A.J. Lake.  The Book of The Sword
Bloomsbury  $14.95  ISBN 978-0-7475-8632-6  235 pg.
Reviewed by Keegan, Age 14

I could dive for the knife, he thought. Then I’ll be on my belly in the snow when it springs. But there’s nothing else I can do … He began to run, his feet slipping in the powdery snow, just as the great beast leapt.

He felt it land on him as he got to the dagger: its claws raking his back; its hot breath on his neck. He staggered, trying to reach down for the knife with his right hand while his left flailed helplessly behind him.

In the second book of the Darkest Age series, Elspeth, Edmund, and Cathbar are swept away by an evil dragon called Torment, who carries them to a land covered in snow. After they escape from the dragon’s clutches they are attacked by wolves and bandits. Elspeth then learns that the sword she found in the first book was created to destroy Loki, a demon that was imprisoned under the mountain that looms over their heads. But when they go to defeat Loki, everything becomes strange, and fairy tales become reality.

The Book of The Sword is a great book that’s similar to the Lord of the Rings trilogy in many ways. It has magical swords, dragons, and great evil that attempts to destroy all of mankind, just like in the Lord Of The Rings. The Book Of The Sword doesn’t really have anything that puts it apart from other books of this genre, good or bad, but I still can’t wait to read the next book in the series, The Circle of Stone. Before you read this book, you should read the first in the series, The Coming Of Dragons, otherwise you won’t understand this book as well. The first book contains things like who Edmund and Elspeth are, and why they are together.

I’d recommend this book to anybody who likes books about mythical worlds and magical creatures. I think it would be great for kids 10 and up because it’s easy to read and doesn’t have anything that younger kids can’t or shouldn’t read.

This reviewer gives The Book of the Sword  5 magical stars.