The Sapphire Eruption (The Sword's Choice)

Irate this book a 5.0. This is the first book in a series. It is a science fiction -adventure story based on four kingdoms. This book focuses on Water and Fire and the magical swords needed to rule their countries. In the Fire kingdom a sword has chosen a baby to be the next king. Around the same time Water ahs chosen a young girl to be the next Queen to follow her mother. This book has some wonderful characters with interesting names. Noakhail trains to be the next King under the tutelage of Lumio his adopted father. During the journey Noakhail meets many interesting characters who all play a part in his growing up and development in his sward skills. Some of these characters die while trying to help NoaKhail. By the end of the book Noakhail seems ready to meet whatever foe he faces.At the same time the Water Kingdom has chosen a young girl to be the next Queen. She also faces many challenges. In the development of her own skill with the magical sword. The book is excellently written and easy to follow. There is a lot of action throughout the book.I can’t wait to read book 2 and see what happens to Noakhail and the future queen as their fates are bound to meet.

My first thought, as I read the last words of The Swords Choice – The Sapphire Eruption by I.M. Redwright was, “What? It’s over??? Oh man, what a bummer.” That’s because I absolutely loved this author’s story-telling and did not want to stop reading. Luckily, the story continues in Book 2 so I will have an opportunity to read the full accounting.There’s so much depth and history throughout this book that it was easy to feel like I was immersed in Noakh, the phoenix’s world. Being a fan of Piers Anthony, I absolutely love it when an author assigns special meanings to words. In this case, the main character’s name, Noakhail, means “Don’t Give Up” and through many trials and tribulations, he completely lives up to that admonition.Don’t get me wrong, there are many times when he is on the verge of throwing down his sword, so to speak. Wondering whether he will or won’t is what keeps the story moving along so swiftly. There are so many perils and situations that are full of action and adventure that there’s not a moment of boredom in the entire book. It reminded me a lot of The Sword In The Stone by T.H. White amongst many other rich, epic Arthurian fantasies. I also loved the idea of a world containing four separate elemental kingdoms.Oh yes, I forgot to say, Noakh comes from the Fire Kingdom where a “phoenix” is chosen to become the new king. Since it happens so early in the story, it’s not really a spoiler to say that he is chosen to be that phoenix when he is a little baby and things go so awry that he must be spirited away to a safe place to avoid being murdered.There are many other characters to be admired in the book but I have only concentrated on Noakh, here, because he was my favorite. The review, itself, would be as long as a book if I delved too deeply into the others. Suffice it to say, this is a great read. Check it out for yourself.

The Sword’s Choice – The Sapphire Eruption by I.M. RedwrightThe first book in this fantasy series is set in 1 of the 4 elemental kingdoms of this well–constructed world - Aquadom, the kingdom of water. Although we encounter only 2 powerful swords in this first book, it seems each kingdom has a magic sword that embodies the particular element of that kingdom.The story begins with an assassination attempt on the rightful heir to Fiero, the kingdom of fire. Although the baby’s mother and the attending high priest are murdered, the child is saved by a young knight, Lumio. This devout young man escapes not only with the baby but also with 1 of 2 fire swords, Distra, that was being used by the high priest in the ceremony to recognize the rightful heir to the throne of Fiero. In the safety of a small obscure village in the kingdom of water, Aquadom, Lumio raises the baby, Noakhail, as his own, and trains him to be a fierce fighter with 2 swords. Neither Lumio nor the young boy are fully aware of the power of the fire sword Distra, although Lumio realizes it is a powerful weapon.In a parallel story, a young princess of Aquadom, Vienne, is chosen from among her sisters to be heir of the throne of this kingdom by the water sword Crystalline. Although chosen, she is not guaranteed to be queen. She must learn to use the powers of Crystalline before a jealous older sister steals her throne.The action really kicks in when Lumio is killed by thieves intent on stealing the fire sword, only Noakhill had the fire sword with him and wasn’t present at the time. Returning to find his father dead, he sets off to return to Fiero to proclaim himself the rightful heir, something he and his father had planned to do together.Noakhill blazes an exciting path with the fire sword through the heart of Aquadom en route to the kingdom of earth, Tirhan, which he must pass through to reach Fiero. While Vienne struggles to make herself worthy of the blessing the water sword bestows on her.The characters are fascinating, the land rich in surprises, and the struggles of the 2 heirs to come to terms with the powerful weapon each has been blessed, or cursed, with are powerfully told. Both Noakhill and Vienne struggle to claim the crown each should rightfully hold.Not to give too much away, by the end of this first book the two young heirs are set on a collision course to battle each other with their respective god-like weapons. Which will make fantasy readers anxious for the 2nd book in this complex series.

I Really Liked the story of Noakh and the crew. Amazing story Where you get involved deep in the adventures. Looking forward to reading the next book!

The cover drew me in at first and then when I started reading it was easy to keep going. With the red sky calling for the ritual to be held by sword to determine the next ruler of the kingdom and the fight to protect the chosen one gives a great pull to the reader. The story included lots of adventure and was greatly descriptive. I felt like I was in the book. I will be looking for book 2 in this series and will definitely recommend.

The great strength of this novel is the complex and detailed worldbuilding. It is a story of four separate kingdoms, each defined by an element. I'm assuming (and hoping) this is the first installment in a series, and it features the kingdoms of fire and water. The magic of each is distinctive and well-defined. I haven't read much in the high fantasy genre for years (I used to read it voraciously, but moved to urban fantasy and scifi) but this reminded me why I enjoyed it so much. This story involves a discovered destiny, a journey and a quest in the traditional sense, where the protagonist meets help and friendship on the road. The characterisation is well done, the main characters likeable, as well as believable, but my favourites were many of the minor characters, who were brilliantly drawn with just a few sentences. I enjoyed this book and am looking forward to the next installment in the series.

Deeply immersive start of an Amazing Saga!Such a gripping epic tale, that you can almost hear the rich symphonic theme music play in the background as Noakhail’s dramatic story unfolds. From page one, you are instantly immersed in a very descriptive fantasy world filled with amazing places, dozens of memorable characters, and centuries of detailed history and political intrigue as each faction wrestles for power, from both inside and outside each of the kingdoms. This reminds me so much of Avatar the last airbender with the four kingdoms of Earth, Air, Fire, and Water.No words have been wasted. Every intricate detail holds some significance, all the way down to the tiniest droplet of water, but you’ll want to discover that on your own. Impressive Battles and Tournament scenes incite a rush of emotion as the reader cheers for their favorite heroes, or some rather dastardly villains! It was honestly difficult to set this book down. The action and adventure forces you to keep flipping pages deep into the evening. I literally finished the final page at 2a.m. I can’t wait for the story to continue in volume 2!

Fantastic story and even better characters. I'm transported into a world of magic and intrigue. Wonderful read, highly recommend!!