Ever wondered what a talking ancient sword would have to say to two children? Well, here is a series chronicling its verbosity, in ancient English, no less!
New York Times bestselling authors Garth Nix and Sean Williams, who both hail from Australia (Sydney and Adelaide, respectively), bring you Have Sword Will Travel, and Let Sleeping Dragons Lie – the adventures of two children in medieval lands which are fraught with magic.
Have Sword Will Travel
Here’s a neat synopsis from the publisher:
Brilliantly funny adventure, featuring magic, dragons and knights.
Odo (seventh child of the village miller) and Eleanor (always looking for adventure) stumble upon a sword in a dried-up river outside their village. Eleanor (strong and able) tries to extract the sword but is unable to, and it is Odo who is surprisingly successful. It is even more surprising that the sword, once pulled out, starts to talk. And rather annoying when the talking sword turns out to be rather grumpy, stubborn, and, at times, catastrophically wrong.
Odo and Eleanor have unearthed Biter, a famous knightly sword from earlier times. By finding Biter, Odo instantly becomes a knight — a role he is exquisitely unsuited for. Eleanor, however, is desperate to become and would be the perfect knight — but she’s not the one with the sword.
Piccadilly Press
Finding Biter is only the start – reluctant knight, reluctant squire, and determined sword must go on a quest to save their kingdom from threats in both human and dragon form, in this new very funny fantasy triumph from Garth Nix and Sean Williams.
I liked the fact that the book threw stereotypes on their heads – the girl is a feisty go-getter who desperately wants to be a knight, whilst the boy is a ho-hum kind of guy who has to come to terms with the fact that, like it or not, he has knight’s blood running in his veins.
Overall, a good book for those aged 9 and above. It’s written at a level that would stretch the average kid’s vocabulary (spot “diaphanous wisps” below), which is fantastic. No dumbing down here.
Let Sleeping Dragons Lie
And if your kid enjoyed the first book, they will be looking forward to reading its sequel.
Here’s the publisher’s synopsis:
Odo and Eleanor are now officially knights, helped (and sometimes hindered) by their magical but rather difficult to control magical swords.
But if they thought life as a knight was going to be easy, they are wrong! Before they know it, their first task is to tackle some ferocious bile wolves!
A funny fantasy triumph from Garth Nix and Sean Williams!
Piccadilly Press
I thought it most fitting that Eleanor’s magic talking sword Runnel, is Biter’s (Odo’s magic sword) older sister, and is a good foil to impulsive and impetuous Biter. Together, Eleanor and Runnel show that females can be intrepid protagonists in a medieval tale too!
Apart from having interesting plots and characters who are relatable to children, these books are a great introduction to medieval society. The story revolves around not just Kings, Knights and Squires, but also a Regent who plots to tax the people more to consolidate her power before her young charge comes of age to assume the throne. Classic palace intrigue right there.
So if you’d like to get copies, as always, both books are available at all good bookstores.
GIVEAWAY TIME!
Book distributors Pansing are generously sponsoring a set of these two books, to one reader of this blog!
To enter, simply complete the following:
1. “Like” LilBlueBottle’s Facebook Page
2. Leave a comment on this Facebook post with your email address (or PM your email address to me), state why you’d like to win these books, and tag one friend who might be interested in this. (You can also share the post if you’d like!)
The giveaway ends on 2359 hrs on 5 Feb 2019, and the winner will be contacted via email.
The usual terms and conditions apply.
[Congrats Jacqueline Ng on being the winner of this set of 2 books!]
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