Comment

JBFARRELL
Dec 07, 2017JBFARRELL rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
This book is a collaboration by two popular Australian writers, Garth Nix and Sean Williams, both individually authors of extremely popular series that are mostly for Young Adults/Adults. This is clearly intended more as a children's book. It is a fun read, and suitable to be read by or to children. The story is fun, and twists the fantasy quest trope just enough to make the story different while remaining firmly grounded in the trope. It has both a girl (Eleanor) and a boy (Odo) protagonist and is likely to be enjoyed by both girls and boys. They are from a tiny village, the daughter of an apothecary and the son of a miller. Eleanor, a single child, wants adventure and to be a knight like her dead mother. Odo, with lots of brothers, wants a quiet life, possibly apprenticed to a miller in a nearby village. They find a magic sword, Hildebrand Shining Foebighter, the Scourge of he can't quite remember what, but who is determined that the unwilling Odo will be his knight. Eleanor settles for being appointed squire, but just until she can upgrade to knight, and together they depart on a quest to defeat the distant dragon to blame for the drought afflicting their local river and surrounding countryside.