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The Sapphire Saga #1
The Sapphire Sword
To save the world from certain destruction, three siblings and their shapeshifting alien guide embark on an out-of-this-world adventure in search of an ancient, all-powerful weapon.
Slugger, Flint, and Scout are always out exploring the mountains of New Mexico near their home. When a cherry-picking expedition puts them in the path of a peculiar pooch in peril, the three siblings have no idea what unstoppable calamity has just been set in motion.
The dog they call Robin Hood isn’t what he appears to be. And neither are the O’Ryan kids. In fact, they’re not even kids ! Well, not human ones, at least.
Together, the three unlikely heroes and their trusty “canine” companion must journey the cosmos to snatch Earth back from the clutches of catastrophic evil. And they might just be successful.
If only they could find that legendary sword . . .
Slugger, Flint, and Scout are always out exploring the mountains of New Mexico near their home. When a cherry-picking expedition puts them in the path of a peculiar pooch in peril, the three siblings have no idea what unstoppable calamity has just been set in motion.
The dog they call Robin Hood isn’t what he appears to be. And neither are the O’Ryan kids. In fact, they’re not even kids ! Well, not human ones, at least.
Together, the three unlikely heroes and their trusty “canine” companion must journey the cosmos to snatch Earth back from the clutches of catastrophic evil. And they might just be successful.
If only they could find that legendary sword . . .
320 pages, Paperback
Published August 6, 2024
2 people are currently reading
27 people want to read
About the author
Robert L. Fuller
10 books5 followersRobert L. Fuller is a writer and film producer residing in the wind swept lands of central Texas. He enjoys long, solitary strolls in the woods, reading to his three precocious children, culinary adventures with his wife, and trying to get his stubborn dog to actually come when beckoned. He's been writing for thirty years and has finally decided to make his stories available to the world.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
October 17, 2024
On a routine mission for cherries in the wilds of New Mexico, siblings Slugger, Flint, and Scout discover a mysterious dog on the brink of death. The canine appears to have been in a battle with a nearby twisty, black vine. The ominous plant coils and whips freely, somehow alive. The kids avoid the tendrils, and Scout, the girl of the trio, brings the dog home to nurse it back to health. Meanwhile, the boys scratch their heads as to how a plant could possibly be alive, much less attack a dog.
The kids name their newly found canine Robin Hood, though he’s no lost pup at all. Robin Hood is actually an intergalactic guardian sent to protect the children. At least, that’s what Robin Hood claims as he laps down a root beer, burying his snout in foam. The black vines are death itself made manifest, and its branches will only keep growing until they destroy all of Earth. Only a legendary weapon known as the Sapphire Sword can stop it. And only the children are capable of wielding it. To the siblings’ surprise, Dad agrees. There’s much to explain about who their family really is, but there’s no time now. Dad needs to buy them all enough time to make their escape and find the Sapphire Sword. As the kids travel through the stars to new and distant worlds, they have only one question. “Do they have pizza here?”
When the kids finally get to the sword, they find instead three daggers, one for each of them. The weapons may be small, but a power within the blades proves to be more spiritual than science. The daggers each have their own unique traits, matched to the individual gifts of the user. This sets off a stunning exploration into the gifts and callings of the Lord through allegory. Through author Robert L. Fuller’s excellent sci-fi world building, young readers can expect to find a deepened relationship with the Holy Spirit in a story that brings honor to the Lord, even showing up Himself in the book’s epic final battle.
Fuller pulls off a cohesive, satisfying space adventure, thanks to his vivid imagination sharpened by bedtime storytelling with his own three kids. Amid plenty of lighthearted humor, Fuller displays a keen sense for thrills, knowing just how much kids can take while keeping things clean and accessible as a family read-aloud. From sentient black vines to outer-galaxy baddies that look like scorpions, it’s a lot of fun with an age-appropriate edge.
“The Sapphire Sword” is a once-in-a-lifetime specialty. Nothing has ever been written like it. It’s packed with surprises and has all the elements kids love in sci-fi action. Fuller’s quirky, zany style mixes well with his traditional, professional approach to story beats and structure. But it’s his deep love for the Lord on display that’s the real standout, albeit understatedly with a show-it, don’t-say-it approach. Kids can encounter the power of Jesus in this big story about a little weapon that defeats death itself. Plus, there’s a talking dog flying a spaceship named Robin Hood that’s says things like, “To wild and wonderful things!”
“The Sapphire Sword” by Robert L. Fuller earns our highest recommendation.
The kids name their newly found canine Robin Hood, though he’s no lost pup at all. Robin Hood is actually an intergalactic guardian sent to protect the children. At least, that’s what Robin Hood claims as he laps down a root beer, burying his snout in foam. The black vines are death itself made manifest, and its branches will only keep growing until they destroy all of Earth. Only a legendary weapon known as the Sapphire Sword can stop it. And only the children are capable of wielding it. To the siblings’ surprise, Dad agrees. There’s much to explain about who their family really is, but there’s no time now. Dad needs to buy them all enough time to make their escape and find the Sapphire Sword. As the kids travel through the stars to new and distant worlds, they have only one question. “Do they have pizza here?”
When the kids finally get to the sword, they find instead three daggers, one for each of them. The weapons may be small, but a power within the blades proves to be more spiritual than science. The daggers each have their own unique traits, matched to the individual gifts of the user. This sets off a stunning exploration into the gifts and callings of the Lord through allegory. Through author Robert L. Fuller’s excellent sci-fi world building, young readers can expect to find a deepened relationship with the Holy Spirit in a story that brings honor to the Lord, even showing up Himself in the book’s epic final battle.
Fuller pulls off a cohesive, satisfying space adventure, thanks to his vivid imagination sharpened by bedtime storytelling with his own three kids. Amid plenty of lighthearted humor, Fuller displays a keen sense for thrills, knowing just how much kids can take while keeping things clean and accessible as a family read-aloud. From sentient black vines to outer-galaxy baddies that look like scorpions, it’s a lot of fun with an age-appropriate edge.
“The Sapphire Sword” is a once-in-a-lifetime specialty. Nothing has ever been written like it. It’s packed with surprises and has all the elements kids love in sci-fi action. Fuller’s quirky, zany style mixes well with his traditional, professional approach to story beats and structure. But it’s his deep love for the Lord on display that’s the real standout, albeit understatedly with a show-it, don’t-say-it approach. Kids can encounter the power of Jesus in this big story about a little weapon that defeats death itself. Plus, there’s a talking dog flying a spaceship named Robin Hood that’s says things like, “To wild and wonderful things!”
“The Sapphire Sword” by Robert L. Fuller earns our highest recommendation.
October 14, 2025
Siblings Slugger, Flint, and Scout never imagined that their hike to pick cherries would lead to them stumbling across a dog who turns out to be an alien, a sinister pestilence of poisonous vines threatening to take over their home, and launch them on an intergalactic journey to save their father and the rest of Earth.
This is an adventurous scifi adventure featuring three siblings who have grown up spending a lot of time outdoors at their New Mexico family home next to the woods. They believe their father is a brilliant inventor who makes all kinds of cool tech, like their AI/hologram homeschool teachers and a telescope that lets them see farther than the Hubble. They can’t understand why he doesn’t sell his inventions, until the events on their cherry picking hike stir things up and they find out some deep secrets . There are subtle Christian allegory items woven in, and the book actually reminded me quite a lot of the Chronicles of Narnia at certain moments (especially a talking animal training 3 kids to be warriors and fight off evil). I’ve seen other books that have alien evil plants taking over the Earth (like in Oppel’s Bloom) but this felt like it was done in a new and fresh way. My favorite bits were exploring the Nautilus spaceship with the kids and watching each of them grow. This book resolves a lot of issues, but the ending launches them on a further mission and has one very tantalizing sentence that will have readers clamoring for book 2.
Notes on content:
Language: None
Sexual content: None
Violence: There are moments of peril, multiple characters are attacked by an alien creature (1 wound described a little bit, others just mentioned but not described), several are in a spacecraft crash, another planet has been wiped out by the pestilence. The children’s mother died in the past. The kids have to battle the pestilence.
Ethnic diversity: I don’t remember much of a description of the kids except that Scout has a white streak in her black hair.
LGBTQ+ content: None
Other: There’s a good and evil battle going on, and at one point the evil tries to sweet talk the kids into thinking his way is the better way (but he isn’t being honest and twists the meaning of his words); the kids .
This is an adventurous scifi adventure featuring three siblings who have grown up spending a lot of time outdoors at their New Mexico family home next to the woods. They believe their father is a brilliant inventor who makes all kinds of cool tech, like their AI/hologram homeschool teachers and a telescope that lets them see farther than the Hubble. They can’t understand why he doesn’t sell his inventions, until the events on their cherry picking hike stir things up and they find out some deep secrets . There are subtle Christian allegory items woven in, and the book actually reminded me quite a lot of the Chronicles of Narnia at certain moments (especially a talking animal training 3 kids to be warriors and fight off evil). I’ve seen other books that have alien evil plants taking over the Earth (like in Oppel’s Bloom) but this felt like it was done in a new and fresh way. My favorite bits were exploring the Nautilus spaceship with the kids and watching each of them grow. This book resolves a lot of issues, but the ending launches them on a further mission and has one very tantalizing sentence that will have readers clamoring for book 2.
Notes on content:
Language: None
Sexual content: None
Violence: There are moments of peril, multiple characters are attacked by an alien creature (1 wound described a little bit, others just mentioned but not described), several are in a spacecraft crash, another planet has been wiped out by the pestilence. The children’s mother died in the past. The kids have to battle the pestilence.
Ethnic diversity: I don’t remember much of a description of the kids except that Scout has a white streak in her black hair.
LGBTQ+ content: None
Other: There’s a good and evil battle going on, and at one point the evil tries to sweet talk the kids into thinking his way is the better way (but he isn’t being honest and twists the meaning of his words); the kids .
June 28, 2025
4.0 ⭐️ I think this will appeal to middle grade readers for sure. The Christian content is quite minimal. A couple verses randomly quoted without context or explanation and that’s it. Bonus the kids are homeschooled, great to see that represented! But they’re completely isolated from the rest of society and never mention their friends. So that feels like perpetuating a harmful stereotype of homeschoolers being antisocial or weird/alien. I’d still recommend it though!
March 27, 2025
My daughter recommended this to me. It's a fun Sci fi adventure for kids that love space, adventure and positive family relationships... we already pre-ordered the next book
July 9, 2025
DNF. Made it half way, but lost interest.
August 11, 2025
It was overall a pretty good story. I didn’t care for some of the language in the book for my kids.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews