In The Dragonslayer’s Sword, Resa Nelson has imagined a mysterious world full of fantasy and terror. She brings the reader in by abruptly dropping them into this world with a frightened, disfigured, monster-child, Astrid, who is given away to a child seller by her unknown parents to be disposed of. Astrid is the reader’s guide through this world, for as she finds her way , so does the reader. As unreal as this universe is, the raw emotion of the frightened child brings it into quick focus for us.
As this first novel in this series moves forward we are privy to the stories of many of the characters in this universe: the shapeshifters, the alchemists, the artisans, the many lands and peoples. But first and foremost this is a coming of age story of a damaged youth. Over and over, Astrid is forced by circumstance to become what she is destined to be. The secretive past that slowly unfolds around her, the secrets of the society she lives in, the lands she travels through, and ultimately who she falls in love with are all wound around the iron blade of the Dragonslayer’s Sword. Crafted by Astrid, the sword is a metaphor for her life as it is intertwined with the lives of those around her and those she is destined to touch.
Astrid touched me. Her struggle to understand her life, the lives of those around her and her place within the universe is engaging and exciting. The universe Resa creates for her is richly detailed and starkly beautiful and sometimes terrifying. This is a wonderful fist installment of what portends to be a delightful series I am very much looking forward to reading and enjoying and suggesting to others.
This is Dome, sayin: Astrid is a young lady with a mission and her love to guide her. I hope I will be reading stories about her search for a long time.
For the purposes of full disclosure, this book was a review copy sent to SFSN. No other remuneration was given or implied.
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