The Sundered Isle

Warder #3

by Eldon Thompson

Thwarted by a string of treacheries in his quest to retrieve the abducted Crown Prince Dethaniel, rogue bladesman Kylac Kronus is returned to the Sundered Isle of Addaranth in shackles aboard a Grenarr colony ship. There he finds the worst come to pass: the capitol city of Avenell overrun, King Kendarrion and his armies chased into the wilderness, and the secret Grenarr overlord still very much alive—spared by Kylac’s own hand. To make use of his talents in hunting down and eliminating the final dregs of Addaran resistance, this so-called Stormweaver offers him his life for but a single act of allegiance.

Slay his longtime ward, the hateful, half-blooded Princess Denariel.

Unwilling to do so, Kylac looks to escape, help Denariel track down her vanquished father, and lead her scattered troops in the fight to reclaim their lands. More easily imagined than accomplished. For defeat has left the survivors pitted against one another—wary of spies, and divided in what their response should be. Without aid from foreign shores, any attempt to safeguard their remaining strongholds or retake Avenell would seem doomed to failure.

But with the Grenarr pressing their advantage, there is no time to send forth missives—and no one to receive them. The realization leads Denariel to propose a desperate new course: a trek into the savage heart of the dreaded Harrows, in search of an ancient creature who might yet summon a force capable of driving the invaders from their lands. A force unlikely to distinguish ally from enemy. And if unleashed, sure to consume all.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction

636 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 25, 2018

About the author

After surrendering his dream of playing pro football, Eldon Thompson set out to publish a fantasy adventure novel. In 2003, he sold his Legend of Asahiel trilogy to HarperCollins, which kicked off with The Crimson Sword in 2005. He is also a graduate of the UCLA Professional Program in Screenwriting, and in 2007 sold a feature adaptation of Terry Brooks's The Elfstones of Shannara (his favorite childhood novel) to Warner Bros. He has signed and dined with the likes of Robert Jordan, George R. R. Martin, Brandon Sanderson, and Patrick Rothfuss, but wrote chiefly for Hollywood until 2013, when "Unbowed," a short story featuring fan-favorite character Kylac Kronus, appeared in the Grim Oak Press anthology, Unfettered. Scratching that itch led to the long-promised delivery of Kylac's full-length return in the Warder trilogy, beginning with The Ukinhan Wilds in August of 2018.

Mostly, he continues to fantasize about being an NFL quarterback.

Reviews

[Collin Greenwood]

What can I say? It's really good!

Eldon Thompson is able to do something with his writing that I've seen very few authors accomplish, which is the ability to take scenes of overland travel and make them mean something. There are stretches in this novel where Kylac crosses the Harrows, but rather than dragging, they flow. They have consequences and choices just as other scenes might.

The way things were tied up was excellent as well. Every character had an arc that came to a fitting end, for the most part deserved. I wasn't left frustrated by unresolved hints or clues-- save for one unresolved question that leads me to believe there might be more stories yet to come, which is not at all a bad thing.

I just hope the next tale comes soon!

[Grete]

Note: I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

Okay, well, luckily, this was better than the second in the series which I struggled to get through. This one started and ended well, but had some dull dragging in the middle. I think I just don't like the battle/war scenes which is unfortunate, because there are a lot of them. Also, I have a very hard time getting behind the main character because he's just too perfect at fighting. He can basically do no wrong and never makes mistakes. I need more flaws.