Merlin's Blade

by Robert Treskillard
Thomas Nelson Publishers

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 ordained for him. But when he is surrounded by adversaries, how will he save the girl he cherishes and rid Britain of this deadly evil ... without losing his life? 

Book includes location map and detailed character index.

My Review:

For me, book covers are not a heavy influence on whether I pick up a book or not. If a cover is awesome, I will want to read it, but if a cover scares the living lights out of me, I tend to avoid it, if possible. This novel has such a cover. My first thought was "what in the world am I looking at?" I took it for an animal of some sort, and I almost skipped the novel. Bring geared towards the younger reading set, I didn't know if I would enjoy and appreciate the story. While I enjoyed it after all, I there were a few things worth mentioning... 

While there are a lot of exciting things going on in the story, I don't know that I would recommend it to the younger readers it was meant for. There is an enchanted demonic stone that makes trouble for everyone, and while God is thrown in there for good measure (called Jesu in the book) it really seems that evil is stronger than good. There are more books coming in the series, so I'm not overly worried that such will ultimately be the case. But it was depressing to see the constant prayer and no results. 

This story is filled with demonic worship, friendship, faith, betrayal, spiritual vision, loyalty, and forgiveness. A lot of things are covered in this novel that make you think twice about the traditional legend we all know a little bit about, and Treskillard brings new life into a story that has been retold countless times. Overall, it was an thrilling read, but if your children have nightmares and rather tender hearted, give it a few years before you hand them this book. Some graphic scenes were included, so definitely hold off if you've got squeamish ones. 

This book was provided by the publisher for free in exchange for an honest review.