The art of the magician has been banned in Thrandor for 200 years, and has become a byword for myth and legend, or so a young teenager called Calvyn thinks. Unbeknown to him, a magical talisman has been recovered, and the whole of Thrandor stands blissfully unaware that disaster is poised to strike.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
Mark Robson was born in Essex in 1966 and raised, for the most part, in Camarthen, West Wales. In 1982 he gained a scholarship to join the Royal Air Force as a pilot and has worked for them ever since. He successfully self-published the four book series, The Darkweaver Legacy, the first book of which was largely written during tours of duty in the Falkland Islands. He now lives in Northamptonshire with his family.
A childhood favourite of mine, The Forging of the Sword follows the classic tale of a boy, suddenly orphaned at the hands of a traitor. His village burning, Calvyn is taken in by an old magician who teaches him a few tricks.
When an old enemy resurfaces, Calvyn flees and joins a local Baron's army, where he becomes a vaguely competent footsoldier. Here he meets expert swordsman Cadet Bek, expert archer and enticing and lovely young Cadet Jenna, and the attractive in a "I could kill you" sort of way, Corporal Derra.
It's pretty standard fantasy stuff, but unlike when I normally reread childhood favourites, The Forging of the Sword stood the test of time and age. It's not revelationary, but it is a solid, fun, and nostalgic book for me and holds a special place in my heart as the inspiration for several amateur (and terrible) fanfictions of my own.
I purchased a copy of this book at a signing event for the author. I felt obliged at the time to buy one of his books, and I chose this one as it had the most interesting blurb to me. It did live up to the expectation I gleaned from the back, and I liked the plotline. The book was an original idea and not copying from other fantasy books.
A great fantasy book, and I loved how although there were a number of characters making up the book it was easy to follow. The explanation of magic and how Calvyn learns it was great and the training he undergoes both magical and normal was so well set out.
DNF I've given up, just spent 5 minutes reading about 2 characters walking around a fort/barracks having the blandest interactions since I was doing creative writing in Primary School. I gave it 80 pages and felt no drive to continue because the plot had no real direction, just character just saying hello and goodbye with ominous comments and poorly delivered jokes...
I only read this because Mark Robson was in my local Waterstones plugging his book and as a compulsive purchaser of books I thought "why not give it a go?"
Unfortunately, I found it boring and am suprised that it's average review is 4/5. Perhaps fantasy adventure is just not my genre; it is competing with Lord of the Rings to begin with and you just can't top that. I don't recall relating to any of the characters, I didn't care what happened next and I didn't enjoy the writing style. There wasn't really anything to endear me to it, and to tempt me to buy the next one. There wasn't anything wrong with it but I felt that all the themes in it were done before and there wasn't any original takes on the "adventurer goes forth" story. Perhaps I missed the point.
I don't remember much of the book but disliked it enough to give it to a charity shop, even though it was signed.
Personally, I think this book is great, and so is the rest of the series! I was given this book for my birthday many years ago because my parents saw the author signing copies in the bookshop and while at the time I believe I was a little too young to enjoy it to it's full potential, as I got older I fell in love with it. Calvyn is a terrific character who you can't help but love, and it's not just about him, the supporting characters were equally as good and I love reading when they are all together.
I also loved how Mark Robson described the way in which one practices magic, it was such a unique way of doing it, he makes it seem like a much harder skill to master than in most books which is a nice change to all those stories where it's so easily done.
Overall, I wish more people would pick up this book, it's a great read and I always find myself smiling when I revisit this world.
I love this book! I have since the first time I read it. Its well written and gripping and perfect for a person with a good imagination! I have had this book since I was 14 and have been reading ever since, and it only gets better with each rereading.
Calvyn, a young farmers son comes home after a morning of fishing to find his entire village has been destroyed. Distraught he tags along with an old man who has a few tricks hidden up his sleeve. When a chance encounter with a man from Perdimon's (the old man) past forces Calvyn to make his own way in the world he joins a local Baron's army. This is when the fun really begins!! But i will say no more about this, suffice to say I love this book for a reason.