The Sword of Calandra - The Winter King's War 2 - Susan Dexter Book Review

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"The Sword of Calandra - The Winter King's War 2"
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Review Summaries

"Tristan had succeeded where hundreds of other heroes and wizards has failed - he woke the lovely sleeping princess, found the tenth ring, and discovered that he was the rightful heir to the throne of Calandra. Unfortunately, Tristan didn't get to ride off into the sunset and live happily ever after. There were many nobles who disputed Tristan's right to the throne and were willing to wage war to get rid of him once and for all so they could go back to their petty squabbling over who would be king. Also, in order to actually be able to sit on the throne, Tristan needed the sword of Calandra, or his crowning would also mean his death. Too bad the sword disappeared into myth and legend centuries before... In desperation, Tristan returns to the wizard's city of Kovelir to seek out Crewzel, a fortune teller to see if she could read anything more from her magical cards. But Tristan was bitterly disappointed to discover that Crewzel had disappeared without a trace, even her beloved son did not know where she was. Knowing full well that Crewzel would never go anywhere without her son, Tristan set out to find her while continuing his wizard's apprenticeship and searching the library for any references to the sword of Calandra. But time was running out and Tristan knew that he had to gamble the future of the kingdom on one desperate attempt - to forge a new sword, a sword that would mean Tristan's death or victory... The Sword of Calandra picks up where The Ring of Allaire ended, with Tristan and Elisena desperately fighting the evil forces of Nimir, the winter king. Unlike most second books in a trilogy, this book actually had a purpose and a mystery to solve and it was another fun adventure to take with familiar characters. I simply loved Dexter's characters and enjoyed seeing familiar faces and discovering what happened to secondary characters that were left behind in the Ring of Allaire. Dexter presents a simple quest in a unique and memorable fashion and her bumbling hero, Tristan, always manages to make it through his challenges, despite his lack of confidence in himself. I highly recommend this whole series, but you could read this book on its own and understand everything that is happening. Fantasy fans should definitely check out Susan Dexter's writings - she is a real hidden treasure!

Crested sapwood supportable noradrenaline runout. "
Debbie, Resident Susan Dexter Scholar

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Overall Review

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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Book
Descript. of chases or violence - 20%
planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 30%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30%
Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 20%

Tone of book - very upbeat
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - fantasy world/fantasy past
Coming of age Yes
Youngster becomes - a powerful magician
Inner Struggle Yes
Plotlet: - coping with mental/magical powers
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book

Main Character
Identity: - Male
Profession/status: - mage/magician
Age: - a teen
Has magical/special powers? Yes
Magical/mental powers of main character: - can cast many different spells
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events? Yes
How sensitive is this character? - soggy whimpering jelly muffin
Sense of humor - Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - very athletic

Main Adversary
Identity: - magical being
Age: - long-lived adults
Profession/status: - mage/magician
Has magical powers? Yes
Magical/mental powers of main antagonist: - can change shapes - can talk to animals - fire/thunder/weather cntrl - mind reading - mind control - can cast all sorts of spells - Invisibility - can read emotions
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - an average amount
How sensitive is this character? - mean, arrogant
Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence - Very much smarter than other characters

Setting
Earth setting: - during "Tolkien" (fairytime) times
Takes place on Earth? Yes

Style
Person? - mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths
How much dialogue? - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog

Most similar books by Gordonator ranking
The Outstretched Shadow by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory
Holder of Lightning - The Cloudmages 1 by S.L. Farrell
A College of Magics by Caroline Stevermer
Fortress In The Eye Of Time by C.J. Cherryh
The Dreams of Darkness - Everdark Wars 1 by Elizabeth Burton

Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s).

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