Review: Merlin's Blade by Robert Treskillard

Title: Merlin's Blade
Author: Robert Treskillard
Publisher: Blink
Pages: 432
ISBN:978-0-310-73507-6
Publication Date: April 16th, 2013

Synopsis:

Merlin's Greatest Weakness Could Become His Greatest Strength

When a meteorite crashes near a small village in fifth-century Britain, it brings with it a mysterious black stone that bewitches anyone who comes in contact with its glow—a power the druids hope to use to destroy King Uthur's kingdom, as well as the new Christian faith. The only person who seems immune is a young, shy, half-blind swordsmith's son named Merlin.

As his family, village, and even the young Arthur, are placed in danger, Merlin must face his fears and his blindness to take hold of the role God ordained for him. But when he is surrounded by adversaries, armed only by a sword he's named Excalibur, how will he save the girl he cherishes and rid Britain of this deadly evil ... without losing his life?

Review:
I have always been intrigued with stories of King Arthur and Merlin. I've read the tales of the round table, I've watched anything from the old cartoon movie, to blockbuster movies, to the made for TV mini-series. Seeing this new series, I knew I needed to check it out.

Robert Treskillard is able to take such a well known story and make it new and fresh.Usually, when we think of Merlin, we think of him older and being an adviser to Arthur. Here, in Merlin's Blade, Merlin is just a young man, barely out of his teenage years. Arthur is just King Uther's young toddler son. With these ages, there is so much space to work in.

Unlike previous settings, Merlin's Blade is set during the time when Rome still had some control over Briton and Christianity was starting to spread. Knights and Ladies aren't exactly present, but warriors and soldiers are. Briton sits on the precipice of moving forward into Christianity or going back to its pagan origins.

The characters that move this story along are strong. Each offer much to the story and are based on the well known characters that most of us grew up with. There are changes, which I enjoyed. Merlin is a young man, having lost most of his sight in an attack when he was a boy. He has struggles, but he faces them well. He works and fights for what he believes in and has hope. He also relies on his faith and his belief in Jesus. Merlin is a strong male lead. He is surrounded by adversity in this story. He is smart and either fights with his brains and if need be his brawn.

There were a couple of sections in the story where in the beginning I got a little confused by the characters, but as the story moved along, everything eased together, and the story flowed. I'm interested to see where this series goes!

Too Read
4 out of 5

About the Author:

Robert Treskillard holds a BA in Biblical &Theological Studies from Bethel University, Minnesota. He has been crafting stories from his early youth, and is a software developer, graphic artist, and sometimes a bladesmith.








Thank you to Booksneeze and Blink, I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for an honest review.