Isle of Swords - A Review
This entry was posted on Monday, December 10. 2007 and is filed under Posts by Rebecca Luella Miller,Fantasy,Reviews.
I was a little non-commital about reading Wayne Thomas Batson's latest release, Isle of Swords, because ... well, it is only mildly in the fantasy genre, and I've been steaming through as many fantasies as I can, of late. However, this is a book I am so thankful I did not miss.
The story. The pirate Declan Ross wants to keep his teenage daughter Anne from becoming a pirate. His greatest hope is to get enough money to retire from the sea. Needing to make repairs to his ship, Ross orders his men to land on an island controlled by a bloodthirsty pirate named Bartholomew Thorne.
While the men begin work on the ship, Anne goes in search for food but instead finds an abandoned youth who has been beaten within an inch of his life.
At the same time, Thorne's lieutenant Thierry Chevillard, known as the Butcher, finds Ross and his ship. And thus we are off on a great adventure, with a treasure at stake, independence, resolution with the past, and a gentle weaving of truth throughout.
Strengths. Once again I am impressed with how Wayne continues to improve as a writer. He is becoming a real master of the craft. He paints vivid pictures, so that I knew where I was and who else was in the scene, all from the omniscient point of view. He made the seldom used perspective seem natural as he smoothly shifted between characters.
Each of these was well defined. I knew what each person wanted and rooted for the "good" guys without reservation. They had unique voices, unique behavior, and desires that sometimes collided.
Throughout, there was sufficient conflict, all logical and properly motivated. There were external dangers, internal struggles, conflicts with friends, and of course struggles against foes. There was tragedy and there was triumph.
The theme of redemption was perhaps a little obvious but the other themes, of fair play and justice and familial love were wonderfully woven into the story.
By the way, Thomas Nelson has done a superb job with the packaging. The cover is outstanding, hard-backed with the same colorful picture on the jacket, great brownish paper and brown font and brownish "stain" on the edges of each page to give an old feel. It is the kind of book that catches the eye and makes you want to snuggle down and start reading on the spot.
Weaknesses. I thought there were two—the beginning and the end. Seriously ... though neither spoiled the story. The beginning, I thought, did not accurately portray Anne. The opening line is as follows:
"Papa, I'm scared!" the little girl cried out as she slid awkwardly across the deck.
Well, until just right now, I thought the "little girl" was teenaged Anne. It is not. It's a little girl we do not see again. The chapter is short and we quickly move to the cast-away who is near death. Then in chapter three we meet the other two protagonists and the story roars off. But that first chapter seems to hang off by itself without purpose.
And the end? My only complaint is that it is rushed. And in the rushing, some things happen which don't seem realistic. This is a noticeable break from the rest of the story which seems so well researched that I feel like I am on board the ship or hiding in the bushes or climbing ... well, I don't want to give too much away.
Recommendation. If you love a good story, this book is for you. I highly recommend Isle of Swords to readers of all ages and all genre preferences. It's an exciting, fun book.
Comments
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Monday, December 10. 2007
poetryman69 wrote:
I prefer a little more fantasy with my pirates.
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Monday, December 10. 2007
WayneThomasBatson wrote:
Hi, Becky! I'm SO stoked that you loved Isle of Swords. Thanks for the kind and well-balanced review.
Now, about that first chapter
In all truth, my editors wanted to cut it...but I fought--several times--to keep it. It was one of those gut things--I just really felt it was important to the larger story. As it turns out, it is a critical scene foreshadowing events in the sequel Isle of Fire.
God does indeed work in mysterious ways.
Never alone.
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Tuesday, December 11. 2007
Rebecca LuElla Miller wrote:
Wayne, I figured (once I figured out that the little girl wasn't Anne) that it probably fits in with the next book. Certainly the other things I wandered about lend themselves to being critical components in Isle of Fire.
And poetryman, I usually prefer fantasy to pirates any day. I don't know--maybe because one of the protagonists was a girl, the story kept me interested. I didn't mind the fringe fantasy at all. The whole pirate world is so new, it still have an other feel to it for me.
Becky
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Sunday, April 04. 2010
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