Kindle Edition Amazon Trafford publishing Category:  Fantasy Publisher: Trafford ISBN-10:  149079493X Type: Fiction Pages: 412 Copyright: May 2019 ISBN-13: 9781490794938 Price: $4.59 (eBook) The Killnarin, summoned into Zaylyn, were sent back by the slaying of Dranngore with the Sword of Anthrowst, but not before they killed the members of the wizard's guild. The destruction of the dragon's crystal, that the guild had been using to absorb the magic and life-force of others for themselves, also released the dragon, Baracken, who had been subdued and imprisoned. Unopposed by his brother, the dragon king, still deep in a magical slumber, his plan is to recruit an army of followers and reclaim lands deemed as belonging to dragon-kind, regardless of being inhabited by humanoid races. Due to his imprisonment, Baracken is unaware of the Dragonites, human-dragons, existing for generations now. Once discovered, this will infuriate him to no end. Nodwel, the dwarf, is more concerned with protecting those against the werewolf. The thieves' guild's attention is drawn, due to having two half-Dragonite members and fearing Candra's continued involvement with The Black Shadow. The all powerful demonic vampire-like being, The Black Shadow, with his growing involvement with the group, the people of Zaylyn, and recent events, many begin to fear that this new threat of the dragon is the least of their worries. (Download button to read Chapter 1 of Book #3, can be read without spoilers from first two books) (Older un-used back of the book) Enter the World of Zaylyn. This is a world filled with strange creatures, magic, and mystery. This is a world filled with many different races: humans, elves, dwarves, fairy folk, centaurs, dragons, dragon-like humanoids, goblins, trolls, shape-shifters, and many others yet to be discovered. With warriors, thieves, wizards, treasure, magic, strange creatures, danger, and adventure, this world is never dull. Baracken is no longer kept at bay. The wizard’s guild, with the use of his own crystal against the dragon, kept him subdued while they used its power to drain the magical energy of others for themselves. Now that Dranngore had eliminated the guild with his Killnarin and the group had destroyed the crystal not knowing what would come of it, Baracken, the evil brother of the dragon king, was set free. With Goranto ensnared long ago under a spell, Baracken could now claim the throne and rule over the dragons of Zaylyn. All human-dragons would surely perish and so would countless others. Dea, from the village of Torrnell, decides to take the matter of the dragon there into her own hands. Will she succeed in stopping its attacks upon her village? Did Hoatam, the werewolf, speak the truth when he said that Thorin’s half-devoured body mysteriously vanished? Will Hoatam be able to create other werewolves to become his followers by imprisoning the children of his wolf within them? Will Nodwel be able to escort and protect Kreasa and her sons on their way back to Dexcsin with the werewolf so eagerly hunting them down? When Nodwel arrives, he discovers that something very strange has occurred at Dexcsin. To Dendrox and Candra’s horror, when they return to Shirkint and discover more about the dragon their group accidentally released, they realize that their home village of Cranok is in grave danger. It just so happened that Cranok was the home village of the wizard that started the wizard’s guild and imprisoned Baracken. This was where the dragon was first headed in his reign of terror, and the two thieves start to greatly fear for the safety of Dendrox’s parents. Goranto is the only one who can stand against Baracken and unite the dragons in continued peace with the humanoid races of Zaylyn and not terrorize and dominate over them in superiority as his brother wishes to do. The group feels they have no other choice but to find a way to awaken the dragon king, Goranto, and therefore stop Baracken.          Excerpt Chapters: 89 Word count: 147668 Page size: 6x9 inches

Writer's Digest judge's commentary
(of book #1 only)

Category: Genre Fiction

(scale 1-5 poor=1 excellent=5)
Plot:4
Grammar:5
Character development:4
Cover design:5

= Writer's Digest judge's commentary:

== The cover is intriguing. I was particularly curious about the cloaked figure on the left-hand side of the picture. The author has clearly drawn a vivid word picture of the setting and characters in her book, Quest for the Sword of Anthrowst. This story of the forces of good and evil is strongly told, with sympathetic characters and obvious villians. The dialogue is interesting and for the most part natural. The narrative is written in a very clear, straightforward manner. The author's voice is strong and consistent, with intersting word choices and clever phrases.


Category: Mainstream/Literary Fiction

= Writer's Digest judge's commentary:

== The author has taken a great deal of care to create this unique world. It's obvious that the author is well-versed in fantasy literature and is approaching it from the perspective of creating a world like ones created by Tolkien and Robert Jordan and even George Lucas.

Writer's Digest judge's commentary
(of Book #1 + 2)

= Writer's Digest judge's commentary:

== The author has a talent for characterization, making clear the distinctions among various characters by their speech patterns, word choice and tone. For example, Vordin speaks/thinks in a halting, childlike manner at the beginning of the book, before his bildungsroman has commenced ("I'm a selfish coward. I was frightened. I panicked. I ran and hid...."). Shadow, on the other hand, speaks in complex sentences, with a much more sophisticated vocabulary ("He expects you to act in a similar manner to a certain degree. He will know instantly if you become attracted even in the slightest to another and will probably accept it, as long as you don't compare, or judge, or feel you must trade one love for another."). I'm impressed by the fact that once the reader becomes more familiar with the characters and the tone of each, it's often clear who's talking, even without dialogue tags. That's impressive, because effective dialogue can be a challenge.

( of Book #1 + 2)

Category: Middle-Grade/Young Adult Books

(scale 1-5 poor=1 excellent=5)
Plot:4
Grammar:4
Character development:4
Cover design:2

= Writer's Digest judge's commentary:

== If you like "Lord of the Rings" type fantasy, you will like this book. Actually, this was 2 volumes in one. The story was complicated. there are lots of characters, human, elf, creatures, etc. Ms. Mandrake-Johnston has put together a wide sweeping world and populated with many diverse characters. There is a quest and evil to outrun or defeat. For the genre, it was well done and well conceived.