The Sword Bearer

This review comes to us from Angi's son, Cole. Cole is 14 and an avid reader, whose favorite books include Eragon (Inheritance), Hunger Games and The Lightning Thief. You can still enter to win this whole series! To enter, go here and leave a comment!

Title: The Sword Bearer (The Archives of Anthropos)
Author: John White
Primary Audience/age group: Ages 10-14
Genre: Fantasy
# Of pages: 294
Publisher: Intervarsity Press
Year of Release: 1980
Part of a Series? Yes, 1st of 6
Rating: 4 (View Scale)

Description: It was John's birthday. He would be thirteen. And what's more, it was on this day that his grandmother would tell him the mystery of his locket ... and of his parents. But it was not to be. Before he could find out, he was magically transported to the land of Anthropos where he was startled to be hailed as the Sword Bearer, the slayer of the Goblin Prince. Here, in this imaginative story of the early history of Anthropos, John White captures the excitement and wonder of another world.

Review: The Sword Bearer is a book with a solid Christian message. I found that the author has created a series much like the Narnia series. The story itself is pretty good, but the writer can get a little too descriptive. I disliked the main character, John, at first because he was a whiner, but I grew to like him later as his personality improved.

Rating: 4 for mild violence and the use of magic and mention of wine.

Positive: This book is rooted in strong Christian beliefs. As far as I could tell nothing contradicted Scriptures. Overall, the book is good for young readers and will strengthen them in their beliefs.

Spiritual Elements: This whole story is an analogy so naturally it is full of spiritual elements. In the book John fights an internal battle between good and evil and also over his belief in The Changer (God)

Violence: There is some mild violence, such as the detail of dead people/animals and when John kills the Goblin Prince.

Language: On one page a character called “The Guardian of the Old Way” uses the word “dam*ed” twice in the context of meaning cursed.

Sexual Content: None

Other: I got this book when I was twelve and it is great for people who don’t especially like long books. It is a wonderful book to read in your Christian walk, and while it can be a little slow, it is still a good read.

Recommendation: The Sword Bearer is great, especially for those who enjoyed the “Chronicles of Narnia”. The whole book is well founded in scripture and is nice for younger teens who enjoy fantasy.