I first read Stephen Gashler’s “Prisoner of the Mole People” last year, and true to this author’s character, his books are random. If you want to be surprised and completely unable to guess what’s coming, keep tabs on this author and his books.
Written for a middle reader’s audience, “The Bent Sword” is about a medieval boy who wants to go on adventures, but lives in boring reality. The main character is like a medieval Tom Sawyer, as he convinces people to do ridiculous things and makes wild decisions for the sake of adventure. Warning: this can be a bit frustrating to the reader, as sometimes I was wondering why on earth his followers allowed such ridiculousness.
Still, I found myself literally laughing out loud several times while reading “The Bent Sword.” (Seriously, it’s brilliant how it breaks the 4th wall a couple times). It’s hilarious, not just with its creativity and wit, but also its random ridiculousness.
SPOILER ALERT: (highlight to read) The ending is a bit anticlimactic, scoring negative points on my scale. It balances back on the scale slightly, as it still resolves well, even with all its craziness.
There’s an interesting weaving of a story within the story that makes the book re-readable. This takes high counts in my opinion, since it’s not often that I want to read a book twice. That said, I give this a rare ****4 Stars****, especially recommended toward middle-readers.
C. Rae D'Arc 