Book Review for Wayne Thomas Batson's "The Final Storm"

Dark storm clouds, swirling and brooding, raced overhead. Lightning flashed, shedding eerie flickering light on a sea of armed knights in black armor. This army stretched all the way to the horizon.

A very intriguing and intimidating statement, yeah? That's the statement on the back cover of "The Final Storm", which is the stunning conclusion to the "Door Within" trilogy.
Here's the blurb that's on the back cover:

Will Alleble withstand the final storm?

Paragor, the betrayer of King Eliam, unites with the Wyrm Lord and the Seven Sleepers to launch a full-scale assault on the Kingdom of Alleble. While Alleble and its allies prepare to face the coming onslaught, they cling to an ancient legend about three witnesses who have the power to bring victory. But is the legend true? And if it is, where are they? Time is running out as darkness spreads over the realm, and Paragor unleashes the final storm.

I can tell you now, I was completely shocked at who the three witnesses turned out to be. I had never expected it. And no, I won't tell you who it is, if that's what you're wondering.
Here are some random things about the book:

333 pages
Third-person POV
Published by Thomas Nelson
Has a character list in the beginning
Has a map on the inside cover (both back and front)
Link To The Final Storm On Amazon

I'd have to say that I don't really have a favorite character, because they're all fun characters to read about. Mallik, Kaliam, Robby, Aidan, Antoinette, Trenna...the list goes on and on (and on and on and on...).

Another thing that drew me in was the cover. I don't particularly have a favorite color, but the color green has always caught my attention more easily than other colors. And the cover of "The Final Storm" is this really deep emerald green, and has this stone-like pattern to it. And the lightning, sky, dragon, and knights on the front cover all have a greenish tinge to them. So if I saw this book on the shelf (and hadn't checked it out beforehand because of a suggestion by a friend), I would have picked it out from all the others immediately, just because of the green.

Okay, that was rambly. What's that you say? "Rambly" isn't a word? Well, tough, I'm going to make it one.

Anyway! This book was amazing, and you should definitely read it. AFTER you read the first two books, "The Door Within" and "Rise of the Wyrm Lord". If you need something to push you along in that direction, here's a book trailer me and my brother made for "The Door Within". He does all the acting; I was the director, cameraperson, and I made/supplied all the props, i.e the scrolls and the sword. XD
I'm still learning to use Windows Movie Maker, so forgive me if it's so horribly messed up you can't read it or anything. : P

Book Review: The Door Within, By Wayne Thomas Batson

"What lies beyond the door within?"
An intriguing statement, don't you think so? It's the statement on the back cover of the first book in Wayne Thomas Batson's Door Within trilogy.

Swordfighting, knights, strange creatures, warriors, kings...all exciting stuff in any book, but Wayne Thomas Batson puts new twists on it all. Here's the blurb from the back cover:

Three ancient scrolls beckon Aidan Thomas to enter another world: a realm of knights, warriors, kings, unusual creatures, and mysterious Glimpses who can travel between worlds.
Soon Aidan is training to become the Twelfth Knight of an elite unit who will join Alleble in its long fight against the evil Paragory. With the fate of two worlds hanging in the balance, will Aidan be willing to risk everything and trust the one true king?Brilliantly written blurb, if you ask me. Which I note you didn't, but I don't care. XD
Here are some random facts about the book:

311 pages
Third-person POV
Published by Thomas Nelson
Has a character list in the beginning
Link To The Door Within On Amazon
I will repeat that this is, in fact, a book from a trilogy, which means it might leave a little to be desired at the ending. Luckily, the other two books are out, so you don't have to wait for your questions to be answered! : )

I actually don't have any favorite characters, because they're all so interesting and well-created! Mallik, Nock, and Bolt are extremely amusing, though. ;)

If you haven't read this book, I definitely suggest you do. Immediately. Because I know where you live, yeah? ^.^

Book Review: Sword in the Stars (Book One in the Dark Sea Annals), by Wayne Thomas Batson

I first heard about this book from Varon (check out his blog HERE). I decided to check it out at the library and see what it was about.
I was into the book about...five pages, and was instantly hooked. I spent all that day and the next reading it. I spent so long reading it, I finished it in about three days; and that's saying a lot, considering how long it is!
Here's the blurb from the back cover:

Haunted by memories of a violent past, Alastair Coldhollow wagers his life on the hope that a sword will appear in the stars and the foretold Halfainin, the Pathwalker, would come. Meanwhile, tensions simmer between Anglinore and the murderous Gorrack Nation, threatening war on a cataclysmic scale. The fate of all could rest on an abandoned child and the decisions of those who desperately seek to identify him.That blurb mentions the phrases 'violent past', 'war on a cataclysmic scale', and 'the fate of all could rest on an abandoned child'. That was enough to make me think, Right, I better go check this book out.
Here are some facts about the book in general.
426 pages
Third-person POV (though it switches from person to person every so often)
Published by Living Ink Books
Has a list of the principal races featured, and the characters of those races
Link To The Sword In The Stars On Amazon
I'm not going to list pros and cons because the whole book was good (what can I say? I'm very un-picky about what I read), save for a few minor grammatical errors and plot holes.

As for my favorite character, it's Alastair Coldhollow, hands-down. Which is odd, because I'm not usually a big fan of the main characters. I normally like the supporting characters.
Oh, and Captain Dagspaddle. He amuses me to no end, for some reason. ^.^

Right, so. If you didn't read through this whole post, always remember: I know where you live.

...this review wasn't even that long, so I'm not putting a brief statement about what it said. Read it!

Seek The Stars...

Let's face it, contests are a ton of fun. And for readers and writers, contests such as The Starseekers Contest are even better.Wayne Thomas Batson is having a contest of epic proportions to celebrate the release of The Errant King: Book Two of the Dark Sea Annals.
Unlike a lot of other contests, earning points for the Starseekers is a lot of fun to do, and fairly easy. In doing so, you also get the chance to win amazing prizes, such as (but certainly not limited to) a brand-new Amazon Kindle; a character in WTB's next book named after you; free e-book downloads; or you might even get a REAL star named after you or your constellation (more on constellations in a second here)!
So, like I said, the prizes are amazing.
It ends June 26th, 2012, but you can still join in the fun. For more information and the rules, visit http://enterthedoorwithin.blogspot.com/2011/11/seek-stars-contest-is-here.html .
Or you can check out the Forum to see the new Quest, and see how it's played: http://starseekers.freeforums.org/index.php
There are a few teams called 'constellations' on the forums. Those are the teams that 'battle' each other (in a friendly way, of course) in a race to get the most Cyrium points (more information about that on that link I posted above).

I'm in the PHOENIX CONSTELLATION if you're interested in joining the same team as me. We could use some more players.

Like I said before, the contest is a lot of fun, and if you have some spare time for it, I think it would be enjoyable for almost anybody.

Here's a list of Wayne Thomas Batson's books:
The Door Within
The Rise of the Wyrm Lord
The Final Storm
Isle of Swords
Isle of Fire
Curse of the Spider King
Venom and Song
Sword in the Stars
The Errant King

I highly recommend checking them out if you haven't seen them yet!
So...yes! If you do decide to join in, let me know in the comments. : )