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Swordbird #0
Sword Quest
Wind-voice the half-dove, formerly enslaved, is now free, and Maldeor, the one-winged archaeopteryx, hungers for supreme power. Can Wind-voice and his valiant companions—Ewingerale, the wood-pecker scribe; Stormac, the myna warrior; and Fleydur, the musician eagle—save the future of their world? An exciting prequel to the New York Times bestseller Swordbird .
272 pages, Hardcover
First published January 22, 2008
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635 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
September 20, 2008
Although the beginning was a little confusing, this is a really good book.
And cake makes my stomach hurt :) o.k, that was random...but oh well
And cake makes my stomach hurt :) o.k, that was random...but oh well
March 25, 2010
Wind-voice, a half-dove, is a slave of the giant archeopteryx empire. His mother was a dove, and he never knew his father. The king of the archeopteryx is permanently power-hungry and Wind-voice is the only one standing firmly in front of his goal: a beautiful sword said to bring peace to the fighting world. Can Wind-voice and his powerful friends get to the sword before the archeopteryx king and deliver peace to all birdkind? Read this wonderful and exciting book to find out! I liked it very much because the plot was extremily exciting, and the bad guys made me tremble! Wind-voice's quest for peace was breathtaking, and most parts made me gasp with astonishment. It's amazing that a fourteen-year-old wrote this! I loved this book; and the book before it, and can't wait for the third one!
October 7, 2010
Sword Quest was written by Nancy Yi Fan, a twelve-year-old Chinese-American girl, and it's about one bird's quest for peace in a time of war. I really enjoyed it because it reminded me how important peace is, which is very fitting considering Peace Day is only a few weeks away. It's sequel is Sword Bird, which I also own but haven't read.
February 9, 2018
This a lot better then some books I've read by adults. Nancy yi fan is talented author I would definitely read agian.
March 11, 2017
Find this review and more fantastical things at The Leaning Tower of Tomes.
The review:
Sword Quest is the prequel to Swordbird, and tells the life of the dove Wind-voice before he became the legendary Swordbird. Nancy Yi Fan was about 14 when she penned Sword Quest, and, in a nutshell, Sword Quest is about, wait for it — bird-Jesus. It’s a stronger story than Swordbird by far, but still very cliche and juvenile, sorry to say.
The story is set in a world of birds, where various species rule over their own kingdoms and territories. The villains this time around are the archaeopteryxes, but there’s another villain, Yin-soul, trying to control and manipulate both our hero, Wind-voice, and our antagonist, Maldeor.
The plot is a pretty basic hero and quest-type story: the search for the magical Leasorn gemstones and the One Sword to Rule Them All. (Haha, not exactly. It’s just the “hero’s sword”. I’m being a little sarcastic here.) Our merry band of birds escape from the archaeopteryxes, visit other bird tribes in search of help and the Leasorn gems, get captured again, get rescued, visit some penguins, etcetera, etcetera. It’s predictable, but at least it’s a quick read. (I skimmed a lot of it since I’d read it before. I don’t think I’ll be reading it again.)
I thought the world-building was a lot better and more fleshed-out than in Swordbird. As I said earlier, this prequel is much stronger than Nancy’s first book. It’s longer and it has a somewhat meatier plot, even if the plot is pretty basic. The characters are all still pretty two-dimensional, however, and whatever inner conflict some of them had was pretty weak. The one great thing these books have going for them, though, are the beautiful pencil illustrations. Mark Zug, a favorite artist of mine, illustrated Swordbird, and this time Jo-Anne Rioux illustrated Sword Quest.
In conclusion, Sword Quest isn’t that good, but it’s a lot better than its predecessor. It’s aimed for younger middle-grade readers, and it doesn’t skillfully tackle any of its messages and themes; it just kind of presents them and says, “this: good, this: bad.” I enjoyed Nancy Yi Fan’s books when I was a kid because I myself wished I was in her shoes — being a published author and New York Times bestseller at such a young age. Now that I’ve grown up and have revisited her writing, I’m not as enamored anymore. These books really don’t have much to them, so I’d recommend skipping them in favor of better stories out there. ♦
So tell me...
Have you read Sword Quest? If you haven’t, would you be interested to? What’s a book you’ve revisited that doesn’t hold up to what you originally thought about it? Comment below letting me know!
Follow me @ toweroftomes on Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | and Bloglovin’!
The review:
Sword Quest is the prequel to Swordbird, and tells the life of the dove Wind-voice before he became the legendary Swordbird. Nancy Yi Fan was about 14 when she penned Sword Quest, and, in a nutshell, Sword Quest is about, wait for it — bird-Jesus. It’s a stronger story than Swordbird by far, but still very cliche and juvenile, sorry to say.
The story is set in a world of birds, where various species rule over their own kingdoms and territories. The villains this time around are the archaeopteryxes, but there’s another villain, Yin-soul, trying to control and manipulate both our hero, Wind-voice, and our antagonist, Maldeor.
The plot is a pretty basic hero and quest-type story: the search for the magical Leasorn gemstones and the One Sword to Rule Them All. (Haha, not exactly. It’s just the “hero’s sword”. I’m being a little sarcastic here.) Our merry band of birds escape from the archaeopteryxes, visit other bird tribes in search of help and the Leasorn gems, get captured again, get rescued, visit some penguins, etcetera, etcetera. It’s predictable, but at least it’s a quick read. (I skimmed a lot of it since I’d read it before. I don’t think I’ll be reading it again.)
I thought the world-building was a lot better and more fleshed-out than in Swordbird. As I said earlier, this prequel is much stronger than Nancy’s first book. It’s longer and it has a somewhat meatier plot, even if the plot is pretty basic. The characters are all still pretty two-dimensional, however, and whatever inner conflict some of them had was pretty weak. The one great thing these books have going for them, though, are the beautiful pencil illustrations. Mark Zug, a favorite artist of mine, illustrated Swordbird, and this time Jo-Anne Rioux illustrated Sword Quest.
In conclusion, Sword Quest isn’t that good, but it’s a lot better than its predecessor. It’s aimed for younger middle-grade readers, and it doesn’t skillfully tackle any of its messages and themes; it just kind of presents them and says, “this: good, this: bad.” I enjoyed Nancy Yi Fan’s books when I was a kid because I myself wished I was in her shoes — being a published author and New York Times bestseller at such a young age. Now that I’ve grown up and have revisited her writing, I’m not as enamored anymore. These books really don’t have much to them, so I’d recommend skipping them in favor of better stories out there. ♦
So tell me...
Have you read Sword Quest? If you haven’t, would you be interested to? What’s a book you’ve revisited that doesn’t hold up to what you originally thought about it? Comment below letting me know!
Follow me @ toweroftomes on Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | and Bloglovin’!
August 12, 2016
I visit the goodwill in my area to look for books every once in a while, and that is how I first came across Sword Quest. The copy I found is missing a dust jacket, and the false gilding on the spine is what first caught my attention. I always have loved books like that - they feel magical, in a way, like they could be a valuable tome in some fantasy land. As I reached for it, I noticed the little bird outlined on the spine, a symbol that has some personal meaning for me. This was one of those rare moments where you touch a book and it just feels like you were meant to read it.
Aside from the writing on the spine, it's a rather plain book; navy blue with black binding, and the only thing on the cover is that bird symbol.
Beyond intrugued, I flipped to the front cover for a summary, but there wasn't one. Instead, I find a map showing the route of characters, and I know I'm holding a well thought out fantasy novel.
I flip to the back of the book to look for a summary there, even though I'm already certain I'm going to buy this book. Yet again, there isn't one in the back either. I did, however, find something far better between the pages: drawings of birds wielding swords.
Yep. I'm buying this book.
I'm glad I did because Sword Quest is basically The Legend of Zelda meets LOTR, but with birds, and it's fabulous.
One of those things I loved about Sword Quest was that the writing style was almost biblical at times. It has the sort of subtle poetry that you find almost exclusively in translated texts, but it doesn't detract from the story at all. In fact, it adds to it, supporting the book's prophetic theme.
Sword Quest IS a children's book, (clearly), and written by a fourteen year old girl (less clearly) and there's a level of simplicity to it as a result, but this book was still beyond enjoyable for me. It's definitely something I would recommend parents to read with their children, as it easily appeals to multiple age groups. I know that for me, at least, this is a book to pass on to future generations.
Aside from the writing on the spine, it's a rather plain book; navy blue with black binding, and the only thing on the cover is that bird symbol.
Beyond intrugued, I flipped to the front cover for a summary, but there wasn't one. Instead, I find a map showing the route of characters, and I know I'm holding a well thought out fantasy novel.
I flip to the back of the book to look for a summary there, even though I'm already certain I'm going to buy this book. Yet again, there isn't one in the back either. I did, however, find something far better between the pages: drawings of birds wielding swords.
Yep. I'm buying this book.
I'm glad I did because Sword Quest is basically The Legend of Zelda meets LOTR, but with birds, and it's fabulous.
One of those things I loved about Sword Quest was that the writing style was almost biblical at times. It has the sort of subtle poetry that you find almost exclusively in translated texts, but it doesn't detract from the story at all. In fact, it adds to it, supporting the book's prophetic theme.
Sword Quest IS a children's book, (clearly), and written by a fourteen year old girl (less clearly) and there's a level of simplicity to it as a result, but this book was still beyond enjoyable for me. It's definitely something I would recommend parents to read with their children, as it easily appeals to multiple age groups. I know that for me, at least, this is a book to pass on to future generations.
August 29, 2017
I liked this book. It's not unlike the Warrior series. It was a little too predictable for me, though. I do still want to read the next one and see where it goes. This book ends at a good ending. It's not a cliff hanger at all, so I'm curious as to what happens in the next book. I would recommend this book to anyone twelve to sixteen. Any older and you will probably get bored.
December 14, 2014
When archaeopteryxes conquered most of birds territories, a legend spread within them: a legend of a hero that will find a magical sword and bring peace to bird kingdoms. When archaeopteryx Maldeor decides to find this sword first and use it to gain power, Wind-voice starts his own quest: protect the sword from Maldeor and save it for the hero. On his quest Wind-voice and his companions face many obstacles, and not till the very end Wind-voice realises that he is the hero, that he had became a hero on his quest to protect birdkind.
Nancy Yi Fan's writing improved a lot, and characters she created are more complex and possess shades of grey. Wind-voice's companions are just wonderful: tough and sceptical Stormac striving to redeem his past; strong yet gentle eagle Fleydur, a wandering bard; intelligent and sensitive Ewingerale. Villains also gained depth, and they have a story to tell. Besides, I like that there are several of them who attempt to use each other for their goals. For example, there is Maldeor, who is manipulated by Yin Soul, who seems to be manipulated by Yama.
Nancy Yi Fan's writing improved a lot, and characters she created are more complex and possess shades of grey. Wind-voice's companions are just wonderful: tough and sceptical Stormac striving to redeem his past; strong yet gentle eagle Fleydur, a wandering bard; intelligent and sensitive Ewingerale. Villains also gained depth, and they have a story to tell. Besides, I like that there are several of them who attempt to use each other for their goals. For example, there is Maldeor, who is manipulated by Yin Soul, who seems to be manipulated by Yama.
July 26, 2016
Nancy Yi Fan wasn't as good as I remember. I know, I thought it was all awesome and all but I just changed I guess. But seeing as my book is like that I'm condemning myself, so. But the plot was OK. I just sort of didn't like the way the prequel was handled. I'd like a sequel better. I don't like having to be stopped and pushed backward chronologically.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 2, 2012
Couldn't finish; the writing was just too juvenile and cliched to enjoy.
December 17, 2024
I'm rating this three stars more because it's not my preference rather than it's not a good book.
Also, I think this could be read as a standalone and the other two could just be skipped.
It's very narration heavy as opposed to action, which just isn't usually right for me. There's several times where the action was fade to black instead of actually described, such as, and then the battle was over, she had died previously in battle, things like that. I would have preferred to see all that happen in real time. Also, towards the end, Maldeor says Wind-voice is more skilled than he seems, but they don't actually fight at that time. I'm assuming this is another case of the fight was just understood to have happened.
In the prologue, it says that a bird will come to claim the sword "on the day of the fifth full moon three years from now" but Ozzan is leaving to find the bird before the time anyway? That doesn't make sense. You were told the exact day and year it would happen, what is there to find? This kind of? gets cleared up later, but it's a weird way to set up the plot because it makes it sound like destiny would have brought him there without the need for intervention.
I did enjoy most of it. The story and premise was entertaining, and I had a good time learning about the world and characters. I appreciated the development the characters went through and how the ones that didn't felt right and natural given the events that were going on.
Fan also clearly did her research on birds as well, and that was very nice. She got all the "bird facts" right, and they all acted as they should have given the species and physiology.
Also, I think this could be read as a standalone and the other two could just be skipped.
It's very narration heavy as opposed to action, which just isn't usually right for me. There's several times where the action was fade to black instead of actually described, such as, and then the battle was over, she had died previously in battle, things like that. I would have preferred to see all that happen in real time. Also, towards the end, Maldeor says Wind-voice is more skilled than he seems, but they don't actually fight at that time. I'm assuming this is another case of the fight was just understood to have happened.
In the prologue, it says that a bird will come to claim the sword "on the day of the fifth full moon three years from now" but Ozzan is leaving to find the bird before the time anyway? That doesn't make sense. You were told the exact day and year it would happen, what is there to find? This kind of? gets cleared up later, but it's a weird way to set up the plot because it makes it sound like destiny would have brought him there without the need for intervention.
I did enjoy most of it. The story and premise was entertaining, and I had a good time learning about the world and characters. I appreciated the development the characters went through and how the ones that didn't felt right and natural given the events that were going on.
Fan also clearly did her research on birds as well, and that was very nice. She got all the "bird facts" right, and they all acted as they should have given the species and physiology.
October 17, 2020
I think I enjoyed this sequel even more than the first book. The characters are intriguing and diverse and I love the concept and cover art. Definitely worth reading over and over again.
June 4, 2021
Swordbird was okay, but this book is better. Engaging, fun, and creative!
November 24, 2008
This is a prequel to "Sword Bird". This first book was written by a young 12 year old girl. Excellent!! She is now 14 and now has this second book. I came across a couple sentences that sounded like a young girl, but the adventure was wonderful and a great fantasy for those that love them. It has been check out by several students that have asked if she has written other books.
The story takes place in the forest. Several species of birds have lived in peace for many generations until now. One group wants to rule the world. Can Wind-voice and his valiant companions save the future of their world? Read and see. Written on a 4/5 reading level.
The story takes place in the forest. Several species of birds have lived in peace for many generations until now. One group wants to rule the world. Can Wind-voice and his valiant companions save the future of their world? Read and see. Written on a 4/5 reading level.
May 4, 2014
Lovely story! I really liked the plot better in this prequel compared to the original story. (Not that the original story wasn't good! It's really great in fact!) If you haven't read Swordbird, do check it out, though you don't have to read it to understand Sword Quest, as it stands alone very well.
I like how this story focuses on Swordbird's life before he became a bird god, and how he was a slave bird different from the other bird species. I loved him as a main character. I also loved the message of peace this book gives, and that not everything is in black and white, but in different shades of grey.
I like how this story focuses on Swordbird's life before he became a bird god, and how he was a slave bird different from the other bird species. I loved him as a main character. I also loved the message of peace this book gives, and that not everything is in black and white, but in different shades of grey.
October 7, 2016
This book was SO very very bad.
One of the things that I love about challenges is they send me on searches for books that I'd never find on my own. In this book's case, that would not have been a bad thing. It was written by a 12-year-old girl, and it read that way. If I hadn't needed it for the Wobble challenge, I'd not have bothered with it. As it was, it was a 2 hour waste of time, but thankfully, not any more than that.
One of the things that I love about challenges is they send me on searches for books that I'd never find on my own. In this book's case, that would not have been a bad thing. It was written by a 12-year-old girl, and it read that way. If I hadn't needed it for the Wobble challenge, I'd not have bothered with it. As it was, it was a 2 hour waste of time, but thankfully, not any more than that.
February 9, 2011
WOW NACY YI FAN IS SOOOOOOO CREATIVE.........she re wrote Jesus's story BUT in a bird version.....HOW LAME IS THAT!
well now we know That Swordbird is actually THE BIRD'S JESUS, and now his quest is to get the sword. the story is 0 stars the only reason I did put 2 stars is because of Swordbird's friends and the adventure and the places, but the story is really AWFUL
well now we know That Swordbird is actually THE BIRD'S JESUS, and now his quest is to get the sword. the story is 0 stars the only reason I did put 2 stars is because of Swordbird's friends and the adventure and the places, but the story is really AWFUL
Read
July 2, 2009A prequel to Sword Bird, this book tells how Wind-voice, the half-dove, who with his companions, defeats Maldeor, the one-winged archaeopteryx, finds the magical sword, and becomes the “hero” to save the world of birds.
November 19, 2010
Loved the book but hard to read at times. The author tends to jump around a lot kind of making it hard to keep up. As you get half way through it you kind of get the feel of how the story flows. Not as great as her other book.
May 24, 2010
I'm reading Sword Quest it's ar really good book.I'm a the part when Yin Soul looks for a hero and after two years he found one.I like this book alot i've only in the beining of thye book I got it today.Also I read Sowrdbird a nother book nancy wrote which is like Sowrd Quest.:)
July 17, 2014
I actually started reading this book and did not like it. It starts with bigger birds stealing from and killing littler birds. Than it talked about eating other birds. Than they tried to roast a bird alive and almost succeeded! Definitely something I will NOT recommend.
January 29, 2008
Nifty little prequel of Swordbird, has the same message of peace. Has archeopteryxes which is mad cool. Again, very impressive for a 14 year old girl to have written!
October 7, 2008
i learned to respect our elders and never argue with them.i recommend this book to be better than sword bird.
Want to read
March 21, 2009I've read SwordBird a long time ago.Didn't have enough time to read this.......i'll get to it eventually.......summer time,maybe?
Read
April 26, 2009This is a bad book! What was just weird in the first one turned to really bad in here. Don't read it. I only read a chapter and it was enough.
October 26, 2009
I am realy amazed at her ability to write. After reading this book I have been pretending to be a bird.
December 25, 2009
it was pretty good but you have to read Sword Bird first
January 1, 2010
A story of hope intertwined with magic and rebellion.
April 4, 2010
Better than the first and still interesting. :/
Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews