy, the book didn't really make me feel like I was 12 to read fantasy. It was perfectly written for a 12 year old as well as for a 20 year old (Er......I am neither 12 nor 20)
But then there is no “perfect” age to read a particular genre of book, is it?!!
November 20, 2013
After the aftermath of the storm that closed out the first book in the Shardheld Saga, Kjelle, Muus, and the rest of their group have been separated. While Muus, Prince Olthin, and Hraab have headed off to the land of Brytanna, Kjelle, Birthe, and the paladin have headed off in a different direction. With each group believing the others to be dead, there is much sorrow between them.
Kjelle must deal with the loss of the boy who made him feel brave, while ultimately finding his own courage in Muus' absence. Can he do it? Or was he coddled to the point of never knowing any different. I think he will ultimately surprise everyone in the end, by finding a strength he never knew he could have.
Muus is gradually remembering his home and the family he lost long ago. But with the clock ticking, he needs to hurry up the process. So he must find the one person who can ultimately help him dissipate the fog shrouding his mind. Will his journey be eventful? Or will his memories continue to be clouded?
The world's fate sits atop his shoulders. Even with friends around him, can Muus continue to bear this immense load?
I absolutely loved this book. I love how Kjelle is finding himself more with the absence of Muus. It took a terrible storm to wrench him from the safety he felt when Muus was around, and he is seeming to begin to hold his own. I cannot wait to see what else is in store for this character.
There are so many people that are met in this second book of the series. So many new faces who are helping Muus on his journey as the Shardheld. So many people who are being helped by him. I hope against all hope that he does succeed in his journey to fulfil the destiny laid out for him. I also hope that the tyrant taking over the lands gets his just desserts. He deserves it.
The third book cannot come soon enough. I am eagerly anticipating more to this story.
Kjelle must deal with the loss of the boy who made him feel brave, while ultimately finding his own courage in Muus' absence. Can he do it? Or was he coddled to the point of never knowing any different. I think he will ultimately surprise everyone in the end, by finding a strength he never knew he could have.
Muus is gradually remembering his home and the family he lost long ago. But with the clock ticking, he needs to hurry up the process. So he must find the one person who can ultimately help him dissipate the fog shrouding his mind. Will his journey be eventful? Or will his memories continue to be clouded?
The world's fate sits atop his shoulders. Even with friends around him, can Muus continue to bear this immense load?
I absolutely loved this book. I love how Kjelle is finding himself more with the absence of Muus. It took a terrible storm to wrench him from the safety he felt when Muus was around, and he is seeming to begin to hold his own. I cannot wait to see what else is in store for this character.
There are so many people that are met in this second book of the series. So many new faces who are helping Muus on his journey as the Shardheld. So many people who are being helped by him. I hope against all hope that he does succeed in his journey to fulfil the destiny laid out for him. I also hope that the tyrant taking over the lands gets his just desserts. He deserves it.
The third book cannot come soon enough. I am eagerly anticipating more to this story.
August 22, 2021
Awesome Indies Book Awards is pleased to include Runemaster by Paul E. Horsman in the library of Awesome Indies Book Awards'
Badge of Approval
recipients.
Paul E. Horsman’s The Runemaster picks up where Shardfall left off—with Muus, Prince Ottil and Hraab in Brytanna, while Kjelle, Ajkell, and Birthe are heading to Gaul. Each group has its own task to perform: Muus to bring the skyshard to the Kalmanir, and Kjelle to stop the Gods Before from returning to the world, while avenging his father’s death. There’s also a third story line, following Jarl Rannar’s messengar, Tuuri. The author manages to keep all these plot lines going, and to add a seeming cast of thousands to the character list, without the reader becoming lost.
I enjoyed this book very much. There’s plenty of action to keep the reader turning the pages, (and quite a bit of grim dispatching of enemies with swords and axes, magic fire, heads on spikes, a poor soul with his heart ripped from their chest, etc.) and each character’s personal growth is handled with care. The new major characters all come with their own histories and personalities, and I enjoyed getting to know them. The magic (and there is much magic in this story) is plausible and the systems make sense. If I had a quibble, it would be the amount of unfamiliar words used. There were some in Shardfall, but they could easily be fathomed in context. Here, I found myself wishing that rather than a list of words at the back, that the author had footnoted the words on the page where they first appeared.
This is a fun story that will entertain all age groups from teens to adults. Four and a half stars.
I received this book in return for an honest review.
Paul E. Horsman’s The Runemaster picks up where Shardfall left off—with Muus, Prince Ottil and Hraab in Brytanna, while Kjelle, Ajkell, and Birthe are heading to Gaul. Each group has its own task to perform: Muus to bring the skyshard to the Kalmanir, and Kjelle to stop the Gods Before from returning to the world, while avenging his father’s death. There’s also a third story line, following Jarl Rannar’s messengar, Tuuri. The author manages to keep all these plot lines going, and to add a seeming cast of thousands to the character list, without the reader becoming lost.
I enjoyed this book very much. There’s plenty of action to keep the reader turning the pages, (and quite a bit of grim dispatching of enemies with swords and axes, magic fire, heads on spikes, a poor soul with his heart ripped from their chest, etc.) and each character’s personal growth is handled with care. The new major characters all come with their own histories and personalities, and I enjoyed getting to know them. The magic (and there is much magic in this story) is plausible and the systems make sense. If I had a quibble, it would be the amount of unfamiliar words used. There were some in Shardfall, but they could easily be fathomed in context. Here, I found myself wishing that rather than a list of words at the back, that the author had footnoted the words on the page where they first appeared.
This is a fun story that will entertain all age groups from teens to adults. Four and a half stars.
I received this book in return for an honest review.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews