Latest Posts
Merlin's Blade - Robert Treskillard
- Details
- Written by A. E. Sauble
The theme of this story seems obvious from its title—Merlin, yes, so obviously it’s a story about Arthur. Arthur and Merlin maybe, but most certainly Arthur.
Merlin’s Blade, however, is touted as the story before Arthur—the story of Merlin.
In this, the first book of The Merlin Spiral, Robert Treskillard writes the story of a blacksmith’s son, half-blind, only able to see blurs and shadows, but able to see some things better than most of the stronger, more clear-sighted villagers around him. In keeping with this, the book follows Merlin’s attempts to find his way in the world and his struggle to fit into a broken family.
At the same time, Merlin’s Blade is also the story of the young Merlin’s first encounter with supernatural power, when the old forces of Druidic magic and idolatry invade his quiet home village in Cornwall. And Cornwall, or ‘Kernow’ as Treskillard calls it, is an easy prey as the villagers split between the new way of peace and the old way of fear, superstition, and greed.
The Magic of Merlin - Merlin's Blade - CSFF
- Details
- Written by Emma Engel
This month's Christian Science Fiction and Fantasy Blog Tour focuses on an exciting new book we haven't covered before here, Merlin's Blade by Robert Treskillard. Since I finished it about a month ago, I've been eagerly waiting for the Tour so I could share my astonishment with this new novel. While my reviews have reflected the current boom in YA Dystopian fiction, my first love is Epic Fantasy, and few things fit that definition more than a new look at the Arthur myth.
In many ways I feel like all the story has been wrung out of the tales of King Arthur. We've been fascinated with it so long that we seem to have run out of anything original to say...in both fiction and non-fiction. So when I heard vague mentions of a new book set in Arthurian England, I wasn't overly curious until I saw the title: Merlin's Blade. And suddenly, I was interested.
Back Before Dark - Tim Shoemaker
- Details
- Written by Emma Engel
I’m starting to notice a trend with Zondervan’s YA novels. They require a lot of thinking. Back Before Dark proved a thrilling story and an excellent book for the targeted age range. But like so many books, I keep thinking back to my time working at a local library and how many grade schoolers would check out YA novels, and I’m concern about how problematic a book like this could be for a younger than intended reader.
Storm - Evan Angler
- Details
- Written by Emma Engel
The saga of the Dust continues! Storm is slated for the Christian Science Fiction and Fantasy blog tour here in a few months so I will wait to do a detailed review until then, but I can’t resist gushing about the newest installment of the Swipe Series a little.
One of the things that frequently bothers me about Dystopian series is a strong sense of nothing being planned. There are tropes involved that we understand so readily that often we accept their existence without explanation. For example, the secret black ops government agents after our heroes. These are so integral to the plot of Dystopian novel we assume they’re hiding in the shadows before we ever see them. And it would be so easy for an author to use them in a story without any explanation of where they come from, who they answer to, and what their goals really are. In the Swipe Series though, Evan never once cheats. Everything on the page is there for a purpose, and everything is firmly grounded in his world’s reality.
The Door Within Trilogy Rerelease
- Details
- Written by Emma Engel
It is easy sometimes to get wrapped up in the experience of reading all the latest new books and to loose sight of old favorites. Today though, Wayne Thomas Batson's Door Within Trilogy is being rereleased, and I really want it to have it's moment in the sun.
This trilogy came along when the idea of Christian speculative fiction was quite young, and beyond Tolkien and Lewis, very little of it was well known. Enter the tale of a boy who is transported to another world to become a knight. Along the way he learns so much more than how to wield a sword. And he begins to realize that the war being fought with physical weapons in the fantasy world is also happening in his world on a completely different plane where no spear or arrow can help.