Review: Captivating battles, fascinating demons, and foolhardy heroics!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 10 20, 2013
Having read these books separately when they were first available, I was excited to see them now published in one edition. I was immediately drawn in by the characters in the Wardstone Trilogy by the first story, "The Sword and the Dragon." When Gerard found the ring while climbing for hawkling eggs, I felt Hyden's anxiety that his brother wouldn't make it down before nightfall. I was deeply immersed in the Summer's Day festival, watching "The Brawl" and worried that more of the stands would soon collapse. I hated how Pael the wizard treated Glendar and was hoping his evil plans would fail."Kings, Queens, Heroes, & Fools,' is jam-packed with epic battles and mysteries as the saga continues. As an example of one of the adventures, Hyden, with his hawkling Talon, search for the Silver Skull of Zorellin. On their journey aboard the Seawander, Hyden and his companions, Brady, Oarly the dwarf, and the young magician Phen, are forced to go ashore at Kahna Island. They journey into the Serpent's Eye cavern, where Phen finds a treasure that eerily reminds Hyden of the horrible fate of his brother, Gerard.In the final story, "The Wizard and the Warlord," we come to the end of an exciting trilogy. As usual, Mathias does a great job with his descriptions of this amazing fantasy world full of magical creatures. There are some new characters introduced, like Lady Telgra the beautiful elf who plays a major part in helping the humans fight evil. Though she is much older than Phen, or Marble Boy as he's now called, is it possible she's in love with him?This exciting trilogy has giant lizards and dragons, people falling in love, epic battles, and evil wizardry with dragons, giants, and pirates. It's a complete fantasy world with lives and adventures intertwined in a way that is spellbinding and mind-boggling. It's fast paced and gory. Mathias does an amazing job of tying the three stories together, reminiscing the words of the cackling fortuneteller in book one to Hyden as his little brother Gerard sits beside him. "Someday, you will watch helplessly as one you love dearly attempts to destroy what the one that sits beside you is to become."