Bookmark: Scott Appleton

Part of our Read-a-Thon 2010 highlight posts.

Today we’re highlighting another one of our Read-a-Thon prize sponsors. Scott Appleton is a newcomer to the scene, but he has already captured our attention. His first book Swords of the Six is the start of a seven-book series that looks to be pretty exciting. Book two, titled Offspring is tentatively scheduled for Summer/Fall next year, with the third book, The Key of Living Fire, coming in 2012.

Swords of the Six

Swords of the Six

Our rating: ***½

Six sisters, human daughters of a dragon, are given a sword each from a six-warrior band that turned traitor a thousand years ago. Their task? Find one of the traitors who is still around and bring him to justice. After that, a future involving a difficult choice, especially for Dantress, the youngest and most powerful of the sisters.

It’s unfortunate that I couldn’t delve further into the depth of story here without dropping major spoilers. There’s a lot of backstory and plot going on, and the ending theme is certainly worth the read. The author states in a note at the beginning that this, his first novel, is a prequel to a much larger story to come. That may be the reason why this particular facet of the story came across as somewhat disjointed to me. Several events left me asking, “Why did that happen?” and some parts of the story felt almost random. Here’s hoping that book two will answer many of the remaining questions. I’m looking forward to reading it!