"I'll need a sword," he said, and then he willed one to appear in his hand. This was a dream afterall. But no sword magically sprang forth. Things began to feel far too real for Alex. Dream or not, they needed to get out of here.
Alex at first may seem to be your typical teenager, one who aspires to rock in a band, play video games, and debates his attendance at school; however, who knew that his band, Axeman, was truly a link to a whole other world . . . one where his knowledge and skills are challenged like they have never been before?!?!
When I first began reading Defenders of the Scroll, I became hesitant about the story. I wondered how Shiraz was going to take his character Alex, a guitarist in a band and video gamer, and make it work in this fantasy novel. My hesitancy did not last long though! I was soon sucked in by his mix of characters, the relationships among them, and even the cliff-hanger ending! In fact, the characters were my favorite part of the entire book! You've got (1) Alex, whom I have already described; (2) Dara, the keeper of the scroll and wizard apprentice; (3) Scorpius, a Roman legionnaire; (4) Maya, an Amazon woman; (5) Bantu, a great African warrior; (6) Genjuro, a young Japanese samurai; and (7) Tenzin, a young Tibetan monk. Despite the diverse backgrounds, the chemistry found among this group is truly electrifying! I found myself cheering for them, awaiting for the next appearance of my favorite, and wondering what "lesson" Alex was going to pull out from his modern day world!
I am only left with one complaint . . . the cliff-hanger ending with no sequel date in sight! When am I going to find out where that last "crap" is going to lead?!?!
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Defenders of the Scroll has won a multitude of Indie awards, with his latest being Best Fantasy/Adventure in the 1st Annual Inkies Awards. For more information about the book and author, you can check back here on Saturday for a personal interview and/or visit the following sites:
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great post and review. This isn't a novel I would have otherwise thought of considering but now I am ordering it form my library. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI have this one and really need to get moving on it! It sounds so good!
ReplyDeleteEmma Michaels . . . I will be curious to hear your thoughts when you are done! I really did enjoy it and want to know what happens next!!
ReplyDeleteSheila (Bookjourney) . . . Let me know when you finish it! I can't wait to read your review!
So glad that you enjoyed it as much as I did! And I agree that we need a sequel ASAP to find out what happens to Alex next!
ReplyDeleteThanks for linking my review. :)
Alexia561 . . . You are so welcome for the link!! In my recent interview with Shiraz (I just posted it today!), he said that he will probably be working on the writing a lot for it this year! Hopefully, it will be sooner rather than later when we can find out!
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