Book Review
Title: Chronicles of Drenyon: The Golden Sword
Author: N.L.J.
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: *****
Review: The opening to Chronicles of Drenyon: The Golden Sword was interesting, we are introduced to Anya, who is being pressured to marry but refuses in order to take care of her sick mother. However, another villager convinces her to flee the village in order to give her mother a better chance of survival and in the forest she encounters a magical tree that talks and tells her a story. Anya rests there for the night but the following morning she becomes very frightened of the tree and flees once more.
Upon returning to her village she learns that her mother is feeling a little better and she returns to work, this is frowned upon by the village as her mother was young enough to remarry after the death of her husband, but she used her cunning to make his inheritance stretch until she was past marrying age and could work for herself and she has instilled similar values in her daughter. Anya learns what kind of man she would like to marry but her deadline for marriage is fast approaching, she returns to her tree for guidance. He tells her more stories of the Golden Sword and ages long past but strange things are being to happen. Anya knows the tree is an Unnatural but it is kind to her and even claims to love her so she continues to return but the tree’s time is running out and she must unravel to mysterious stories he has been telling her.
As we approach the halfway mark in the novel, Anya learns that the stories the tree has told her are true and everything is falling apart around her, so once again she returned to the tree for help but when it tries to stop her it morphs into the form of a man. It leads Anya to the place where she might be able to find the boy with the Heart of Gold and she is drawn to a young boy named Zumi. Zumi is a strange character as he seems to bounce from the personality of a curious child to that of someone far older and wiser than he appears to be. Things happen so quickly from finding Zumi, to their travels to the elven kingdom to find the Oracle, while this is so action-packed and fun to read there did seem to be a slight pacing issue. Rather than building up to the action, it jumped from a relatively slow-packed novel right into intense action, but it doesn’t distract from the story at all.
As we cross into the second half of the novel, Anya seems to be the peacekeeper especially with Zumi, who is rather hot-headed. They turn to the Oracle from help is getting the Golden Sword’s exact location but Anya knows the stories so she should know the way, but The Oracle does agree to help them because of the connection the Oracle feels to Anya. Don’t let the action here fool you, this novel is extremely character-driven and while that isn’t my normal cup of tea I was really enjoying it. Anya, as she learns more and more about the situation she is in, has to face some difficult questions and has to face more than one morally grey character. I feel the outcome of this novel is going to purely fall on Anya’s shoulders and I have a feeling that she might play a larger role than even she believes right now.
As we approach the ¾ mark in the novel, Anya, Zumi, The Oracle and the Tree Man are approaching the end of their quest for the Golden Sword and Anya is going to have to make the difficult decisions she has been putting off for most of the novel. It seems that finally, Anya is beginning to understand her role, but she still can’t set aside her heart and has to return to the Tree Man even if it means abandoning everyone she needs to help. I can see the parallels between Anya and Zumi, Zumi is full of fury but has been devoid of affection and when Anya shows him affection he softens and bends to her will, while Anya is so kind and gentle she can’t abandon anyone even an enemy in need. She gives Zumi love while Zumi gives her the fury she needs to walk away from others when she needs to. I really love how every single one of the characters has a major flaw, so they are by no means perfect, but they all seem to complement one another in some way.
As we cross into the final section of the novel, everything is coming together at last. We see all the puzzle pieces that have been scattered throughout this novel come together perfectly. I can’t talk much about the last 50 pages of the novel because it would give away so many spoilers, but I absolutely loved it and I can wait to read Premonition Caves which tells the story of the Oracle and how the Oracle joined the quest for the Golden Sword. If you are looking for a cool fantasy novel that is fast-paced with great characters then I highly recommend The Golden Sword.
Buy it here:
E-Book: Barnes & Noble
Paperback/Hardcover: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
Kindle Edition: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
I received this book for review consideration from the author.
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