Song of the Sword

Song of the Sword
by Edward Willett
Published by Coteau Books
Review by Alison Slowski
$14.95 ISBN 9781550505801

Song of the Sword: Shards of Excalibur Book One opens a door for readers to a new teen fantasy. Fifteen-year-old Ariane Forsythe is tired of being shunted back and forth through foster care after being abandoned by her mother two years previously. She is frustrated by being bounced from school to school because of her recent history of getting in fights with bullies. Things start to look up for her, however, when she comes under the protective wing of her Aunt Phyllis, who had been battling cancer in the hospital during Ariane’s stays in various foster homes. But things get complicated, when, in between worrying about being bullied and harassed by girls at her new school, Ariane inherits a brand new power. A power that was first bequeathed to her mother, but her mother rejected and was declared mentally insane. This is the power of the Lady of the Lake from Arthurian legend.

Ariane learns to control her new power as she embraces her inheritance of being the Lady of the Lake. Only Wally, her new friend, can mitigate the potential disasters that could befall a teenage girl who uses her ancient powers for ill instead of good, but as her friend he takes his responsibilities as her protector seriously.

While there are many interpretations of the Arthurian legend, this brand new Young Adult novel by Edward Willett focuses on the Lady of the Lake as the mythical quest-giver. The Lady of the Lake is a benevolent force introduced into Ariane’s life through the Wascana Lake not far from Ariane’s Regina home in the story. Ariane is bequeathed the power of the Lady of the Lake and is instructed to find the shards of the sword Excalibur using a power bestowed upon her called ‘The Song of the Sword’. Meanwhile Merlin, the powerful wizard, acts as the greater antagonist under the guise of a hardened twenty-first century tech business mogul.

An exciting new series debut from well-established author, actor, and man of many talents Edward Willett, this book’s ability to draw in the reader is not unlike the song of the sword’s call to the shards of Excalibur. Willett’s straightforward style lends itself easily to the reader’s imagination, and readers young and old alike will be unable to this exciting new series down before the finish.

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