Customer Reviews

The Crimson Sword (Legend of Asahiel, Book 1)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

It's not often I feel the need to defend a book from another's review, but after reading this novel, I have to laugh at some of the editorial comments made by Publisher's Weekly. While I don't disagree completely with some of their views, I think they might be cheating a lot of readers out there with their dismissive tone.

First off, they seem to spend a lot of time saying that this is the same old fantasy quest adventure, and in truth, it does seem that way in the beginning. As it goes along, however, the author employs some very specific twists that make it anything but. Easy to miss, I suppose, when your job is to read and review 500 pages a day.

The other gripe seems to be with the hero, Jarom. Clearly, he is not the most exciting character in the book. But neither was Frodo in LOTR. Nor Luke Skywalker in Star Wars, nor Gulliver in Gulliver's Travels. This story, like those ones, depends greatly on its ensemble cast. And the overall cast is terrific. Several characters might seem cliched at first, but over the course of the novel, most of them develop quite nicely -- Jarom included.

All in all, this is a capable, mostly stand-alone novel that sets up what I hope will be an intriguing adventure to come. The quest portion of the novel does tend to drag at times, but the incredible amount of action throughout the rest of the book more than makes up for it. And even when the writing does slow down, it never does so as much as Tolkien's. "Wooden prose" and "lethargic pacing"? Consider Tolkien the master! It makes me wonder, when was the last time anyone at PW actually read Tolkien?

Speaking of which, why is it that every new fantasy writer who comes along gets trashed for not being J.R.R.? Is it just a fantasy reviewer's shortcut, or what? I mean, the Model T was a legendary vehicle, yes. But I for one am sure grateful that automakers didn't stop there!

Bottom line, in this reader's opinion, is that if you enjoy fantasy adventure and would be interested in a fresh take on the epic quest, then The Crimson Sword won't disappoint. If, on the other hand, you believe that fantasy began -- and should have ended -- with The Lord of the Rings, then by all means, dust off those tomes and give them another read instead.

Maybe I expected too much, but this must be the disappointment of the year. Thompson's novel offers an extremely predictable story, copied from a number of writers who in turn have copied Tolkien. The characters are one-dimensional, the portrayal of women is abominable and the only slight surprise came in chapter one.

The story can be found in any number of derivative fantasy novels: young man finds himself to be prince, finds ancient artefact and saves the world from (also ancient) evil.

I wish I had something good to say about this book apart from the fact that the language is reasonable correct, but unfortunately it is based on the most common stereotypes in the genre and the tale has been told hundreds of times since *The Lord of the Ring*, mostly better. I was constantly hoping that the writer would get a new idea (there are possibilities) but in vain. If you are desperate to find something of interest, it is possible to read the three women (yes, only three! Less than in LotR; not bad) as representing the trinity of the Godess (mother, maiden, crone): a queen who makes a half-hearted bid at power but is killed long before she can do anything interesting; a girl in love with the hero but prefers to stay at home and heal sick and wounded when he gallivants off to save the world; and a sexy, scantily dressed, evil demon queen.

If this is your first fantasy novel, it might not seem so bad, but if you are reasonably well-read in the genre, the chances are that you see it for the imitation it is. It is dedicated to Terry Brooks "for showing me how it's done even if I haven't learned a thing". Brooks might not be the best of models (opinions differ) but I cannot but agree: Eldon Thompson really hasn't learnt a thing.

The Crimson Sword by Eldon Thompson is the first book in the Legend of Asahiel trilogy. The second book is titled the Obsidian Key, the third book is scheduled for release in August 2008 is titled the Divine Talisman. This is Mr. Thompson's first foray into the land that is authorship and as such there are bound to be some bumps along the way, but as with most fantasy debut authors, I was willing to give it a shot.

The plot of this book, in a word, is cliché filled. In and of itself, a cliché riddled isn't a bad thing. However, when that plot is not disguised or altered in any way, then it becomes a hindrance. In this book we have several long-standing clichés. Such as; the search for an artifact (the crimson sword) that if found will save the kingdom, and secondly the plot line involving a peasant who is unknowingly is of noble birth. He of course spurns the notion that he can do something to save the kingdom, as he is going through the paces of trying to save the kingdom. There are a couple predictable sub-plots as well, such as; the evil wizard seeking to take over the kingdom, the rampaging monsters that strike fear into the country side and many more sub-plots to round out the novel. In the end when I finished this novel I was left with a feeling of mediocrity. The adage of `been there done that' holds remarkably true for this novel. Any fan of the fantasy genre will surely see many repeated elements in this plot. It is almost as though Mr. Thompson read a bevy of fantasy novels and then selected plot points for this novel and crammed them together to make a story, albeit a very predictable one.

What to say about the characters. Starting with the peasant (unknowingly noble) Jarom to the evil unknown wizard seeking to take over the kingdom, they are all clichés. I have read each and every one of them at some point or another in different novels - most better written then in this novel. Add to that the assassin turned former assassin (but who still kills people) who "somehow" finds himself following Jarom. It just becomes too much to stomach. There are brief attempts at character development scattered throughout this novel, but in almost every case I had the feeling it wasn't so much character development as it was the author trying to make sure a later plot element could/would happen thereby necessitating the small change in a character. One of the things that I found odd, was that even though Jarom is what would be considered a main character, at no point during this book did I ever develop a liking to the character. In fact it was quite the opposite, I didn't like the character at all. He comes across as bland and whiny. I can name hundreds of characters that are more interesting than him, and none of them are from this novel.

Some of the things that I didn't like about this book.

1 - As I mentioned above, the multiple clichés, both plot wise and character wise. I have said it before, if an author opts to use a time honored cliché for either, they much repackage it so that it seems at least somewhat new to the reader. An author can not rely on the belief that if it worked for the previous author it will work for them as well. After a while even the most interesting plot, or character, if repeated enough, becomes uninteresting. That is the case with this book.

2 - The language in the book. I am not talking about cursing our anything like that. What I mean is Mr. Thompson seeks to describe everything, and does. To the point that it sucks all the imagination out of the reader. The reader is left with no option but to only see the authors view in all things. In my opinion, that takes away a good portion of the enjoyability of a book.

3 - Too much flowery language as well. Mr. Thomspon seems to try and make this book more than what it is. I don't mind, once or twice, seeing inside the characters head and knowing what they are thinking. But, in this book, especially with Jarom, it happens over, and over, and over again. To the point where I actually became frustrated with it.

4 - Some of the plot points seem jumpy and contrived. I obviously don't know the degree of planning that went into this story, but some of the plot points lead me to believe that the story changed dramatically as it was being written and the author lost control of the story.

With all that criticism, there were a couple things I liked about this book.

1 - The world seems rich and detailed. From what I learned about the world while reading this book it seems like a world that took some considerable planning and organization.

2 - Mr. Thompson seems to have a decent ability to write, if he reigns in some of the issues I outlined above. Some original ideas, getting rid of some needless description, and I think he can be a successful author.

When all is said ad done, my overall enjoyment while reading this book was very little. I found it often uninteresting and repeated what I had already read in other books. While there are certainly things I liked, they were often outnumbered by things I didn't like and in the end that is what I will remember the most about this novel. I can not, in good conscience, recommend this book to many people. With the wide array of fantasy novels lining the shelves today there are so many other novels that I would recommend long before even thinking of this one. I, for one, will not be reading any further in this series.

Eldon Thompson gave up college football, "washed out" according to the book's back cover, and turned to writing instead. Well, to use a sports analogy, this rookie (or freshman) effort shows promise.

The Crimson Sword, "Book One of the Legend of Asahiel," tells the story of Jarom of Diln, a mild mannered swordsmen from a rural village. Through a series of incredible events, including the assassination of the king and the machinations of a magical race, Jarom finds himself on a quest to find the Crimson Sword and use its powers to defend the world. In this he faces not only the wizard who killed the king and invaded his lands, but also the recently reawakened Demon Queen.

Clearly, Thompson is aiming for Tolkien type storytelling; a fantastic alternative world with ancient myths and legends, a personal quest to save the world, with epic battles and adventures along the way. Obviously, Thompson doesn't compare to Tolkien, but he does weave an imaginative story. At times the descriptions are a bit thick and the inner dialog tends to slow the story down, but overall fans of fantasy fiction will enjoy The Crimson Sword and anxiously await book two. It should be interesting to see how both the story and the author's writing develop.

The Crimson Sword is book one of the Legend of Asahiel trilogy. Krynwall falls to an unknown wizard and his dark forces. Queen Ellebe escapes to seek help. And we begin reading thinking this is the usual quest story - find the sword, kill the wizard, and all will be right with the world again. But is anything ever that simple?

Jarom has grown up in the simple forest village of Diln. He's the village Fason or peacekeeper and the only son of the head of the village Elders. But after Jarom and his best friend, Allion, save Queen Ellebe from her pursuers, they are locked out of the Elder's deliberations. When Jarom is finally allowed into the chamber it is to have his world torn apart and turned upside down. He learns that he is Torin, son of Ellebe and King Sorl and he is expected to go to a neighboring kingdom and raise an army to save the kingdom before the wizard can consolidate his power.

Jarom feels he has no choice but to agree to this scheme and he and Allion set off. But there is more to being a king than being birthed by the Queen. While Jarom has been trained all his life to be a leader and to settle disputes, he feels adrift as the underpinnings of his world are shifted and his place in it changed. He refuses his new name and reluctantly realizes that he must do what he can for the people. But without his identity as Jarom, he struggles to gain solid footing in this new reality he finds himself in.

While the quest is outwardly a search for the Crimson Sword of Asahiel, the true quest is Jarom's search to find himself and his place in the world. Can he be a leader of men? Can he become a King? Does he want to be King?

Along the journey, Jarom meets with others who help, hinder, confuse, advise, challenge, love, and skew his worldview. There's a lot going on in this book: high adventure, love, friendship, meddling wise men, and monstrous demons. There's something for everyone as Jarom strives to save his village, the kingdom, and discover himself. The big surprise for me is that while this is book one of a trilogy, it can and does stand-alone.

What's even more surprising is that this is a first novel. Eldon Thompson has written a different quest story that has enough twists and turns to entertain even the most jaded fantasy reader. There are some rough spots as Jarom whines about his fate and acts as if the world owes him something for being different than what he believed it to be. Seeing the control this author has over the material indicates that as his skills grow with the next book, the story should gain even more depth and twistedness.

I wanted to like this book. I was traveling and picked this and two others as my reading library.
The setup is pretty generic, boy must save kingdom from great evil against great odds, but I've read many Tolkien like plots that still kept my attention. I can even overlook the rather bland and two-dimensional main character, or the supporting two-dimensional characters. The main problem i have with the book is the author's lack of trust that his readers can are listening. Thompson will establish that the character is nervous or happy or tired, and then revisit that fact over and over at the expense of character development or moving the plot along. The metaphors are pushed and unfortunately usually repeat sentiments that have already been established. If you can imagine reading 2 more paragraphs explaining how Thompson repeats himself you would get the idea of how much he lingers on a subject.

Terry Brooks' endorsement of the book baffles me and i can only guess since the dedication is to Terry Brooks that the two authors have a personal relationship that tainted Brooks opinion. If you really have high hopes for this book pick up "The Summoner" by Gail Martin. It has a similar setup but is executed with much more grace.

When I first began reading Eldon's debut, book one of the Legend of Asahiel, "The Crimson Sword", I thought, well this is a little rocky. Things felt new and out of place, disjointed and somehow incongruous to my sense of fantasy. It felt like the whole world was a shamble, moving like a corpse dragged out of its grave by sinister powers. But, of course, perhaps I was being biased, thinking back to all the stories I'd ever read rather than immersing myself wholly in the environments of Pentania. So I read it again. Regardless of bias, by the time I finished, I couldn't help but feel cheated, - cheated that it was over. I got the distinct feeling that it should have been longer, even though it's just about the right length for me and by comparison to all the great stories I'd previously delved into. This is a good sign, no doubt, -as much of a disappointment as it was to have it end before an appetite could be sated. But, luck is with us, in that, there is a sequel AND book three is nearly in our hands! With that knowledge, the disappointment isn't so great, and the cheat,... well, its excusable.

I suppose I could stand on a soap-box and rant through a raving, frothy, detailed the account of the hero, Jarom, and his often desperate endeavors as a royal son to save not only his birthright city, Alson, from the grips of an evil wizard amid an ugly family drama but also the whole of the world of men by finding the sword for which the book is named. But, given the familiar plot vehicles we've all seen before and the fresh new ones we couldn't have seen coming and the twisting mechanisms that make the Crimson Sword unique, I could spend hours talking about all that occurs. Thus, I've decided to focus less on dropping you all into a simply complex synopsis in favor of relating more important matters.

While the mechanisms are important, and will likely tell you as much about the story as reading the back of the cover, the problem is, they can only tell you what you'll read on the back of the cover! To get a real sense of the story Eldon weaves, is to read it, but since you're just taking my word for it,(I'd better convince you here, right?) take into consideration the aspects that form the meat and potatoes of a great fantasy story. It isn't the events, though they are staggering and awesome. It isn't the powers unleashed, though they are equally unrelentingly memorable. It isn't the horrors faced, though the trials are monumental. It's the characters. It's the mind behind those people, who, though fictional, become beloved by the end, even if we just love to hate them.

In Eldon's world, I find them all most agreeable to my mental palate. The visceral behavior, the sometimes sick humor that isn't so much contrived or situational as it is character and personality related, the sheer intellect of the sharp ones, the blindness of the naïve and hopeful and their bitterness at the veritable backhanded slap of fate and destiny or the utter lack thereof, which in its own right made me laugh out loud and kept me grinning long after, - its all just so well put together that I can't find a better way to express it.

Even villainy can be adored, and this is especially true in Eldon's Pentania. I'm not saying I loved the villains more than the heroes, or that I've ever loved a villain more than the hero, although I have many times. And I'm not saying I'm particularly dark enough to fall in with the wrong crowd, particularly that of a Demon Queen, even though I certainly have. I'm simply saying,... not only do I recommend taking a healthy gander at her leather-clad body,...er, I mean, the tale of the Crimson Sword as a whole, but also following in the wake of the rest of the Legend of Asahiel.

I suppose what I'm getting at, is that I'm simply biding my time until I can get my hands on the Divine Talisman, twiddling my thumbs and waiting for his book tour to pass through Seattle early this August so I might get an autograph. But, just because I'm sitting idle doesn't mean anyone new to the Legend of Asahiel should be wasting their time. They should be reading what's already been written, so they can be prepared for what is to come. After all, this isn't just your typical, run of the mill, magick sword story. The Crimson Sword itself is actually quite unique, and so too is the story that surrounds it.

When the king is assassinated and the city conquered by an unknown army commanded by a wizard, all hope seems to fall on a young man named Jarom. With the help of his friend, Jarom goes in search of the legendary Crimson Sword, believing the magical sword will help in his quest to usurp the evil wizard. But there are many other forces at work, with their own plans for Jarom and the sword.

In typical high fantasy tradition, The Crimson Sword contains dragons, wizards, demons, and other unique creatures. But the strength of this novel lies in the twists and surprises in the story. And with plenty of action and violence, we're never sure who may live and who will die. The antagonists are ruthless killers, but the good guys aren't without their own arsenal of skilled combatants.

There were a few unique characters that I really enjoyed. But this novel is definitely driven by the action and exciting storyline. This was an impressive debut from a young author. I'll definitely be seeking out the sequels: The Obsidian Key and The Divine Talisman, which is supposed to be released next year.

This was Eldon Thompson's first novel. For a first novel it deserves four stars. His characters, well most of them, were enjoyable and developed pretty steadily throughout the course of the novel. I wish I could have learned more about Kylac and Soric, maybe they'll be elaborated on in the second novel. If you're a seasoned fantasy reader, you probably won't enjoy this book much. It does have a lot of cliche themes. But, most novels are cliche in some way so I could look past it. If you're just beginning to read fantasy, you'll probably find this book enjoyable. But, at a deceptively 537 pages, I don't reccommend it as a weekend read unless you are really bored.

I would have to give this book 4 stars only because it wasn't that it was a bad read, it just wasn't original. The main character Jarom aka torin is the long lost prince, (been there done that, several times). He sets off on a quest and seems to make the same mistakes over and over and over again. But winds up commanding armies, even though he has no clue how. I just couldn't warm up to this character, the other two characters Kylac and Allion I liked, Kylac though was also a bit obscure. 16 years old and the worlds best swordsman, come one. I am now reading the 2nd book and its a harder read, because once again, Torin keeps making the same mistakes he made in the first book. Screw up, get caught, make a mircalous escape. He doesn't trust other characters that are helping him and then trust a total stranger and winds up in trouble.
Like I said, it wasn't a bad book, but everything had been done before, over and over again and the main character just wasn't my idea of a main hero.