Jul 29, 2010: Melkeen: he’s an upstart young wizard like Harry Potter, but you might say his personality was more like Draco! Not really, though. Privilege has not been on his side, but he’s a genius and knows it, and can’t be bothered with social niceties. Aspergers, maybe? The author said no, but anyway, I like that he’s extremely obnoxious, but his character is not all about being obnoxious – there’s more to him, definite undercurrents of bravery and idealism in a personality that is jaded but still very young.

Sarta the Sword, on the other hand, is a little harder to get a handle on. She is a very cool cat, and as the story unfolds, we see her life has been shaped by tragedy. Pay attention to her backstory. It will be important.

So, complex characterization, check. Setting: a standard fantasy world, with wizards and ruffians? Yes and no. No elves, dwarves, or such like. Wizards are gifted with magickal powers and knowledge, ordinary people resent them to various degrees, and then there are..the visitors. With their own agenda, which is not nice.

Plot: Melkeen must prove himself by fullfilling a quest. Along the way, we know, Sarta will need all her cool to put up with his arrogance, and maybe teach him some discipline and wisdom for his own self preservation. But there’s more. What really happened to Sarta’s son? Why are the other wizards so hot to get rid of Melkeen? And what about these artifacts he’s been sent to find, anyway? Now would be a great time to give SWORDS AND SIGILS a second look, or a first look. The plot thickens.

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Jan 27, 2010: (Crossposted from my blog)

On her website the author prefaces the blurb with this uninspiring line:

"This is a fantasy story about a young prodigy and his side-kick (who can kick some serious side). It’s set in your standard fantasy world with all the expected accouterments. Details in the text."

I really think she doesn’t need it. On the one hand it makes [more . . .]

Jan 9, 2010: Take a young wizard named Melkeen, add a sword named Sarta and sprinkle with magick. Add a dash of rivalry and religion, balance it with masculine and feminine, divide with youth and experience and you have a good old fashioned piece of pure escapism! Sword and Sigils is an enchanting story and I thoroughly chilled out as I whizzed through the thirty chapters posted to date.

One of the things I appreciate most about this story is the amount of attention [more . . .]

Dec 10, 2009: If you couldn’t guess from the title, Swords and Sigils is a traditional sword and sorcery let’s-go-on-a-quest fantasy tale. Melkeen is an up-and-coming young wizard fighting his way up the ranks of his magical order, which is full of sneering elitism, backstabbing, subterfuge, political infighting, cynicism, etc. Melkeen has been strongly shaped by the arrogant, ambitious mold, but seems to be different in two ways. First, his youth means he isn’t yet entirely set in the cynical, elitist ways of his order. Second, because he wasn’t born into the right [more . . .]