Thinblade

Sovereign of the Seven Isles, Book 1

By: David A. Wells

Narrated by: Derek Perkins

Length: 18 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's summary

When second son Alexander Valentine loses his brother to an assassin's arrow, he discovers that his family protects an ancient secret and reluctantly finds himself at the center of the final battle of a war that was supposed to have ended 2,000 years ago.

Pursued by the dark minions of an ancient enemy, Alexander flees to the mountain city of Glen Morillian where he discovers that he is the heir to the throne of Ruatha, one of the Seven Isles, but before he can claim the throne he must recover the ancient Thinblade. Seven were forged by the first Sovereign of the Seven Isles and bound to the bloodline of each of the seven Island Kings in exchange for their loyalty to the Old Law. Each sword is as long as a man's arm, as wide as a man’s thumb and so thin it can’t be seen when viewed from the edge.

Thinblade is the story of Alexander's quest to find the ancient sword, claim the throne of Ruatha, and raise an army to stand against the enemy that has awoken to claim dominion over all of the Seven Isles.

©2011 David A. Wells (P)2014 Podium Publishing

Great New Series

Loved it, once I got going on it.
Ready for the next one! Bring it!

I will listen to the next book

I read the books many years ago and enjoyed them very much so when I got the first audible book I was very excited. It is good but my only complaint would be that the narrator’s cadence doesn’t portray urgency or tension very well. His character voices are good but they could be in the middle of being attacked and his voice is still slow and methodical. It threw me off but I will listen to the next one and see if I can get past that.

very imaginative

If you could sum up Thinblade in three words, what would they be?

engrossing, imaginative storytelling.

What other book might you compare Thinblade to and why?

I would compare this to Jim Butchers Codex Alera series (Academy's fury, curser's fury, etc.) it is along the same lines that a nobody is all of a sudden running things because they did not know their lineage. it also deals with magic and fantastic beast. what makes this different is the premise of how magic is used and the division of different lands and their abilities. in some ways it also reminds me of game of thorns.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

I would not change this title

Any additional comments?

I was looking for a series to listen to in between my other favorites like the Dresden files, the presidents agent and the lost fleet. this will fit in nicely with what I like.

Non-stop pace carries the day

Fabulous narration by Derek Perkins. I'd rate this book PG-13: no sex, no cussing, but numerous bloody battles and some necromancy with human sacrifice. I'd almost go 3 stars for this first book, because the pace is quick, the characters are likable, and the plot fairly absorbing (but the writing style needs work).

THINBLADE is a fantasy novel with pervasive romantic elements (endlessly we're told of her piercing green eyes, his glittering golden eyes). The setting feels somewhat like fairy tale land — old Europe — complete with kings, castles, nobles, bards, guild houses, and guild masters. Fantastical elements in the series are many: mages, wizards, witches, familiars, wisps, succubi, demons, varied creatures spawned of necromancy (nether wolves, etc.), fairies, dragons, wyverns, shades, ghosts, etc.

Told in 3rd person, the tone of these books felt strange to me: an odd mix of intensely grim-dark and excessively joyful ("pure joy" pops up frequently — and at the strangest times — interspersed with many mischievous grins).

The author obviously knows this genre, based on all the creepy creatures he portrays —with vivid descriptions — and based on the constant rush to find the next magical artifact for defeating evil.

THINBLADE is carried along by its magical world-building and — even more — by its pace. Rarely a dull moment. Despite an unsophisticated writing style (see below), the story moves forward at a consistent pace.

The main characters and supporting characters are likable and convivial (if too flat). The hero, Alexander, began as a 24-year-old rancher with no training in magic or politics. Without the necessary character development, the author quickly transforms him into a confident, courageous, and wise ruler, giving orders to military generals as if he'd planned battle strategies all his life.

Villains: The main villain (Prince Phane) is too flat, and stayed off stage too much to become truly interesting to me. Commander Jattan P'Tal eventually develops into someone fairly interesting. The other major villain (Zuhl) is the most interesting character in the entire series. He's got a solid backstory, credible motivation, and feels authentic and three-dimensional.

As for plot, I like the basic premise: Archmage Barnabas Cedric, who lived 2000 years ago, put into motion (before his death) a series of signs, tests, trainings, and "gifts" so that our hero Alexander could finish killing Archmage Phane Reishi, who has been hibernating in sleep status for 2000 years. He is awakened in the first chapter, and from then until the end, it's a rush to kill him (and to kill Zuhl, and all the demonic creatures).

So, on the upside, fast pace, likable characters, vivid monsters, and decent premise.

On the downside, the author's writing style bears improvement. It is prosaic and slightly sermonizing /condescending. He seems to have a libertarian anti-government mindset and an immature view of government officials (they are mostly all corrupt, all these selfish "petty nobles"). The writing style leaves nothing to interpretation, as the author spells out each new step in the plot and explaining the good nature of each protagonist (because we couldn't figure that out by what they did?). The author reveals far too many of the hero's thoughts and feelings. Furthermore, he repeats the same feelings and thoughts several times (a pet peeve). The characters are fairly flat. The hero is far too good. Where's the character growth? The dialogue is vapid and interspersed liberally with "he looked him in the eye" and sound bites echoed from his childhood -- teachings from " dad" in the form of brief proverbs. Vocabulary is sometimes anachronistic (mom and dad, gravity, adrenaline, "man up" and "you guys"). I like his vivid descriptions, but they do go on too long.

Still, despite this, I've read far worse. I felt compelled to read several books in the series, skipping some of them to get to the last book.

Very Bad Indeed!!

What would have made Thinblade better?

I have listened to and read a vast amount of literature in this genre over the years and I must say that this book is particularly bad. The characters are bland and stereotypical, the story is utterly dreadful and devoid of substance and richness.

I do not normally write a review but this is by some margin the worst Audiobook I have had the miss fortune of listening to. I managed 3 hours before I gave up completely. I did not want anyone else to waste there money on this drivel like I have.

I seriously doubt all the reviews of this book; they must have been reviewed by family members or the publishers. Honestly this book is seriously bad.

Has Thinblade turned you off from other books in this genre?

No but I doubt the legitimacy of the reviews now.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

ANGER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A great story with a strong message

The entire series is really well done. The messages in the story are powerful if you think about them. I listened to the entire thing in about a week and would recommend it to anyone and everyone. The narrator is fantastic, although I'm not surprised by that. He does well in every book I've heard him do.

good read

this book was written well. I loved the underline humor in some of the scenes.

Great Start

This was an awesome book and a great start to what I am hoping will be one of my new favorite fantasy series.

Derek Perkins did a fantastic job as per usual...

Slow start but worth it

This entire series is classic epic fantasy and each book has its own special elements to love. This first book gets off to a very slow start and the action really doesn’t pick up until late in the book. It turns out to be a great investment in world building, so stick with it if you find yourself not engaged fully for a while

amazing

amazing amazing story can't wait to start the next book. really well put together in my opinion.