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Thursday, October 1, 2009

Book Review: Defenders of the Scroll by Shiraz

Defenders of the Scroll: History, Legend and Lore
Written by: Shiraz
Created by: B. Singh Khanna & Rupinder Malhotra
Genre: Fantasy Fiction
Publisher: iUniverse, Inc.
Pages: 248
From: Author
Available Now

Summary: A teenage boy. A dark wizard. A mystic scroll. And the fate of a world hangs in the balance. . . When Alex "the Axeman" Logan is pulled from his world to help young princess Dara save her kingdom from the Shadow Lord, he thinks there has been a mistake. He's a teen guitar player close to failing 11th grade, not some defender of the realm. All he has are some school books, his wits, and his love of fantasy movies. Overnight his life is history. Alex must confront the Shadow Lord and his minions when he is thrust into a land that has changed from a magical paradise to a barren, hopeless, helpless realm invaded by a dark army. But Alex is not alone. He has the help of Dara, a magic scroll, and a band of unlikely companions drawn from his own history books: a hardened Roman Legionnaire, a swift Japanese Samurai, a mighty African Warrior, a fiery Amazon Archer, and a spirited Shaolin Monk. Can Alex become more than he believes and lead his small band of Defenders to the Hall of Shadows, the birthplace of the Shadow Lord? The fate of the realm and everyone in it rests on him.

My Review: When I first received Defenders of the Scroll for review I was a little iffy about it because the cover reminded me of a video game. But boy was I wrong! I was taken through an adventurous ride from page one all the way to the end. I loved the plot of the story, it was very refreshing and magical. I couldn't help but get lost in this world Shiraz and his team created. I really enjoyed the characters and found them to be very likable. Especially Alex and Dara, they were my favorite, they made the book entertaining. I definitely think this book is very versatile and could attract many audiences, however this book would be great for readers between the ages of ten and sixteen. I believe it would actually make an interesting read for students in school. I loved how every page was written on a scroll which is definitely creative, I never seen that before. Also, some chapters had illustrations which provided me with an image of how the struggle between good and evil looked like. Their is also going to be a second book so I'll be looking forward to continuing the journey. Honestly the ending made me laugh, just one word...it ended with "Crap", how awesome is that!? Haha. Anyways, overall, I unexpectedly enjoyed Shiraz's writing and it made me more open minded to fantasy type novels.
My Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Book Trailer:

Author's Info:
South African born, Shiraz was raised just outside Toronto, Ontario. Like the characters in this book, he currently has no home. His life as a software developer has allowed him to live on four continents and keeps him moving every few months. While he has had a passion for writing since he was eight, this is his first published work. He has every hope it is not his last


Rupinder Malhotra is originally from Newcastle upon Tyne, England, and grew up loving action-adventure stories. Now working a s a producer in mediums which include film/television, video games, toys, and finally books, he has many canvases to allow his creative vision to be expressed.


Singh Khanna's love of fantasy and story-telling started at an early age when he read his first epic fantasy story on the steps during recess while living in Virginia. Singh works in the eco-friendly vehicle space and is also a producer for film, television, video games, and the web. When not reading, you may find Singh riding his motorcycle in and around Chicago.
For more info on Shiraz & his team, visit their sites:

Official Website: http://www.defendersofthescroll.com
Shiraz's Twitter: http://twitter.com/shiraztheauthor


5 comments:

Sheila (bookjourney) said...

I am so glad you liked it. I havent read my copy yet - it is still on the TBR shelf and I too have wondered what I was in for. :)

Alyssa Kirk said...

Funny but we just got our copy in the mail today. I was iffy on the cover too but now I'm excited to get started reading it!

Mavie said...

That's good that you think this book was great. Shiraz also sent this book to me for review, and I also kind of don't like the cover, but let's see!

brizmus said...

Wow - this so looks like the kind of book that I would love! Aside from the cover, that is. What an awesome trailer, though!
The cover really makes it look like one of those books based on role playing games or card games. Like a Dungeons and Dragons book or a Magic: the Gathering book.
I'm glad it's not, and I'm glad you liked it!

Sassy Brit @ Alternative-Read.com said...

Sounds good! Love the cover.

Sassy
:)

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