When second son Alexander Valentine loses his brother to an assassin’s arrow, he discovers that his family protects an ancient secret and reluctantly finds himself at the center of the final battle of a war that was supposed to have ended two thousand years ago.
Pursued by the dark minions of an ancient enemy, Alexander flees to the mountain city of Glen Morillian where he discovers that he is … that he is the heir to the throne of Ruatha, one of the Seven Isles, but before he can claim the throne he must recover the ancient Thinblade. Seven were forged by the first Sovereign of the Seven Isles and bound to the bloodline of each of the seven Island Kings in exchange for their loyalty to the Old Law. Each sword is as long as a man’s arm, as wide as a man’s thumb and so thin it can’t be seen when viewed from the edge. Thinblade is the epic fantasy adventure story of Alexander’s quest to find the ancient sword, claim the throne of Ruatha and raise an army to stand against the enemy that has awoken to claim dominion over all of the Seven Isles.
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I am now reading this book and it is AWESOME!!!
This fantasy book had me from the very start! I just started book 2, also free, and it picks right back up again. Great characters that i connected with and awesome detail! I’m a Big fan!
David A. Wells has done a great job of world building using his characters and a simple action plot to do it. Alexander is a good second son, learning a simple ranching life along side his father, but when his older brother is killed, he finds out he is now the principal heir of an ancient blood line. Along with his sister, he travels to an ancient city that is more fortress than anything else. His magical powers begin to waken, and he also begins to exhibit diplomatic qualities that are totally unexpected in someone so young. He finds Isabel with the Rangers during his travels, and finds his soul mate. He must find the legendary Thinblade in the closed Keep in order to cement his claim to the throne. He does, and you will find the steps he takes to enter to be fascinating. I loved the book.
So Alexander was raised on a ranch, never knowing he continued a two-thousand-year old bloodline. Of course he’ll be king if the bad guys (Phane, Rangle, and P’Tal) don’t kill him first. Of course he travels with his true friends (sister Abigail, protector Anatoly, mage Lucky, bard Jack, and his beloved Isabel) to help and support his quest. Of course Phane sends creatures from the netherworld to kill Alexander, and of course Alexander hast to learn and use his wizardly powers to defeat them. Even though the author stirred up all the ingredients for a fantasy, this book doesn’t make the “good” list because the writing style is wooden rather than dynamic, consisting of newspaper-like reports rather than dialogue. Here’s an example: Alexander uses a throwing knife to kill almost invisible assassin, but then the group goes in to supper and the author lists every food on the table. No one mentions the assassin for two or three pages. Yikes!
A good read
This is an excellent example of today’s world in the publishing industry, demonstrating that a high star rating in many instances does not mean you are receiving a quality book. I purchased this based on the description and the star rating, though in hindsight I wish I would have exercised the Amazon “Look Inside” feature. A preview of the first few pages would have been enough to warn me.
Though at times author David A. Wells comes up with a great descriptive phrase, the majority of the book leaves readers floundering in a sea of clichés and what can only be classified as poor and unedited writing. For instance, the initial description of Lucky states he stood “…just under six feet tall, wore a crown of silver-white hair around a bald head and carried his ample belly as if it were a testament to his skills in the kitchen.” Passages like this one are too few to persuade discerning readers from continuing to the final chapter. There are many times when an action scene is interrupted to give backstory, and the majority of these instances only repeat what had already been said.
Repetitive information run rampant throughout the book’s pages. One such instance occurs roughly in the middle of the book when a bard recounts the entire story that has already occurred. I was left with the realization that I could have skipped slogging through the initial part of the book and started at this point, if I had only known.
Characters are stilted and predictable. There are no initial compelling reasons to like the protagonist Alexander, and the evil Phane is so predictable he almost becomes a caricature of himself. Story facts appear to be contradictory. The Reishi Protectorate has been gone for 2,000 years yet somehow there is an army of 50,000 of them awaiting Phane’s revival…and no one knows about them. Alexander knows nothing of the legends, yet within his household others do, and the Bard Guild has been singing about it, passing “…the story of the Marked One from one generation to the next.” One would think that the son of a Lord would have been entertained regularly and been aware of the lore.
Overall, there is a lot of fat that could have been trimmed, resulting in a reduction of 50-100 pages of unnecessary reading. Tighter writing would greatly reduce the constant slowing of the action, and perhaps give the characters an opportunity to be more interesting. Personally, I do not enjoy writing this kind of review, as I realize the author has put time and effort into the creation of his book. On the other hand, if you’re going to do something, it is essential to gain the help and guidance to do it right. Authors owe that to their readers. Two stars.
I started this book based on rave reviews. Then I began to wonder if book 1 of 7 referred to the “Seven Isles” and reread reviews to learn that- yup no ending to this book. Much as I might enjoy the series-if a book doesn’t have a conclusion but is simply an installment, I’m not prepared to vest that much time up front.
Hard to beat Tolkien, and this doesn’t do that. But it does create a complete world with its own variety of monsters and demons and meta-magical rules. In some senses this is pretty straightforward, but there are enough twists and turns that it is entertaining. Plus, I like series books where the author has time to develop the environment and characters.
I loved it and I am on the 4th book, only thing is don’t start to read at night, you will slip away and when u come back it’s 2 or 3 in the morning…..lol I love this series I will be so sad when it’s over. Well written and wonderful characters with surprising twists in the story. Try it u will be hooked
I lost myself for hours. I had to read the whole series. One of the best Sword and Magic books I have read.
Great books and a great story, but the descriptions start to feel repetitive.
Summary: I recommend you read this action packed book if you are in to this genre.
Rollicking good story line, action-packed set in an interesting fantasy land. The writing style is simple and direct, the story good enough to hook me in.
The elocution is a bit simplistic and the story becomes a bit predictable, for example others seemingly just cave in to the protagonist without much of a battle of wits (conflict tends to be one dimensionally physical other than the main opponent) and there are odd loose ends that seem brushed aside. I look also for a text to present multiple layers of meaning or philosophy in a book. That is a big bonus for me. That may come later in the series, not so much in this volume.
It’s a good read. On my scale of 1=awful to 5=the likes of Stephen King, Tolkien, et al: a solid 3 mostly thanks to the rollicking good read. A 3 from me is a solidly good rating. However I never finished the second book as I felt the deeper layers of the book were not being developed so I lost interest. There is only just so much rollicking I can take without a contemplative counterpoint or some other aspect to grab my attention.
great series
Well planned, good characters. Good story. From an old time sci fi and fantasy reader.
Great to listen to on audible. had to get book 2 and 3 to keep going.
Great book
A great new fantasy adventure. Characters are wonderful and action is dramatic. I continued to the next book immediately. Great series!
Wonderful book! I’m on to book 3 of the series now! Sad that it will end at book 7, please do make more!
It just kind of bogged down for me and I only made it through about 60% of it.
Story line did not maintain my interest.