Astrid assumed all dragons should be killed – until she met one that changed her mind.In the medieval Northlands, a dangerous family seeks power.They slaughter all who get in their way.Children’s rhymes hint at what’s to come, but no one recognizes the danger at hand.Astrid doesn’t know she holds the key to this power.She’s just a blacksmith who makes swords for dragonslayers.But Astrid has a … swords for dragonslayers.
But Astrid has a dark secret …
A dragon once chewed her up and spit her out.
She hides the old scars covering her body through shapeshifting.
But the time for hiding is over.
AUTHOR’S NOTE: This Epic Fantasy series is written for adults but appropriate for ages 14 and up.
Book 1 – The Dragonslayer’s Sword
Book 2 – The Iron Maiden
Book 3 – The Sword of Darkness
Book 4 – The Dragon’s Egg
more
The best description of The Dragonslayer’s Sword would be all is not what it seems. Following Astrid’s journey as a child sold to a child seller and as a blacksmith’s apprentice and finally to a full-fledged blacksmith is not only entertaining, the world Resa Nelson has created where this all occurs is fraught with danger and intrigue. Having read Resa’s Demon Queller series, I had to give this series a look and I’m glad I did. Being able to listen to the story narrated by the author was awesome.
Astrid. Such a sad beginning to her life. Each encounter along her journey builds her up more, creating a powerful woman, still terrified inside. The people who help shape her, the love she receives and gives, all play a part in the woman she finally realizes she is. Powerful, delightful. Tugged at my heart.
Awesome twist on dragons with a great female lead. The other character were highly like-able as well.
for most of the book I couldn’t figure out what was happening and thought I’d quit reading it, but something kept me going. I was curious to see what was going to happen next after awhile and would never have expected the outcome. Tempted to buy the next in the series. Different that anything I’ve ever read
Draonslayer’s sword by Resa Nelson puts a female blacksmith front and center. It’s also the story of a woman who’s been deeply scarred who deals with the loss of a limb and the loss of a love, yet goes on in her quest to protect others. Woman as warrior in her own right is a trope I never tire of. Astrid Scalding does so without falling back on physical attractiveness or letting male characters preempt her moments of quiet determination. Astrid like Arha/Tenar from Tehanu is womanist-inspired character. All plot movement springs from the outside world attempting to stifle Astrid’s presence, but she decides again and again who it is who inhabits her own skin.
A bit of a different take on the usual dragon story. Interesting twist at the very end.
The characters.
This is the first book I have read/listened to by this author and I have book 2 waiting in my queue. I enjoyed the overall world created here and characters in it. I did however have issues with the excessive slave trade and holding. Being sold into slavery seemed normal amongst every group of peopleAnd no one seemed to try to escape. “Don’t want to be a slave don’t get caught”- except people weren’t going somewhere unsafe, they were just living their life and taken. Lots people were randomly sold into slavery. The slave trader that initially had Astrid was going to kill her to make up for lost money if he couldn’t sell her, yet in the same chapter was so sad to see her go and concerned for her safety? Secondly, I like the magic, but there was some there I feel lacked explanation- like how someone can believe they can make a missing body part appear and be useful, yet those without the magic couldn’t see it. Which is fine for those times in the book the non magic people then saw items floating in mid air when the magic user was holding it in their imaginary body part. Problem is, there were other times the person was using their imaginary body part and non magic users noted nothing strange. Great idea, just some bumps in the follow through- unless I missed something?. I liked the dragons, the distinction in types, their abilities and the magic surrounding them. This book has a lot of evolution. Often, the story seems to go one way, then without hints to it, we learn more information and realize there’s really something else going on. It is quite a complex book, yet not convoluted or difficult to understand.
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This is the first book I have listened to by this author/narrator ( Resa Nelson ) and I feel she did a fine job. Not many authors also narrate, and not all should. I did have to speed the book up more than usual, but that’s not really an issue. Some characters had barely distinguishable voices and others were distinct, but I did not have issues understanding which character was speaking due to the writing. She reads a bit more than performs the book, however I still enjoyed listening and her voice is pleasant. I look forward to listening to the next book.——-
There are no explicit sex scenes, excessive gory violence, or swearing. ——-
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and voluntarily left this unbiased review.
Please feel free to comment on whether you found my review helpful.
Story 4/5
Narration 3.5/5
Different twist on dragons and shape shifters
A good twist on dragons.
Weird
Loved this book!! I’m already halfway through book 2! I love how the author created a realistic world that is believable and easy to imagine. I was invested in the main character from the very beginning.
Good read, but a bit tragic…
Love dragon books, enjoyed a new approach with some sci-fi twists.
not to easily understood.
Not written fabulously, but it was an intriguing story and kept me wanting to get to the end.
Different from most things I read
This was an enthralling story that I didn’t want to put down. On the same token, it was a bit of a creepy story at times. The story jumps chronologically in large leaps at times to get the initial story development underway. You meet the heroine in her youth as she is being traded. Later you discover her well adapted to her new family with a firm handle on the blacksmithing trade. Then her adoptive father has passed and the story begins to develop that reveals what in her past haunts her and she must work to conquer the evil of her past. Good story, but odd.
Slow to develop. Liked the concept, but just didn’t like the author’s style.
What would we do. How would we act. A striking exploration of First Contact with those other than human. Wonderful personalities to meet