Customer Reviews

The Empress Sword

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Synopsis:

"A brave prince, a ferocious dragon, and a magic sword are all familiar elements of the classic adventure story. But for thirteen-year-old Prince Aster of Caledon, the quest for the Empress Sword-the only magic strong enough to defeat the dragon menacing his kingdom-is just the beginning.

Aster has always been told that wielding great magic requires a sacrifice, but what the Empress Sword demands from him is the last thing he ever expected to lose: his own identity as crown prince and the king's only son." - GoodReads.com

Author:

Paulette Jaxton is a personal friend that comes from a heavy computer programming background. She counts NASA as one of her earliest job sources and has taken that forward thinking view into her writing. Currently, The Empress Sword [TES] is her only published novel. However, she is working on the second book in the series.

She also is working on podcasting the novel.

Review:

TES is one of the shorter Young Adult novels that I've read, however it packs a lot of twists and turns into that short span. Many of the characters in a YA tend to be abbreviated, shadows of what they could be. Jaxton manages to make the protagonist, Prince Aster, seem more rounded through all the trials and tribulations he must survive. Though, I suppose the term `protagonist' may be slightly out of place as the book opens up with the awakening of the terrible Dragon.

Mandrake, the reptile in question, is the herald for the return of his winged people who have slept for the past hundreds of years. Unfortunately for Caledon, Mandrake can't get past the notion that the mountain blocking his way to where his people sleep is the kingdom's fault. He decides it is his duty to burn the vermin from his homeland in preparation for the return of the Dragonkin.

And the only one standing in his way? Prince Aster and his search for the legendary Empress Sword, said once to hold all dragons in its sway.

This fantasy novel is a quick read at only 300 pages, but manages to keep even an adult reader's attention. There is no swearing, and the blood letting that occurs is extremely minimal.

There are quite a few smaller characters that make the subplots a fun read, and the world building is very thorough for a YA novel.

Summary:

The Empress Sword is a fine debut novel for Paulette Jaxton's series, and I look forward to what the next installment has to offer. While it is not as polished a piece as you might get from a more experienced fiction author, the book has a good plot, wit, and charming characters that will keep the reader looking for more.

Cost and Purchase:

At $19.99 (Marked down to $14.96 by Amazon) for the paperback, it seems a bit costly. If this were the hard-cover cost, I would think it a fair price. However, the electronic version of the novel is easily worth the $2.99 on Kindle.

The Empress Sword was an amusing read - a great way to end a busy day and a book that doesn't demand you think a whole lot. That's not a criticism - there are plenty of days when that's exactly the kind of book I want to read, and I'm very grateful to the authors that write them.

It has dragons and princes, and the necessary valiant--but immature--men. It has the girls we all love to hate and then one or two who redeem our gender.

The first third of the book was fairly slow, and some readers looking for instant gratification might never get to the good stuff. Their loss.

Then it picks up, and has a couple of very nice plot twists, and a couple of turns that have you going "huh - why'd you do that?" Then you realize the protagonist is a thirteen-year-old boy, and that explains pretty much everything :).

The Empress Sword is masterfully written by Paulette Jaxton podcaster extraordinaire. An adventure like no other with characters you'll grow to love. I highly recommend you also check out her podcast Form Letter Rejection Theatre [...] for other unique and fantastic tales that have yet to be published.

I heard about this novel through an advertisement spot on one of the "Murder at Avedon Hill"/"Tales of the Children" podcasts (I'm working my way through.) and decided to give it a go. I was not disappointed. This is a very good novel, with an interesting premise and compelling characters. My only qualm with the book is that while it was very good, it could've been great. I'll elaborate on that further into the review.

Firstly, the world-building present throughout the story is excellent. Enough information is provided for the reader to know why such and such a thing happens without getting bogged down in the minutia of the world. Too many fantasy tales fall into the trap of dropping all the relevant information into one chapter or conversation. "The Empress Sword", happily, does not. This allows for a gradual introduction into a world of dragons and kingdoms, keeping the reader coming back for more.

Secondly, I really found myself liking the main characters. They were flawed in their own unique ways, but essentially good at heart. This is a welcome relief from the angst and melodrama that seems to pervade modern fantasy. Aster is a prime example of this. He had his moments of self-reflection and soul-searching, but without descending into self-absorption. *cough* "Malazan Books of the Fallen" *cough*

Thirdly, the story was intriguing and entertaining. The premise of the magical artefact is a simple and effective one, with Aster's transformation providing a fascinating and occasionally amusing twist. The exploration of the social implications of his transformation were also interesting, as the stark contrast in his treatment by the resident of Trader's Run before and after his change. Furthermore, Aster's acceptance of his change as a practical matter was very refreshing. Honestly, I find that too much is made of the rather few differences between women and men and it was good to see a novel that reflects this line of thought.

Overall, I found "The Empress Sword" to be a good read. However, I have several reservations:

The antagonists weren't nearly as fleshed out as they needed to be. This wouldn't have required more than several paragraphs sprinkled throughout the novel and the absence of such an effort is conspicuous.

The dialogue sometimes felt a little stilted, but was otherwise of good quality. However, the quality of the visual descriptions were often mediocre due to the unnecessary repetition of words and dull adjectives, or sometimes they were a little too short for my liking. This may be a stylistic choice on the part of Ms. Jackson, but I found it somewhat lacking.

Lastly, I felt that the history of the dragon's and the Eastern Empire could have been gotten into a little more, but perhaps such details are for a sequel?

My final words: A well-written and thoroughly enjoyable fantasy novel.

P.S.

Could the podcast be brought back? The voice acting was amazing!

I've been following the evolution of this book for (quite literally) years. I'm glad I finally got the time to read this latest iteration.

The story of boy leaving home to find the magic, slay the dragon, and save the kingdom is hardly new in fantasy but Ms. Jaxton's take on these classic ideas brings new life to old tropes. An evil wizard, a wise-cracking ghost, and an angry dragon are only the beginning of young Prince Astor's problems. Solving the riddle of the sword proves to be simple enough but after that, his life takes on a whole new dimension.

Great characters, sinuous plot, and sparkling dialog come together in this classic coming-of-age quest fantasy novel.

A delightful read.

Grab a sample and see for yourself.

I just loved this book. A compelling story, loveable characters (even the ones you love to hate), an articulate and eloquent speaking dragon, a brave prince, love, loss, sadness, honor and duty. The only thing missing is the second book.

This book has just the right amount of adventure, humor, fantasy, and romance. It's a perfect novel and I'd definitely recommend it! So glad I bought this book! I cannot wait for this author's next book!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The plot was interesting and a bit twisty. The characters were engaging and seemed real. I was privileged to get to listen to part of the book as a podiobook - it only goes for about 2/3rds of the book though. The podiobook version is definitely worth listening to as well given the production values and talented voice actors - just make sure you have the book handy (and re-read as there was a bit of an edit between the podiobook release and the book release). The book wasn't released when I listened to the podiobook, and I've been stuck for almost a year waiting (not quite desperately :) to find out what happened.

I hope that the author is able to continue this book as a series. I enjoyed the 'world' and the characters.

The 4 stars is to me a very high rating. This is not a seminal book in the genre but was very good and for the price - outstanding!

Take a young male protagonist (a prince, no less), a rampaging dragon, a quest for a magical sword and sir. In a very good way, the result is not quite what would be expected.

The story opens with Mandrake, the dragon, attacking a town in the Kingdom of Caledon and planning the return of the dragons. Right away, the story feels like the best of traditional fantasy. Since the knights and soldiers are busy dealing with the dragon attacks, young Prince Aster decides to go find the Empress Sword, an ancient blade with the power to subjugate dragons, and save his kingdom and its people. From this point the story leaves the expected path with fresh twists and complications.

The characters are complex enough to be both interesting and believable. The writing is smooth and moves the story right along. The Empress Sword was a great read and one I'm looking forward to sharing with my 10-year-old. I think she too will get a kick out of the story and it's twists.

I'm not sure why I downloaded this book, other than that I follow the author on Twitter. It's not any of the genres I enjoy reading. But! I'm glad I did The story held me like a spell. This was one of the books I put in a class of "Page Turner". And that is hard to do on a Kindle. I am anxiously awaiting her next book(s). I definitely will buy and read them too!