Official Review: The Apprentice, the Swordsman, and the I...

[Airam Velarde]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Apprentice, the Swordsman, and the Impossible Mission" by Elizabeth Wilde.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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The Apprentice, the Swordsman, and the Impossible Mission, is a fantasy book written by children’s author Elizabeth Wilde. Set in the far off world of Crystal Realm, this tale embarks the reader on a journey of unfailing hope and friendship, where mystical realms and fairytale creatures come to life.

Pink-haired and scatterbrained Falina, was bursting with excitement when her master, the powerful wizard Lord Cristar, gave her a mission to go on. Though she is clumsy and quite hopeless in magic, Lord Cristar has faith that his apprentice will at least accomplish this simple task. However, by his own mistake, Falina is instead sent on a mission to do the impossible. Accompanied by a most reluctant swordsman, Kilian, she must find a way to enter the Kingdom of Forgotten Realms. A kingdom forged by lost realms that now exist in the space between spaces and can only be accessed by the ever-moving Eternal Door. Falina and Kilian find themselves roaming the vast Crystal Realm in search of the elusive entrance and on their journey encounter magical kingdoms and mystical creatures.

The Apprentice, the Swordsman, and the Impossible Mission, is a book where the journey in which the characters embark in is of far more importance than the ending climax. For this reason a lot of time is spent on smaller adventures that Falina and Kilian come across while on their mission. At some of these places I found the plot to move very slowly and stray from the main conflict. However, when it did, it was to introduce a new and interesting side character to the tale. Each new character would have their own background story and therefore, a new lesson to teach our main characters. These teachings range from the very simple to the more profound ones that the reader could easily relate to in some way. Because of these lessons, the main characters’ development is quite apparent, and you can see how throughout their journey, they both mature and grow in experience.

What I also found interesting about The Apprentice, the Swordsman, and the Impossible Mission, is the many references to other stories. Throughout the book, there are mentions of classic fairy tales such as Snow White, and The Wizard of Oz. A great part of the novel are its mythological creatures that are also very well known and that we see in many other fantasy tales. I feel that these kinds of references give the reader more familiarity to the story and understanding of the unique world the author has created.

While having a simple central conflict, this book manages to introduce many important lessons that may be relevant to the lives of its readers. It is a very light story that would get the attention of children, but that might be too slow for more advanced readers. For this reason I would recommend this book to a younger audience that is interested in fantasy or fairy tales and classic adventure stories. I give this book 3 out of 4 stars.

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The Apprentice, the Swordsman, and the Impossible Mission
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[Sapphira110]

Hello, author of "The Apprentice, the Swordsman, and the Impossible Mission" here, thank you for reviewing my book and giving it 3 out of 4 stars!