Title: Merlin's Shadow
Author: Robert Treskillard
Publisher: Blink
Pages: 437
ISBN: 978-0-310-73508-3
Publication Date: October 1st, 2013

Synopsis:

Betrayal.

After destroying the sinister Druid Stone and freeing his people from its dark control, Merlin finds himself a royal advisor without a king. Along with his friend Garth and Natalenya, his betrothed, Merlin treks north with the orphaned Arthur in hopes of keeping the young ruler safe from soldiers misled by their turncoat captain. Relentlessly pursued by his old nemesis Vortigern, Merlin and his band make for the fortress of Dintaga.

But dangers multiply when Merlin realizes that Vortigern is not his only enemy. Even his own sister appears bent on Merlin's destruction. As the threat on all their lives increases, Merlin discovers their only hope is sailing to the lands of eternal darkness and once again cleansing the world from an ancient and powerful evil.

Review:
Merlin's Shadow picks up right after Merlin's Blade ends. Merlin and his companions are on the run from Vortigern and his men, but they are not the only ones after Merlin. Old threats emerge along with new threats. It seems wherever they turn, someone wants to bring harm to either Merlin or Arthur. It is a non-stop ride following Merlin and his companions as they race away from these threats and try their hardest to keep the young Arthur safe.

Robert Treskillard is able to weave the mythology of King Arther and supernatural aspects with a bit of historical fiction from this time in Britain when it is out from under Roman rule, but still settling into what it will become. The world that is presented is a dark world that Merlin lives in, full of battles, and grabs a hold of you as you dive further into the story.

Merlin through the story, has pushed forward as the leader of this rag tag group of five. However, through his strengths he reveals his weaknesses. One weakness in particular, which is witnessed in the beginning, I wanted to slap him for. Merlin promised Natalenya and her mother that he would protect Natalenya at the end of Merlin's Blade. However, when times got hard for them, and their chase intensified, Merlin pulled away from Natalenya and in doing so, left her vulnerable. I would like to say it was Merlin being naive, but I don't know. His thoughts shifted from where I expected them to go.

All in all, I really enjoyed Merlin's Shadow. It was a fast paced book from the very beginning and it kept me questioning, "What will happen next?" I'm interested to see how things will wrap up in the third book, Merlin's Nightmare.

Too Read
4 out of 5

About the Author:
Robert Treskillard holds a BA in Biblical &Theological Studies from Bethel University, Minnesota. He has been crafting stories from his early youth, and is a software developer, graphic artist, and sometimes a bladesmith.








Thank you to Booklook (formerly Booksneeze), I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

Title: Merlin's Blade
Author: Robert Treskillard
Publisher: Blink
Pages: 432
ISBN:978-0-310-73507-6
Publication Date: April 16th, 2013

Synopsis:

Merlin's Greatest Weakness Could Become His Greatest Strength

When a meteorite crashes near a small village in fifth-century Britain, it brings with it a mysterious black stone that bewitches anyone who comes in contact with its glow—a power the druids hope to use to destroy King Uthur's kingdom, as well as the new Christian faith. The only person who seems immune is a young, shy, half-blind swordsmith's son named Merlin.

As his family, village, and even the young Arthur, are placed in danger, Merlin must face his fears and his blindness to take hold of the role God ordained for him. But when he is surrounded by adversaries, armed only by a sword he's named Excalibur, how will he save the girl he cherishes and rid Britain of this deadly evil ... without losing his life?

Review:
I have always been intrigued with stories of King Arthur and Merlin. I've read the tales of the round table, I've watched anything from the old cartoon movie, to blockbuster movies, to the made for TV mini-series. Seeing this new series, I knew I needed to check it out.

Robert Treskillard is able to take such a well known story and make it new and fresh.Usually, when we think of Merlin, we think of him older and being an adviser to Arthur. Here, in Merlin's Blade, Merlin is just a young man, barely out of his teenage years. Arthur is just King Uther's young toddler son. With these ages, there is so much space to work in.

Unlike previous settings, Merlin's Blade is set during the time when Rome still had some control over Briton and Christianity was starting to spread. Knights and Ladies aren't exactly present, but warriors and soldiers are. Briton sits on the precipice of moving forward into Christianity or going back to its pagan origins.

The characters that move this story along are strong. Each offer much to the story and are based on the well known characters that most of us grew up with. There are changes, which I enjoyed. Merlin is a young man, having lost most of his sight in an attack when he was a boy. He has struggles, but he faces them well. He works and fights for what he believes in and has hope. He also relies on his faith and his belief in Jesus. Merlin is a strong male lead. He is surrounded by adversity in this story. He is smart and either fights with his brains and if need be his brawn.

There were a couple of sections in the story where in the beginning I got a little confused by the characters, but as the story moved along, everything eased together, and the story flowed. I'm interested to see where this series goes!

Too Read
4 out of 5

About the Author:
Robert Treskillard holds a BA in Biblical &Theological Studies from Bethel University, Minnesota. He has been crafting stories from his early youth, and is a software developer, graphic artist, and sometimes a bladesmith.








Thank you to Booksneeze and Blink, I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

Title: The House of Hades
Author: Rick Riordan
Publisher: Disney/ Hyperion Books
Pages: 597
ISBN: 978-142314672-8
Publication Date: October 8th, 2013

Synopsis:

At the conclusion of The Mark of Athena, Annabeth and Percy tumble into a pit leading straight to the Underworld. The other five demigods have to put aside their grief and follow Percy’s instructions to find the mortal side of the Doors of Death. If they can fight their way through the Gaea’s forces, and Percy and Annabeth can survive the House of Hades, then the Seven will be able to seal the Doors both sides and prevent the giants from raising Gaea. But, Leo wonders, if the Doors are sealed, how will Percy and Annabeth be able to escape?

They have no choice. If the demigods don’t succeed, Gaea’s armies will never die. They have no time. In about a month, the Romans will march on Camp Half-Blood. The stakes are higher than ever in this adventure that dives into the depths of Tartarus.

Review:
Ok, I will start off by saying, we have answers fairly quickly to the fate of Percy and Annabeth...thank goodness! After the cliffhanger of Mark of Athena, it was questionable to what would happen to one of them. I'm not so morbid to think both of them would die, however I thought the possibility of one of them biting the dust was there. However, that idea did leave after the cover was revealed a few months ago with both Percy and Annabeth alive.

For the most part, I did enjoy the book, but there was a couple of parts that popped up that I didn't like. I will start with the good.

Again, we learn about Percy and Annabeth pretty quickly. They are alive...but not much better then that.They have fallen into the pit of Tartarus, a place where only monsters and Titans have lived or where they head to to regenerate when they are killed in the mortal world. Tartarus is not a place where demigods go willingly or where they could easily survive.

Percy and Annabeth face many obstacles on their journey to the the Doors of Death in Tartarus. All they want to do is close them from keeping the monsters from reaching the surface. They wouldn't make it with out the help of Bob, a Titan who had his memory wiped by Percy in a previous battle. Bob was a great character who lightened up what could have been a really dark plot of the book.

Leo, Frank, and Hazel were also enjoyable to follow on their journey. Their wit and humor was fun and the battles they faced, they faced using their brains.

For the part of the book I was ok with was Piper and Jason. I haven't really made much of a connection with them in the series, so with them not having much of a point of view in the story. I was fine with them as a secondary role.

There was one plot in the story that just didn't sit well with me. It revolved around Nico. His story arc came out of no where for me and I didn't find all that appropriate for a kids book. The angle that was used seemed to be thrown in to make the story more politically correct or to give it a more modern societal view.

All and all, the story was just ok.
3 out of 5

I know I touched on this earlier in the year, but here is my full thought on Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightening Thief by Rick Riordan. I had time to kill reading while waiting for a new book to come  out, so I dove into my pile of books I liked.

Percy Jackson is a 12 year old boy, who has no idea who he is and why weird things keep happening to him. When he expelled from his school for issues, not of his doing he heads home. He deals with a horrible step father, but has the best mother on the planet. He can't believe his mom is with the creep. His mother decides to take him on a long weekend trip to their favorite spot on a beach. Percy's mom tells him she wants to talk to him in the morning, however, like a good gripping book, we don't get there.

From this point on, we learn with Percy that he is a demigod, his mother mortal and his father is Posiden, god of the sea. It explains his ADHD, his Dyslexia, and all the weird things that happen to him since he was little. He is a powerful fighter for a 12 year old. He is wired to fight monsters. We follow him on his short time of learning before he is forced into a quest to find who stole Zeus master bolt and to also find a way to save his mother, who disappeared in front of his eyes before reaching the camp made just for demigods, Camp Half Blood.

This is a to read! It is a fun take on mythology and a good stepping stone to get kids to learn about ancient civilizations.

I finally was able to read The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan. I can't say how excited I was about reading this book. I've been waiting a year for its release. That's one of the downfalls of reading a new series/ new books. The wait. However, it was worth it. The Son of Neptune left me wanting more. I couldn't put my finger on it until I read this book, book 3 in The Heroes of Olympus. The connection of friends. It just wasn't happening in The Son of Neptune. And it left me a little sad. The Mark of Athena made up for it.

In The Mark of Athena, Percy and Annabeth are back together (yay!!) and we have new friends together as well from the previous two books. Percy and Annabeth, bring these characters together. Which, I know is the point. Anyway, all together again, however it isn't glad tidings. Right off the bat, Greek and Roman forces are against our band of heroes and it's off to save the world, while they have incoming attacks by everyone and their mother, or so it seems.

I applaud Rick Riordan for this series. He knows his mythology. The Greek and Roman myths are intertwined like their histories, but he is able to keep it in order, easy to understand, and fun to read about! He throws back references to his first series, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, which is nice to see how he intertwines the past and the present.

It is a lot of fun to see how Rick Riordan can place all these ancient myths into the modern day story and make it seem real, plus he doesn't dumb down the stories. The Heroes of Olympus is a smart read for kids, teenagers, and adults a like. It's a to read! I can't wait for the fourth book (sadly, not out till next year) to find out what happens with the cliffhanger. I won't spoil anything for the people who haven't read it yet.

Eon by Alison Goodman left me scratching my head. Let me start off by saying, I bought this book based on the cover. It looked cool. I thought it was a book about Chinese mythology. I was wrong. It's actually a book based in what could be ancient China, but it is not.

I'm glad I read the author's note at the end. She explained it's a book based on Asian backgrounds but not set in a certain area, but a made up one. Throughout the whole book, I felt no connection to the area in reading. I kept thinking it was supposed to be China, but there was just to much of a western feel to it. I can't describe it any other way.

I had a hard time getting into this book. I spent half the book thinking, "Ok, so we got here, but what does that mean? Where is this going?" It felt like over half the book is just a a filler to me. Finally 3/4 of the way through, I felt like the story was talking off and it was getting some where.

There was a lot of predictability in this book. Girls aren't looked on as smart. A girl dresses in disguise. Girl is able to do what only thought a guy can do. Worry over being discovered. Betrayal. Fight. Run. Cliffhanger.

This book could have been more then what it was. Not to read.

I finished The Serpent's Shadow by Rick Riordan a couple of nights ago. It's the third and final book in the Kane Chronicles. Since this is also a new book, I will try to keep the spoilers out of the post.

It was a very good read I will say. However, I should have read the first two books in the series to refresh my memory. These books have been spaced out to almost one a year for the last three years. So, it was a little difficult to remember the back ground and stories from the previous two books. I do like how Rick Riordan weaves his story with the ancient Egyptian myths of the gods into this series. There was quite a bit of mythology I had forgotten since I had studied this era. I loved how he was able to make it more understandable and fun for kids today.

As I said, this is the last of the series for the Kane Chronicles...that is the feeling I got at least from the ending, however, I don't think it is is the end of the Kane kids with the references he made to his other series Percy Jackson, vaguely at the end.

Since the first book, the siblings have grown and matured like a regular kids. Carter and Sadie Kane seem like normal siblings with their bickering and jabs toward each other, but not in a malice way. And the way that the book is presented (like the previous two), as a transcript by the siblings, make it seem a little more real to the reader and a little more fun.

I say that this is a to read. I enjoyed it, especially with the mythology base to it.