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The Sword and the Way
All he wanted was adventure.
Then Reavers killed his kinfolk.
Now he seeks a legendary sword-dance...
which will probably kill him!
_________________________________
The Sword and the Way --- a fantasy book for those who favor complex plots, multiple POVs, swordplay and skullduggery with a touch of humor and romance – and for martial arts enthusiasts and/or fans of the old Kung Fu TV show starring David Carradine
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Jorgan Anderson, a Northland shipmaster’s young son, is looking for adventure on a routine voyage to the same old ports—and adventure finds him the day they spot a Ty Shing priest floating face-down in the sea.
When Reavers slay Jorgan’s kinsmen in a bloody sea-battle, he vows to learn a legendary sword dance for his folk to defend their longships. His adventure takes him to distant Xaichen, a mysterious land ruled by Oshiemin Tu, the Ty Shing priest’s bitterest enemy.
Jorgan becomes the Outlander of Ty Shing, a sword-novice mistrusted by temple masters, rejected by fellow students—unwittingly tangled in a forbidden romance, imperial schemes, and an arch-sorcerer’s behind-the-scenes manipulation.
Will the young warrior trust the sword or the One? His decision could cost him his life.
Then Reavers killed his kinfolk.
Now he seeks a legendary sword-dance...
which will probably kill him!
_________________________________
The Sword and the Way --- a fantasy book for those who favor complex plots, multiple POVs, swordplay and skullduggery with a touch of humor and romance – and for martial arts enthusiasts and/or fans of the old Kung Fu TV show starring David Carradine
_________________________________
Jorgan Anderson, a Northland shipmaster’s young son, is looking for adventure on a routine voyage to the same old ports—and adventure finds him the day they spot a Ty Shing priest floating face-down in the sea.
When Reavers slay Jorgan’s kinsmen in a bloody sea-battle, he vows to learn a legendary sword dance for his folk to defend their longships. His adventure takes him to distant Xaichen, a mysterious land ruled by Oshiemin Tu, the Ty Shing priest’s bitterest enemy.
Jorgan becomes the Outlander of Ty Shing, a sword-novice mistrusted by temple masters, rejected by fellow students—unwittingly tangled in a forbidden romance, imperial schemes, and an arch-sorcerer’s behind-the-scenes manipulation.
Will the young warrior trust the sword or the One? His decision could cost him his life.
577 pages, Paperback
Published January 11, 2019
4 people are currently reading
11 people want to read
About the author
G.K. Werner
10 books14 followersGK and Virginia Ann Werner write genre stories with a Biblical worldview. They live in Slower-Lower Delaware with their cats and dogs (who have many tales, but never tell). GK also teaches English, history and martial arts; Virginia composes melodies for Bible memory verses and for her own lyrics, and writes poetry. She is a home-maker who enjoys cooking, pets and children. (No, not like in fairy tales--punctuation matters!)
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 20, 2018
What can I say? People, whom in OUR world would be Vikings, samurai, ninjas, PIRATES!!! How can you go wrong with a book like this? The answer is that, obviously, you can’t. I was hooked from page one.
It was a wonderful read! Aside from the above mentioned characters, I also loved the world building and the characterizations of the cast of players (if you will). I also think that there’s enough depth that adults older kids (such as my 13 & 15 year old grandchildren) will figure out what, say, the “master manipulation” analogy truly is, while younger readers will be able to read and discuss it with parents (as my tween grandchildren do) and get much from it as well. Personally, I thoroughly enjoyed every minute I spent within the “pages” of my e-reader with The Sword and the Way.
It was a wonderful read! Aside from the above mentioned characters, I also loved the world building and the characterizations of the cast of players (if you will). I also think that there’s enough depth that adults older kids (such as my 13 & 15 year old grandchildren) will figure out what, say, the “master manipulation” analogy truly is, while younger readers will be able to read and discuss it with parents (as my tween grandchildren do) and get much from it as well. Personally, I thoroughly enjoyed every minute I spent within the “pages” of my e-reader with The Sword and the Way.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 2, 2019
If you like the complexity of Guy Gavriel Kay, but want something a little cleaner, try this series.
In this book, a young Norse adventurer must survive enrolling in a Far-Eastern sword fighting school, and learn the Way of the Sword Dance.
This is a politically complex tale, most set in China (though the first half takes place in a typical Norse adventure setting with lots of boat chases, rowdy taverns and Vikings). The antagonists are realistic, and thankfully, they aren't all powerful. The protagonist, Outlander, is admirable, though he is easily outwitted and has his own internal struggles to overcome. Best of all, the story has ninjas. There's more than enough sword battles to keep readers interested.
The beginning is a bit slow for my tastes. And at times I struggled with the Chinese names, but the author did provide a who's who in the front matter. I'll admit I was taken aback that most of the story took place in the far east, (I was expecting more vikings!) but at the end, the author ties the two worlds back together. A very thorough job of world-building here, and it has a strong moral message that is sometimes lacking in fantasy (I believe this is Christian fantasy).
I gave it fours stars, for the sheer scope and complexity of world building. And the ninjas.
In this book, a young Norse adventurer must survive enrolling in a Far-Eastern sword fighting school, and learn the Way of the Sword Dance.
This is a politically complex tale, most set in China (though the first half takes place in a typical Norse adventure setting with lots of boat chases, rowdy taverns and Vikings). The antagonists are realistic, and thankfully, they aren't all powerful. The protagonist, Outlander, is admirable, though he is easily outwitted and has his own internal struggles to overcome. Best of all, the story has ninjas. There's more than enough sword battles to keep readers interested.
The beginning is a bit slow for my tastes. And at times I struggled with the Chinese names, but the author did provide a who's who in the front matter. I'll admit I was taken aback that most of the story took place in the far east, (I was expecting more vikings!) but at the end, the author ties the two worlds back together. A very thorough job of world-building here, and it has a strong moral message that is sometimes lacking in fantasy (I believe this is Christian fantasy).
I gave it fours stars, for the sheer scope and complexity of world building. And the ninjas.
March 22, 2019
Many darlings were spared
They say to "kill your darlings" when writing. In the case of this book, there should have been a slaughter. It was way too long. What started off as an exciting pirate story became bogged down in a "great white savior" coming of age snoozefest. An important death at sea (an unexpected and beautiful plot point) marked the beginning of the end. Jorgan identifying as Outlander was the point I strongly considered adding this to my very small DNF pile. The first third was awesome. The middle was tedious. The final ten percent showed promise, but by that point I was simply reading words with limited care of what was going on. I found myself easily distracted by the limited typos and formatting errors. There are highlights in this story, but the lack of action took away my desire to search for them.
They say to "kill your darlings" when writing. In the case of this book, there should have been a slaughter. It was way too long. What started off as an exciting pirate story became bogged down in a "great white savior" coming of age snoozefest. An important death at sea (an unexpected and beautiful plot point) marked the beginning of the end. Jorgan identifying as Outlander was the point I strongly considered adding this to my very small DNF pile. The first third was awesome. The middle was tedious. The final ten percent showed promise, but by that point I was simply reading words with limited care of what was going on. I found myself easily distracted by the limited typos and formatting errors. There are highlights in this story, but the lack of action took away my desire to search for them.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews