Review: `You root for Mathias' characters'
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 13, 2014
`Reading fantasy takes us away from reality to a place where impossible things are possible and the righteous somehow find a way to win the day.' And nothing could be more true than stepping into the world of The Wardstone Trilogy. Author M.R. Mathias is an award-winning self-published Fantasy Writer. One of the many remarkable aspects of this mammoth trilogy is that Matthias began this work while incarcerated in a Texas prison for drug possession (though the author adds during on his many interviews, `I was in and out of jail since I was a teenager. I used to have a serious drug habit. I stole stuff, I lied, and I abused every known drug on the streets. My charges were for drug possession, that is what I did time for. I also did time when I was younger for burglary.') Of The Sword and the Dragon (Book One of the Wardstone Trilogy)', his 700 page epic fantasy debut, he states, `Writing was my salvation. I was in maximum security for a while, over a few fights. I was in a dungeon cell 23 hours a day, everyday. Every word on every page of The Wardstone Trilogy was a moment of freedom.' The novels were written in longhand, without the luxury of spell check, or word processors, or even a dictionary. Now he is noted for his epic fantasy novels and his prolific social network marketing activity. His 2011 book `The First Ten Steps' shares shared his considerable knowledge of self-promotion. Searching for further information about this author reveals a man less concerned about resume status than about storytelling and his book are directed at the Young Adult sector. And as one interviewer remarked, `Kudos to Mathias for having the audacity to be openly reveal his darkest secrets. It made him the person he is today, an extremely talented fantasy author. He dared to step outside the line and risk just how far he could go.'It is not feasible condense the plots of the three parts of this trilogy for a review. Suffice it to say that each of these three novels - The Sword and the Dragon, Kings, Queens, Heroes & Fools and The Wizard and the Warlord - incorporate ties that bind the adventure over time and continents and the population consists of humans, dragons, magic hawks, witch queens, magic rings, heroes, wizards and assorted beasties. The fight for good versus evil abounds. `The power of Wardstone is that it is just a substance.  The likeable, but dastardly evil wizard, casts spells using potions, scrolls, and spoken spells from memory. His daughter Shaella relies more on her ability to charm what she wants out of people, but even she is fallible and falls in love with the boy she is using. The sword `Iron Spike' fills its owner with an angelic symphonic chorus of power. It's a big continent. Different regions have different customs all the way around. I would have to say as a whole these is no single `system' of magic.  The uniqueness of the characters in the books, and the unexpected events, losses, and emotion are what make my writing unique. One reviewer said, "You root for Mathias' characters." I think that's pretty cool.'There are few writers in the genre of fantasy that can equal the creative mind of M.R. Mathias. The reader needs only to begin the first few chapters of Volume I to become addicted to the flight of fancy and magic Mathias has created. Highly Recommended for Young Adults and adults who long to be young again! Grady Harp, March 14