The Jigsaw Blade

By: Stevie Collier

Narrated by: Kevin Kemp

Length: 12 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's Summary

He always dreamed of becoming a Champion. But finding a mythical sword could cut his life short....

Finn Featherstone longs to trade in his paintbrush for a legendary Bizarre Blade. One day, after heroically rescuing a young girl and coming face-to-face with his sword-fighting idol, he is shocked to learn he is being drafted as a foot soldier. A few days later the army caravan he marches with is attacked by a pack of saber-toothed tigers. While trying to survive, Finn finds himself crashing through the ice where he mistakenly discovers a magical Blade of his very own. 

Introduced to a world of Champions jealous of his random find, Finn struggles to master his sword’s sludge-spitting bad attitude. Surrounded by dubious allies, he must somehow find the courage to battle the vicious meat-eating dinosaurs that roam the land as well as trying to survive the freezing elements. And when a traitor takes down Finn’s fellow Champions, the former painter must tame his angsty weapon in a hurry if he has any hope of winning the fight of his life. 

Can Finn command his deranged Blade before his dreams of glory come to a bloody end? 

The Jigsaw Blade is the first book in the refreshingly unique Bizarre Blades sword-and-sorcery fantasy series. If you like plucky heroes, wacky humor, and ferocious dinosaurs, then you’ll love Stevie Collier’s swashbuckling tale.

©2019 Stevie Collier (P)2019 Podium Publishing

Epic Story, Great Fun, Brilliant Characters!!

I must admit that I don’t read a lot of Fantasy now, the core of my reading being in the Sci-Fi genre, but over 40yrs, I have read my share. However, when something catches my eye, or I hear a lot of good reviews about something, I will take a look at it and check it out to see what it is about. In the case of ‘The Jigsaw Blade’, I was so glad I did. This is one of those books that once you pick it up, you are not only glued to it to find out what happens next, you also realise that there are a lot of other aspects of the story that you find yourself intrigued with, and you also find that you will be laughing hysterically at times. This is not a book to be listened to on a train if you embarrass easily. (Exploding in laughter over something Finn has done in the middle of a packed train can be a little embarrassing, explaining about his ‘Gooch Troll’ can be even more difficult) The story follows Finn Featherstone, a young lad in a village that is not that well off, he is the son of a pretty good painter, but painting doesn’t exactly earn a lot. Finn is a sprout, a humanoid with Green Hair. There are also Sprouts, Sparks and Highborn. You can tell them apart by their hair colour (Sprouts with brown hair, Sparks with Red, Highborn with luscious Blonde Hair). In this wonderful world, there are Dinosaurs, they are used as pack animals, to ride, and as punishment, such as the Pterodactyl cage in the town square, in which people are dropped in and then the guards all scramble out of the way and they open the trap door to the unfed Dactyls – who come and eat the less than happy people in the cage, bit by bit. They also have Champions – these are people who wield Bizarre Blades – mythical weapons of immense power. And this is where the Author has created a fantastic, captivating and inspired bit of world building, in which (if you are a bit of a nerd), you sit there and actually think about the types of Blades there are. A slew of Blades are disclosed in this book, including of course – The Jigsaw Blade. The Characters themselves are incredibly well written. Finn is not only remarkably in-depth, you get to listen to all of his thoughts and neuroses (again, these are some of the more comical moments, the Author most definitely remembers his years as a teenage boy, and captures some of the less ‘elegant’ moments wonderfully, with such a captivating and clever writing style. You find yourself not only laughing at Finn, but also feeling a real connection with him as well, and it takes some clever writing to be able to forge that with the listener. Finn discovers the Jigsaw Blade, but he also finds out that owning a Blade is not all its cracked up to be, and he is soon tangled up in a web of numerous different challenges that will test his wit, his will, and his willingness to be a Champion, Finn needs to discover whether he can rise to the challenge, or become a pile of Dinosaur dung. Along the way, Finn meets some outstanding Characters, (I am not going to give too much detail here as I don’t want to give away spoilers, needless to say, these characters are some of the best ‘side’ characters I have come across in a Fantasy book for a long time), there are Jade and Ariel, two young Friends, Ariel is easily one of my favourite characters I have read in a long time, she is just brilliant. Silver is sensational as the lethal Master who to train him, tries to repeatedly kill him. Then there is Nibbles, the wise old Lady, kind of like a cross between Yoda and the tree from Pocahontas. There are too many other exceptional characters to list, but the other stunning set of characters are the Dinosaurs. From Obsidian, a Microraptor that adopts Finn, to Jewels the T-Rex. This is an epic story with such amazing world-building, and Finn’s story is not only compelling, but hilarious at the same time. This is exactly what a good fantasy book should be about. An exceptional world in which to explore, some fantastic and exciting weapons that you can have fun like a kid playing ‘Collect-a-Card’ with trying to work out all the different Blades and Champions, as well as the Dinosaurs (which according to the Author are real as he is getting research from his brother about them - his Brother studies them for a job), to some outstanding Characters that are just brilliant, but at the same time, have a lot of fun – this Book has everything. One of the Best Fantasy Novels I have listened to in a long time. I have gone and bought the entire rest of the the series in book form, and I am waiting for the release on Audio as well, as the Narration is just outstanding. Kevin Kemp is wonderful as the voice of Finn Featherstone, he has that vaguely comical, but very sincere voice that comes across so well in audio productions of this nature, and makes you laugh yourself silly when Finn does something silly, like get himself stuck in the Dactyl cage... Kemp's Narration is crystal clear, very easy to understand (even at higher speeds for those that like to listen a bit faster), with great pronunciation, he is very easy to listen to for extended periods so you can sit back and enjoy this epic saga play out. Kemp also does wonderful job with the male and female voices in the story, providing a good range of character voices, as well as doing a great job with the emotional range of the the characters. The Narration for this Audiobook was excellent, and makes this one of those few books where it is actually more fun to listen to the Audiobook than it is to read the book, as the Narrator adds so much to an already brilliant Adventure Story. This is just a Credit that you have to spend and you will enjoy every second of it.

Funny and disturbing all at the same time.

This book was...intense. the MC has a lot of flaws and that honestly makes the book so much better for it because it adds consequences to everything going on and keeps you guessing about whether he is going to be successful or not. There's a lot of word/pun humor and some silliness, but overall a pretty serious tone.

I don’t know....

I hate the MC. His pessimistic, annoying, and questioning character is unbearable almost all the time. “But...but... Why?” Constantly. He’s a champion of literally nothing. He’s weak, makes stupid decisions, and the author really pushes his adolescent nature. I’m all for MC’s starting out this way, but at least provide some growth, or else it’s just 12 hours of adventures through the woods with an annoying child. I will spend the credit for the next book because I really love the story around the swords, but if there isn’t growth quickly and he stops being a snotty nose child, then I’m bailing on this pretend hero’s journey and getting my credit back.

good book

He always dreamed of becoming a Champion. But finding a mythical sword could cut his life short… Finn Featherstone longs to trade in his paintbrush for a legendary Bizarre Blade. One day, after heroically rescuing a young girl and coming face-to-face with his sword-fighting idol, he is shocked to learn he is being drafted as a foot soldier. A few days later the army caravan he marches with is attacked by a pack of saber-toothed tigers. While trying to survive, Finn finds himself crashing through the ice where he mistakenly discovers a magical Blade of his very own. Introduced to a world of Champions jealous of his random find, Finn struggles to master his sword’s sludge-spitting bad attitude. Surrounded by dubious allies, he must somehow find the courage to battle the vicious meat-eating dinosaurs that roam the land as well as trying to survive the freezing elements. And when a traitor takes down Finn’s fellow Champions, the former painter must tame his angsty weapon in a hurry if he has any hope of winning the fight of his life. Can Finn command his deranged Blade before his dreams of glory come to a bloody end? The Jigsaw Blade is the first book in the refreshingly unique Bizarre Blades sword and sorcery fantasy series. If you like plucky heroes, wacky humor, and ferocious dinosaurs, then you’ll love Stevie Collier’s swashbuckling tale. Buy The Jigsaw Blade to join a weird and wild adventure today!

it is one of the best books I've read this year I

I love this book hope the next one in the series is just as good if it is I'm hooked for as many books as he makes

unique is good

Great first book This book was great at developing a main character, though a very slow growth. wish there was more swordplay but I loved the world and meaningful side characters.

Thoroughly Engrossing

The Jigsaw Blade is an engrossing, exciting epic fantasy that doesn't even take itself seriously, mixing adventure with magic swords and dinosaurs.

Great Story!

Awesome swords that grant incredible or somewhat strange powers is just my kind of story. Looking forward to a second book!

what's there not to like?

Kevin Kemp knocks this reading out of the park! I think I have a new favorite to watch for along with Vikas Adams, Nick Podehl and TGR. I really enjoyed the story and by halfway through I was invested in the slighty spastic Finn the Fantastic. Uou have to listen book with a sense of humor and a little tongue in cheek otherwise some of the jokes/references will break your immersion. looking for to the next book in audio!

fun underdog story

ok where to start? I enjoyed this book. i don't wamt to spoil it but i feel so bad for this kid sometimes. he gose threw some shit . the author has a great since of humor and sprinkled the book woth great puns. its hard to say how much i like this book without giving spoilers. so all i can say its a must get!

Great narration

The only thing I like about this book is the narration and the poster. To create a great story, one must have a great main character but Fin is a coward, whinner, thick headed. he only thinks about himself, who wants to read the story of a cowering wimp.

Thoroughly enjoying every word

Kevin Kemp's voice compliments the story so perfectly. It's as though it was written for him to read. it's such a gripping story and the character's are brought to life through the power of audio! keep writing and recording!