Sunday, March 29, 2009

The Quest for the Sun Gem by Belinda Murrell book one in the Sun Sword trilogy


Fantasy, quest and adventure book fans will love The Quest for the Sun gem by Belinda Murrell which is part one of the Sun Sword Trilogy. This book is such an action packed adventure filled with marvelous twists as we run with our four heroes – Ethan, Saxon, Lily and Roana after evil invaders arrive and kill the king and capture the remaining royal family.

This book has all the ingredients. There is a magical scene with a mermaid, dangerous river crossings, crawling through underground caves, an attack by hundreds of rats and cockroaches, marvelous healing medicines provided by wise village women and lovely food such as custard and lemon tarts. Even the bread and cheese sound delicious. The animal characters are special too. There is a dog called Aisha and four wonderful horses called Caramel, Nutmeg, Toffee and Moonbeam. Horse fans will love the descriptions of tender love and care given to these faithful horses.

I really like the way Belinda Murrell is not afraid to use lovely vocabulary (suffused, chaotic, quipped, ominously) and her descriptions of the clothes and scenery really bring this rollicking tale to life.

“The next rider was a girl dressed completely in white, mounted on a striking white pony with a silver bow and quiver of arrows attached to her saddle…. Princess Roana had very pale skin, and long golden ringlets, under a circlet of jeweled silver. She wore a full-length cloak of white velvet, its hood trimmed with white fur which partially hid her face. She sat ramrod straight her ice-blue eyes staring forward between her horse’s ears, her head held high.”

I look forward to continuing the trilogy with Voyage of the Owl and will purchase a new copy of this book – I hope it is still in print – as our school copy is badly soiled. I wonder why no children have alerted me to this gem. Belinda Murrell might visit our school library later this year. Her web site is http://www.belindamurrell.com.au/

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