Sword in the Stars
Categories: Advanced Readers, Adventure, Fantasy, Fiction, Review
Tags: battle, Dark Sea Annals, Wayne Thomas Batson
Our rating: 
Alastair Coldhollow, a man with a dreadful past of evil deeds, has become a follower of First One. He believes he is the Caller, a prophesied person who will call forth the also-prophesied Halfainin. But when everything lines up and nothing happens, Alastair is faced with doubt and struggles to maintain his faith while getting used to disappointment in the midst of an oncoming war.
That’s an oversimplified synopsis. This book has so much going on, it’s hard to boil it down. It explores some very compelling themes without quite coming to a conclusion, leaving the door open for answers in later books. Wayne Thomas Batson started writing fantasy worlds in his The Door Within series, and this huge world tops that handily. There’s much more depth and detail to drink in here, though I do wish he’d describe things a little bit more, and I also found myself begging for a map more than once. My one real gripe is that I found the description of some of the fighting to be a bit much, but overall I had a great time with this one and I can’t wait for more.
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Winterbane said:
A beaten up warrior who has a strong addiction to the ale known as Witchdrale. Its no wonder, the prince he served had him do the most horrific of acts that haunt his dreams. In his turmoil, Coldhollow turns to The First One and seeks out redemption. Mean while, prince Morlin has plans that involve betrayal and searching out ancient evils to fulfill his blood lust desires. He longs for the throne and to be High King that is twin brother sits upon. Sword in the Stars is the first of the Dark Sea Annals and is the ninth book that Wayne Thomas Batson has written. This book is well written, but the only downside was the part that involved “fair-like” folk. I feel that this could have been left out and replaced with something less “cartoon-ish” for me. Maybe something that involved trolls that are cruel at first, but then become powerful allies to Coldhollow. This epic journey is crafted by Mr. Batson that leads the imagination on a grand adventure!