Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Isle of Swords: A Review


Bloodthirsty pirates. Buried treasure. Mysterious monks. Hidden islands. Daring escapes. Perilous searches. All these things and more are found in Isle of Swords. As Captain Declan Ross tries to discover a way to leave piracy behind, his daughter tries to persuade him to let her join the crew and his newest deckhand tries to recover his memory. A strange monk offers Captain Ross his chance to escape piracy if he will grant him passage to an island no one has seen. But the ruthless Captain Bartholomew Thorne also wants the treasure and will do anything to get his hands on the map now in Captain Ross' possession.


I had a little trouble at first with the manner in which Batson constantly shifts the point-of-view from which the story is being told. Hearing from half a dozen different characters who I barely knew was a bit confusing and frustrating. However, as the story progressed, I quickly lost sight of the point-of-view changes and lost myself in the story.


Isle of Swords is first and foremost an action and adventure story populated with memorably quirky characters. Secondly, it is a tale of what is really important in life--not the adventure, but those family and friends who share it with us. The message is smoothly interwoven into the story with the same skill Batson has shown in his Door Within trilogy. Nearly every reader should be enthralled by this fast-paced story set on the high seas.


By: Wayne Thomas Batson


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