From Goodreads
Jaykriss is a typical teenager. He’s bored with school, the girl he loves doesn’t even know he’s alive, and he and his mother disagree—a lot.
Not everything is typical in Jaykriss’s life, however. Glyndich the Great, Jaykriss’s warrior father, died fighting a dragon—and in doing so lost the Bloodsword, a treasured heirloom that is the family’s symbol of power.
Jaykriss lives in the Godswood,a tiny village deep in the forest near the ancient Priestbain, the fortress home of the Godswood priests. The priests rule the Godswood through their close relationship with the all-powerful Dark King. Jaykriss and the rest of the villagers just barely get by, surviving day-to-day despite nefarious plots by the priests, constant threats by groups of half-human mutants—and, of late, by the Thrax itself, an enormous dragon once thought to be extinct.
But one day, all of that changes.
On a routine hunting trip, Jaykriss and his best friend are chased by the Thrax. Terrified, they seek refuge in a forest cave hidden behind a waterfall. The cave shelters an eccentric hermit, a refugee from the Dark King, whose home is filled with books and devices from ancient times. The hermit teaches Jaykriss that all is not as it seems in his world. The mutants and dragons are actually relics of a biological disaster that ravaged the planet years before. The Dark King, revered as a god, is a vicious ruler who will do anything to stay in power. Jaykriss realizes that although he is not a warrior like his father, he can use his instincts and intellect to confront the Thrax, recover the Bloodsword and save his family. He may, in fact, be The One who Leads, prophesied to save the entire human race. But is Jaykriss ready for his destiny--or will it consume him?
My thoughts
Firstly, thanks to the Publishers and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Secondly, my apologies to the Publishers and NetGalley for the length of time taken to read and review this. I ended up getting a copyf of this from Amazon due to the title being archived before I got round to reading it. Unfortunately, events last year in my life took over and this was one of a few titles that got left behind and unreviewed.
Anyway, back to the review now. I gave this a 3.5 star/7 out of 10.
I have to admit that I did struggle with this story at first, I can't say that it was the fault of the story though. I don't really know what it was that caused me to struggle with it. Maybe, it was down to not reading enough of the story each time I was reading it and that I didn't really engage with what was happening as a result of this. However, this all changed around a third of the way through and I have to admit that I did read the last half of it in one day, as I was dying to find out what happened.
I thought that Jaykriss was a worthy young hero to the story and enjoyed the friendship between him and Marda and the developing relationship between him and Sola. I think Jaykriss will make a great Leader, if he learns the lessons that he will come up against. This story could be read as a standalone, but does set the scene nicely for the ensuing books in this trilogy.
Aimed at the YA market this story can be read by Adults too and will appeal to fans of the LOTR, Harry Potter and others similar.
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