Posted by Jordan
Categories: Advanced Readers, Adventure, Fantasy, Fiction, Review
Tags:battle, Dark Sea Annals, Wayne Thomas Batson
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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.
Posted by Jordan
Categories: Adventure, Fantasy, Fiction, Older Readers, Review
Tags:Christopher Hopper, elves, spiders, The Berinfell Prophecies, Wayne Thomas Batson
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Seven teens discover that they are the lost Elven lords from Allyra. They all have a special gift or ability. Now, with dangerous minions of the Spider King pursuing them at every turn, and mysterious Elf Sentinels trying to protect them, the teens must decide if they will stay on Earth or go home to Allyra.
Okay, right out of the gate, let me say that this is a good fantasy novel. Lots of exciting action, creepy bad guys, mysterious good guys and a parallel universe to boot. Unfortunately, Curse of the Spider King has no fewer than seven storylines running at a time, which makes for a very confusing time trying to keep track of everybody. Also, six of the storylines retread most of the same basic material six times. Now, I’m not saying you shouldn’t read this one. It’s really quite worthwhile. However, based on the ending of this one, I’m looking forward to book two, where the seven storylines will hopefully merge into a more manageable number.
Posted by Jordan
Categories: Adventure, Fiction, Older Readers, Review
Tags:Long Read, Pirate Adventures, pirates, Scary, Seafaring, Wayne Thomas Batson
13 Comments »
Our rating:
Declan Ross and his daughter Anne have left piracy behind and now work for the Royal Navy as pirate hunters. Their former, amnesic crew mate, Cat, has stayed behind in a monastery of treasure-guarding monks. All seems somewhat peaceful, now that Bartholomew Thorne is dead—or is he? A devious scheme to attack England takes shape, drawing Cat, Anne, and Ross into a battle that could change the course of history.
There’s no doubt about it. Wayne Thomas Batson was born to write pirate books. Most of the characters are quite deep, especially Cat, who was very well done. In the style of Brian Jacques, Batson writes a powerful story that zips along faster than a merchant clipper. My only real problem is with the possible historical inaccuracy of an attack on England, but this is fiction, after all. Although I preferred Isle of Swords, this is definitely a worthy successor.
Posted by Jordan
Categories: Blog
Tags:Fantasy Fiction Tour, FFT-Interviews, interview, Wayne Thomas Batson
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(First in a series of interviews with the Motiv8 Fantasy Fiction Tour authors.)
Wayne Thomas Batson (enterthedoorwithin.blogspot.com) is a middle school teacher and author. He has written five novels, three in the fantasy genre and two about pirates. Recently, Mr. Batson took time out of his busy schedule to do an e-mail interview with Incredibooks.
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Posted by Jordan
Categories: Blog
Tags:isle of fire, new release, Wayne Thomas Batson
3 Comments »
Wayne Thomas Batson’s new book Isle of Fire has been released! Here’s the official announcement.
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