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The Tales of True Adventure #1
Silverlance
In winter's deepest dark, a bonfire burned, a full moon shone, wolves howled and a strange storm raged. In the Woody Deep, as the people waited for the sun's return, a legend, long in slumber, woke.
And Byron Thorn is twelve at last; his great day, his Misrule's Day, has come. But for Byron Thorn, Misrule' Day is far more than a day without rules. Even his finest prank can't satisfy his adventurous heart. Even his signature caper can't measure up to his lofty standards, to the high expectations Byron has of his talents and his cleverness. What Byron needs is a quest of epic proportions.
Which is exactly what he gets.
Misrule magic, Midwinter's magic Byron Thorn's twelfth birthday is no ordinary day. The western wolves are howling and the animals have broken their winter sleep. The centaur Ravinath and his sinister followers are uneasy and the king's Chief at Arms is keeping watch on the Fencewood. The sign of an ancient prophecy suddenly appears, and before his Misrule's Day is over, Byron Thorn will be running for his life.
So begins the quest that will lead him into friendship and danger, down dark tunnels and up windy heights, to wake a sleeping kingdom and find a forgotten king. It's a world where humans live side by side with satyrs and centaurs, dwarves and dryads, giants and griffins and wolves. Together with his companions, Byron must find his way through one wild adventure after another to the lands beyond the mountains, helped by unexpected allies, harrowed by unrelenting enemies and guided by the clarion call of Silverlance.
And Byron Thorn is twelve at last; his great day, his Misrule's Day, has come. But for Byron Thorn, Misrule' Day is far more than a day without rules. Even his finest prank can't satisfy his adventurous heart. Even his signature caper can't measure up to his lofty standards, to the high expectations Byron has of his talents and his cleverness. What Byron needs is a quest of epic proportions.
Which is exactly what he gets.
Misrule magic, Midwinter's magic Byron Thorn's twelfth birthday is no ordinary day. The western wolves are howling and the animals have broken their winter sleep. The centaur Ravinath and his sinister followers are uneasy and the king's Chief at Arms is keeping watch on the Fencewood. The sign of an ancient prophecy suddenly appears, and before his Misrule's Day is over, Byron Thorn will be running for his life.
So begins the quest that will lead him into friendship and danger, down dark tunnels and up windy heights, to wake a sleeping kingdom and find a forgotten king. It's a world where humans live side by side with satyrs and centaurs, dwarves and dryads, giants and griffins and wolves. Together with his companions, Byron must find his way through one wild adventure after another to the lands beyond the mountains, helped by unexpected allies, harrowed by unrelenting enemies and guided by the clarion call of Silverlance.
- GenresFantasy
273 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 2003
3 people are currently reading
21 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 26, 2011
It turns out that this book is self-published. That would explain some things, and since I'm a "bad-news-first" person I'll begin with those things.
The story is a quest, yes, but the reason for the quest is not explained well. The rising of a star that means the rising of a king who wouldn't be good for everyone could have made for an exciting premise, but it didn't. Also, having the only reason for him to be allowed to go on the quest be because it was his "Misrule Day" could have been milked way more to show the traditions of an unfamiliar world. Further, the story meandered a lot, adding characters willy-nilly just to let them pull deus ex machina-like saves. Action scenes were rather clumsily written, almost random. The ending was pretty anticlimatic, too.
Now for some redeeming traits. I think some people would call hiding the truth of cheating, but there were enough hints at it that I didn't really mind. Also, props for using an unconventional fantasy species as a main character: how many satyr heroes are there? Some of the characters were handled very well: I particularly liked Dindra's characterization. Overall, though, this story did not impress me in the least. It's the first book in a series, or so I gather, but I'm not going to hunt for more if this is the kind of writing/storytelling I can expect.
The story is a quest, yes, but the reason for the quest is not explained well. The rising of a star that means the rising of a king who wouldn't be good for everyone could have made for an exciting premise, but it didn't. Also, having the only reason for him to be allowed to go on the quest be because it was his "Misrule Day" could have been milked way more to show the traditions of an unfamiliar world. Further, the story meandered a lot, adding characters willy-nilly just to let them pull deus ex machina-like saves. Action scenes were rather clumsily written, almost random. The ending was pretty anticlimatic, too.
Now for some redeeming traits. I think some people would call hiding the truth of cheating, but there were enough hints at it that I didn't really mind. Also, props for using an unconventional fantasy species as a main character: how many satyr heroes are there? Some of the characters were handled very well: I particularly liked Dindra's characterization. Overall, though, this story did not impress me in the least. It's the first book in a series, or so I gather, but I'm not going to hunt for more if this is the kind of writing/storytelling I can expect.
September 27, 2007
Fun epic YA fantasy. Very action-packed - for the supposed first book in a series, it leaves little else to happen in future installments - the exception being traveling through a swamp with weird glowing lights, but that will probably end up in the next book. Sort of cliche, but still interesting.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews