The hero, Soren, is plucked from a starving street urchin’s
life by a famous nobleman to attend Ostia’s prestigious Academy of
Swordsmanship. Magic is outlawed in
Ostia, so the Duchy’s best and brightest become master swordsmen to move up in
society.
It’s an opportunity that’s too good to be true, and Soren
recognizes this. He becomes the hardest working
student at the Academy because he knows that one failure could throw him back
on the streets; something his rich, noble classmates don’t have to worry about. It soon becomes clear that Soren has a
magical “Gift” with a blade that enables him to defeat almost anyone he faces
despite his limited training.
That’s where the story turns away from the typical hero’s
journey.
The Tattered Banner
is not about undertaking quests or vanquishing dark lords, but how one young
man survives from day to day with only his wits and his Gift. Soren’s journey throughout the book is like a
series of random encounters—something happens to him, he makes a choice, and then he blasts off into a totally new direction.
His adventures are certainly thrilling and had me turning the
pages. I suppose random encounters are
what real life is like.
Which leads to my one criticism. The
Tattered Banner is well told, but I felt like there was something missing:
an overall goal for Soren to work towards that ties everything together.
Soren simply tries to survive from one unrelated situation to the next. He has an intriguing magical skill with the
sword, but that doesn’t seem to be at the top of his “to do list” to
investigate. I was hoping the book would
make that Soren’s overall goal, and show
how it conflicted with Ostia’s anti-magic laws.
But it never happened.
Though Soren makes some poor decisions, I still rooted for him, nonetheless. He never forgets that he
was once a starving orphan on the streets, which makes you understand his
actions when he does things that are, at best, morally questionable.
The Tattered Banner
is book one of a series, so I hope future volumes will explore the mystery of
Soren’s magical Gift with the sword. I
did enjoy the book very much because of its action and interesting characters,
despite my reservations about the plot structure.
Highly recommended.
The Tattered Banner is available on Amazon.
[Note: The Tattered Banner was purchased by the reviewer.]
Highly recommended.
The Tattered Banner is available on Amazon.
[Note: The Tattered Banner was purchased by the reviewer.]
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