The Sword And The Dragon (Revised): The Wardstone Trilogy (2012) - Plot & Excerpts
This is my second attempt to read this book. I think I will have to try another book by this author...if I can forget this one.It's not that this one is bad-there is the seeds of a nice story here, but I felt the author was in love with words and in love with his story/world/characters. It was EXTREMELY descriptive but not in a good way. I did make it almost to the end of the book, but I just couldn't force myself to finish it. Whenever someone/place/event was introduced...there were paragraphs devoted to fully outlining and describing the subject matter down to the most minute detail. Fleshing out characters and your world is good and all, but I honestly got bored with the extent the descriptions were written.As descriptive as it was, it also felt young and simple. I don't have a problem with YA-but when I am reading a adult fantasy book, I want the writing level to be up there as well. There were parts that were, for me, just inappropriately placed, or weirdly described. I think this book just ended up...trying too hard. It wanted to be everything- and by that I mean: it takes ALL of the elements from the classic fantasy books we all know, and tries to combine them. Add to that the occasional random addition of some rather out there steamy moments that just suddenly appeared (and I DO like some steamy books out there! But in unexpected moments and writings...it just feels awkward and I almost feel dirty).As I said, this is the second attempt to read this series, and I just couldn't do it 2 years ago. I'm glad I went back to finish it, but it never became something I could immerse myself into.This feels like a first book attempt-and that's probably the only reason I will try another by this author. Long story short, this one wasn't one I liked. Two stars, why two stars? If you hover over the stars when you're starting a review, you will see that that second star pops up "Its okay". Its okay pretty accurately describes my feelings on "The Sword and the Dragon." Given the price, its okay. If this had been priced with publishing house pricing, it would have rated 1 star.I was temped to raise it another star because of the price and the fact that the author was an independent, but then I thought of Anthony Ryan's "Blood Song". When I bought and read "Blood Song", it was a $.99 self published work as well. "Blood Song" is a masterpiece.This was a quick read and the action doesn't stop, but the reviewers who compare this book to Tolkien, Jordan, Martin, or Lewis have apparently never read anything by these masters of the craft. Mathias attempts to reach the same scope but the writing is not on the same level. To me this read like a long piece of fan fiction. This is Mathias first novel, so I can only imagine that his writing will improve with time and practice. I may read further in the series to see how the author develops.Random Thoughts:The author was able to use almost every known fantasy motif within a single cover: Good King murdered by scheming sorcerer, check; Bastard heir whose blood is the key to a weapon of world changing power, check; tribal boy with foretold destiny and a mystic bond with animals, check; aloof elves who disdain humanity, check; half the inventory from the Monster Manual, check; you name it, Mathias put it in there.The characters and the story all seem eerily familiar. There were echoes of DragonLance, Angus Wells, and a host of other books peeking out between the lines on the page. This isn't a surprise. The author says that he rolled all of the fantasy he had ever read into a single story to create this book.
What do You think about The Sword And The Dragon (Revised): The Wardstone Trilogy (2012)?
Great read, will read the second book as soon as possible...
—Caitlin
