Download Audio Books from Audible.

Customer reviews

5 star		63%
4 star		19%
3 star		10%
2 star		8%
1 star 0% (0%)		0%

How are ratings calculated?

Review this product

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

SJJM

Gladius is a tale that I think the target audience of MG readers will enjoy.

Reviewed in the United States on December 27, 2020

Verified Purchase

This book has been living in my Kindle app for ages. From memory, it was the amazing cover (which I love) that caught my initial attention, and it finally made its way to the top of my reading list last month. Gladius is a coming of age story set in a fantasy world that is abound with magical creatures, dragons, and an evil tyrant, Mulhurt.

Gladius embarks on a journey of tradition, where he must endure a month in the forest to mark the milestone of moving from childhood into adulthood. His time in the Longwood Forest takes a turn when he encounters a magical creature and overcomes its attack. He befriends a traveller, Flint, and together they decide to take action against Mulhurt to free the people from his tyranny. They soon cross paths with another brave teen, Ellie, who joins their quest with her own brand of bravery and skills.

This is a classic quest of a protagonist on a life changing journey, where he must overcome a series of challenges in order to win a prize that will enable his family to pay their taxes. The rite of passage already provides enough stress for our young hero (given that his siblings before him set an outstanding precedent for him to live up to), but add in the future well-being of your family and you have another level of anxiety for him to deal with.

Although it’s not a new idea, and there was nothing that blew me away in terms of action or excitement, I did enjoy following Gladius on his journey. I think Gladius 1 is an engaging book that avid fantasy MG readers will enjoy. I am planning to read book 2 soon(ish).

In a Nutshell:
Gladius is a tale that I think the target audience of MG readers will enjoy. It’s an engaging opening to a series that is a satisfying read.

Messages For The Soul

Great coming of age fantasy

Reviewed in the United States on August 26, 2015

Verified Purchase

I'm one of those adults who profoundly remembers what it was like to be a kid and the pains of growing up. This is one of the reasons I still enjoy reading coming of age novels and those targeted for a younger age group. I also have kids and we like to read the same books so that we can talk about them. All that being said, we absolutely loved author J.A. Paul's "Gladius and the Bartlett Trial". The story of 15-year old Gladius, who lives amongst some pretty magical, and a few scary, creatures. He is living in the forest for a month as a traditional rite of passage but much goes south from that point as he is thrown into a dangerous quest. A thrilling read that I found to be very well written and vividly descriptive.

RW Bennett

I'm glad to have read 'Gladius'.

Reviewed in the United States on April 20, 2011

Verified Purchase

As a pre-teen and teenager I regularly consumed adventure novels. They taught me many life lessons and instilled in me a life-long passion for the written word. I recently came upon 'Gladius and the Bartlett Trial' by J. A. Paul written in the same tradition. The name character, Gladius, is a brash 15 year old living in an ancient land populated by strange people and creatures. The `Bartlett Trial' is a rite of passage ritual where young people spend a month in the forest, surviving by their wits and instincts. Gladius, however, falls in with a revolutionary, Flint, determined to see his lands retaken from the cruel overlord Mulhurt, and Gladius' trial becomes a dangerous quest, full of harrowing escapes and encounters with dragons, as well as giant bats, boars, and tiger cats. J. A. Paul handles the epic climax deftly, and I was surprised to learn it was his first novel.

While I found some of the language in this story a little clunky compared to my usual reading fare, there were none of the sins assumed to be found in the work of the self-published: no misspellings, incorrect grammar or punctuation. More importantly, there is no profanity or off color sexual situations in the story. It is a book appropriate for middle grade to adult readers.

A friend at work shared with me that he had to restrict internet and gaming privileges for his teenage sons, and wished his sons would read more. If there were more stories like Gladius and the Bartlett Trial, fewer dads would have to worry about their sons' and daughters' leisure choices. More stories please, Mr. Paul.

Christine M. Butler

An Epic Adventure!

Reviewed in the United States on May 27, 2011

Verified Purchase

I love reviewing all different kinds of books, and while I loose myself in them, I have to say I also enjoy getting to know some of the authors who contribute to those pages. I had the pleasure of corresponding back and forth a bit with J.A. Paul before I ever read his book. I liked him right from the start and had a feeling his writing style would be just as engaging. He did not disappoint me!

Gladius and the Bartlet Trial is the perfect story for middle school aged children through adults who are yearning for a new adventure. The Bartlet Trial is a test of a young Wiggin's ability to survive one full lunar cycle in the dangerous Longwood Forest. The main character, Gladius, sets out on his very first adventure through the forest and, after having been regaled with his father's and brothers' adventures over the years, he sets out with some pretty large shoes to fill. Beyond having to bring home tales of bigger and better adventures, Gladius is also counted on to bring home prize money for his trial that will pay the taxes to help his family keep their farm. Along the way the 15 year old Gladius runs into some pretty strange and dangerous creatures. He also makes some new friends and joins in aiding them against the evil tyrant, Mulhurt.

Gladius and the Bartlet Trial was as charming as it was captivating. As a parent I would have no problem with my nine year old advanced reader picking this book up, which he has already asked to do. I feel I must add here that both of my boys (ages 9 and 12) do tend to judge books by their covers first and they have both ogled the cover in my Kindle selection window and begged to be the first to read it. I believe the exact words were: "Ohhh, that one looks cool, I got dibs!" Luckily for them, there's more to this book than the cover - much more! I thoroughly enjoyed reading this story. It was perfectly paced, extremely well written, and had absolutely no bad language in it at all. As a parent to avid readers I can't ask much more than that. I simply can't wait to read more from J.A. Paul!

Customer reviews

Review this product

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Top reviews from other countries