Dwarven Ruby

Sword of Heavens #4

by Richard S. Tuttle

Before the Prince of Alcea can secure the Dwarven Ruby for the Sword of Heavens, he must first find an ancient magical shield created by dwarven magicians eons ago. The shield was carried into battle against the goblins, but the dwarves that carried it have never been heard from again. Meanwhile, the mysteriously senile Mage entices some of the Children of the Ancient Prophecy to join him in what may be a suicide attack of the Imperial Palace of Emperor Hanchi. The Contest of Power reaches a critical stage in Tagaret, and gypsy rebels must determine what the Ancient Prophecy means to them. Discover a world of might, magic, and intrigue as the search for the fourth gem of the Sword of Heavens brings danger to a new level.

Genres: Fantasy

Nook

First published October 2, 2002

About the author

Richard S. Tuttle began his writing career in 1997 with the release of the Targa Trilogy (Origin Scroll, Dark Quest, Ancient Prophecy). That trilogy became the foundation for the Alcea Collection, a seventeen volume epic fantasy collection of three series (Targa Trilogy, Sword of Heavens, Demonstone Chronicles).

His other works include the Forgotten Legacy, an eight volume series, and the Amica Saga, his most current work which contains eight volumes.

Reviews

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

As stated in my previous reviews of the books in this series, as the series progresses, it becomes more and more complex. I am being drawn into the story more and more with each book. The Dwarven Ruby is the fourth in this series of seven books and it picks up right where Abuud the One-Eyed God ended. We find the Children of the Prophecy and the otherworldly protectors/teachers moving on to find the next gem that has to be added to the Sword of Heavens for the Prophecy to be fulfilled. Aided by fairies, unicorns, magicians, and mages, the Children fight the forces of evil to obtain the Dwarven Ruby for the Sword of Heavens. Again, some members of the group become separated from the Heir to the Throne and in trying to rejoin the Prince (for it turns out that he is the Prince of the Prophecy), these characters have their own adventures along the way...which provide several subplots and more complexity than the prior three books. This seems to be the case with each succeeding book...as the adventure continues and the story broadens to include more characters, the number of subplots increase. There were a number of complete surprises (at least to me) in this book that make it much less predictable that the previous three books. That is not to say that the first three books are totally simplistic. It just seems that the story becomes more intriguing with each new book. In my opinion, this author is not the equal of Terry Brooks (one of my all-time favorite fantasy authors), but so far these have been interesting reads that have pulled me into the worlds (or should I say universes, for there are multiple universes at work here) of the story. Again, the reason I only gave this book 4 stars was that as much as I enjoyed the story with the complexity of the plot and subplots, there were a number of typos which really bothered me. And, again, I am sure that there are proofreaders who are being paid to read these books and in this one, they did a very poor job. If those had not been there, I would have given it 5 stars. I think these typos bother me so much because I was an English major and it pains me to see such typos, especially in books that can be read equally by schoolchildren and adults. These typos are no way to teach our children how to spell and read!! Other than that, another great book by a great author!!

[Meryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

See my review for # 1 of the series- poor dialogue writing, generally immature.

[Lorrene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed every word. Great writer.