2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Much potential, not much fulfillment, December 3, 2010
This review is from: Swords of the Six (Paperback)
Swords of the Six was a very interesting book. The plot was fantastic, the characters were awesome, and the world building was quite mysterious.
The beginning is what every author should strive to do, and every reader needs to have to continue reading. A captivating scene. I want an epic battle scene-but that's just me. Swords of the Six starts out with a terrible battle between an army of men and a devious, black dragon. When the armies of men fail, one man, the only loyal of the six, fights the dragon-Xavion.
From there the story jumps ahead, and I'm still not sure how many years pass between the prelude and the first chapter, but I don't think the author intended for me to know.
The great white dragon, Albino, brings life to six daughters who were humans in appearance. After seventeen years he sends them on a mission to redeem one of the fallen six who preceded them. The man-Letrias-refuses to be redeemed and kills himself, leaving one wish: That the girls bring his son to their father.
After giving the son to their father Albino, he sends them on another journey, one which they are not sure what they're doing. He sends them to a forest far away and gives them a stone cave as their home. Years pass and Dantress, the youngest daughter and the protagonist of the book, meets a young man named Ilfedo who she falls in love with and soon after marries.
Being dragon in everything but appearance, she is not allowed to mix blood with a human, and if she does so, must give her life to bring another to the world. And so she does. The baby's name is Oganna and Dantress dies after giving birth to her. Once Ilfedo and his new sisters-in-law bury Dantress, Albino comes and gives the girls a mission as well as give Ilfedo a gift-the Sword of Living Fire.
So ends book one of The Sword of the Dragon series.
As you can see the book's plot was extraordinary. I loved it. Who would of thought of a dragon having six human appearing daughters? It was pretty amazing plot-wise.
I did notice a few writing errors however. There was a little to many emphasized words for my taste. The thing about emphasis is that its not needed-at all. You shouldn't need a special type of word to get a point across. Italics come in handy at some points though, and I'm not saying you shouldn't use them. I use them in my writing-they're just not something you want to use too much, else you diminish the value.
I also saw some printing errors that happened repeatedly. I think the main things were the quotation marks. They seemed to be on the wrong side a lot of the time. When starting a quote the mark would be facing the side that the end quote should be facing and vice-versa.
The author did an exceptional job at describing. I could see everything in my mind very vividly. However, this was also one of the downfalls. I caught myself not being able to focus on the actual story because of the great description. I personally prefer story over description.
The world building was also phenomenal. Even though I myself didn't know anything other then what the girls explored. What made it great was when the characters talked about other places, but only hinted of their existence. It left me wanting to know what else there was in this world. I can't wait to explore the rest of the world in the books to come.
All in all, Swords of the Six was a great book. For being a self published book it has made quite a bit of sales and is a great addition to the bookshelf. I am eagerly awaiting Offspring, the second book in the series, as well as the republishing of this book.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Swords of the six, July 21, 2009
This review is from: Swords of the Six (Paperback)
Swords of the Six is Scott Appleton's debut novel, a prelude to a promising series, called, The Sword of the Dragon. In this book we are introduced to an intelligently crafted and highly imaginative world of dragons, fairies, sea serpents and other amazing creatures. Appleton is able to create tension and intrigue thereby drawing the reader into this fantasy world. There are also many beautiful scenes and Appleton's skill as a writer is obvious as he weaves his tale of loyalty and treachery.
The story centers on the great white dragon's six daughters who are dragons, yet appear in human form. Having dragon blood gives them magical powers of healing and mind communication, which the daughters are barely aware of until their father sends them on various missions. During these assignments circumstances conspire which require the girls to work together and use the gifts which are part of their dragon heritage. There is much conflict in terms of sword fights as well as emotional trauma as the powers of evil seek to overthrow the power of love, justice and mercy. The story ends with a platform built for future adventures into the elaborate world of the great white dragon, mystical beings, and magical swords.
For those who love to spend time in another world, this is a great way to do it.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great book!, December 27, 2010
Premise
The great Dragon Prophet's choicest warriors have turned their back on him, choosing the side of evil and slaying innocents. Now, a thousand years later, the blades are rusty from feeding on blood of innocent men. The Dragon Prophet senses evil is back, so he makes children, who are of dragon blood, but are in human form, to purify the swords and bring justice to the traitors.
Review
Want a good christian fantasy? This book is exactly that. Appleton's book shows great examples of self-sacrifice, honor, fighting temptation, and true love. A great break from heroes with wanton sexual desires, and slaying everything that moves for just the sake of bloodshed.
The heroes don't fight back, unless they are attacked first. There is blood and guts as you'd find in the Bible, but it's not a blood soaked hack n' slash romp.
There is no "good" magic as you'd see in Harry Potter or LOTR, the magic is evil. The good guys in contrast have "gifts" from God.
Religion wise, the religion is a lot like Christianity, unlike usual polytheistic fare you normally see in fantasy novels today. And of course there is an evil Dark-lord you'd usually see in fantasy.
Even though the book is considered Christian, the characters are not without their faults. Like in the Bible, Moses and the whole lot of Biblical characters had problems with temptation. But always in the end, the main characters find the error of their ways, and are punished in some way, like in life.
Every once in a while in the book, it's kind of slow, but keep reading, because it'll suck you back in, and you will probably finish it in a day or two.
Overall this book is an amazing book by a first-time writer, I'd recommend it to you in a heartbeat! Kudos to the author! I give it 5 stars out of 5!
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