In the spirit of Megan Whalen Turner’s The Queen’s Thief series, the Eye of the Sword brings us Trevin: a young man of unknown birth and a questionable past working hard to find out who he is, restore his good name, and bring balance to the kingdoms. He is given quests by the king (among others) and while the path to find them is, of course, not clear, it is full of many surprising revelations, danger and intrigue.
One of the most refreshing points about this book is that it’s told in the viewpoint of not only a male character, but a character that is not a highborn prince or lord. It is interesting to follow the thought processes of someone who always feels guilty about one thing or another and knows that he is less than perfect. There are many supporting characters that are not as flushed out as one would hope, but they are interesting and do add flavor to the story.
Even though this is book two of a series, the author does a fantastic job of making her first-time readers feel comfortable in her world of kings, princesses, angels, evil immortals, lost lands, and hidden secrets. Events move fast in this novel, so be prepared for a quick ride. If you like ‘crisis and resolution’ in quick order, this is a good choice. The ending gives enough closure that you feel satisfied upon closing the book, but leaves many openings for the next installment. Eye of the Sword is a fantasy that is full of adventure and is easily accessible for any reader to thoroughly enjoy.
This book was sent to Compass Book Ratings for review by Waterbrook Press
Content Analysis:
Profanity/Language: 1 mild obscenity
Violence/Gore: A character often threatens others that he will beat them or kill them; a character reports seeing a body of a traitor hanging in a courtyard; there are many reports of violent raids and kidnapping; a character talks about de-winging horses; a character is punched in the stomach; a character gives information that leads to an ambush and a massacre of many people; a magic net traps objects and people ‘melting’ them into the floor or wall; there are many sword fights and sparring incidents; four extended sword fights end in death (2 1/2, 2, 3, and 4 pages respectively) and it usually ends ‘in a pool of blood’, or with other mentionings of blood; a character is scratched in the face by a hawk-man; a grand-scale fight happens in a throne room (2 pages) where many people die and the palace is destroyed by magic; a character is stabbed after falling from a tower (just to make sure he’s dead); it is recounted a few times that the blood of children is used in a ‘restorative’ drink that makes people stay young; a vicious dog is set to attack a group of characters, but they stab it with daggers (a lot of blood is mentioned); a character is found dead with mud stuffed in his mouth; a character threatens to cut out another character’s tongue; a character has many thoughts and desires for violence and vengeance.
Sex/Nudity: Two characters kiss; a character longs to be able to marry another; a character finds out that his parents were not married; a character is accused of being unfaithful and is banished; having children out of wedlock is mentioned a few times; an angel gives a very brief account (non-detailed) of how angels reproduce; a character makes a joke about trouble becoming your ‘bedmate’.
Mature Subject Matter:
Thievery/Robbery, murder, death, fantasy peril/violence, false accusations, guilt.
Alcohol / Drug Use:
Characters drink beer, ale and/or wine while hunting, camping, eating, talking, or any time they’re not walking. (It is used as refreshment more often than drunkenness.) One character gets very drunk (more than once). There is always drinking at royal feasts, balls and events. Characters give beer and wine as gifts.
