The Golden Cord

Great read by a fantastic new author!

It's got all the things you need for a great science fiction book, action, drama, love, dragons, griffins, magic, dwarves and most of all adventure. What more can you ask for? I am highly anticipating the new release coming next month. Keeps your interest peaked throughout the novel, definitely make time to read this one, you won't want to put it down.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Book 2 in this Solid YA Adventure Series Available May 15, 2009

Okay, so I know I'm a bit late getting around to reading and posting a review for "The Golden Cord." But the good news is that rather than having to wait a year to read the second book in this solid YA fantasy adventure series, I'll be able to continue the story in just a couple months, when "The Dragon Hunters" goes on sale on May 15, 2009. Here's a bunch of reasons why I'll be reading the sequel:

1. Cool worldbuilding: Paul Genesse establishes a fantasy world that isn't just the setting for a quest, it is an actor in the adventures that take place. The mysteries of the void, the dangers from above, the need to seek constant shelter from the sky in the branches and roots of the cover trees, the dangers from thorns and fever ants, and the knowledge and use of wild animal cries to keep tabs on the dangers around all feed into the actions of the characters, back in the village and on the trail. While younger readers may be a bit impatient during the first few chapters while the complex and novel world is being established, they should persevere. The action starts up soon and keeps up at a thrilling pace just a few chapters in and there is significant payoff for the careful worldbuilding as the book progresses.

2. A good mix of action, angst, and romance. The Golden Cord has fine action sequences, like many a fantasy novel, but Paul Genesse takes the time to make the protagonist and his companions much more than hack and slashers. They have hopes, fears, doubts, secret motivations, and backstories that give the action gravitas. Plenty of swordplay and slaying for the action junkies, but also plenty of self-doubt and romance for those looking for a deeper story.

3. A hero who is responsible. So many stories glorify the independent rogue, who defies his parents and goes off to seek fame, fortune, and glory by doing daring things. In The Golden Cord, the hero is responsible, protective of his village and his family, willing to set aside his own desires and passions for the greater good, and not in the slightest self-righteous about doing so. This factor alone sets The Golden Cord above most sword and sorcery quests and makes it YA book that parents and libraries should be proud to have their charges read.

4. Nice touches of humor and warmth. Not only is the romantic interest a warm and loving one, but the relationships with friends and comrades and those lost along the way are poignant and true. The relationship between the protagonist and his guard dogs is especially telling and realistic--something that adventure novels rarely get right.

5. I want to see how the story progresses. Yeah, sure, the good guy almost always wins in the end. But there is enough tension and complexity in the relationships here, that it will not only be interesting to see how the triumph occurs, but how the triumph impacts life, love, family, and community.

I think Paul Genesse has a long, productive writing career ahead of him, starting with The Golden Cord.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Fascinating read!!!

What a great read!! Full of peril and danger at every turn, it was truly a page turner. I had a difficult time putting the book down. Paul Genesse has mastered the art of keeping the reader interested throughout the entire book. The world the book takes place in is only a small part of what must be a huge expanse that I truly look forward to exploring in the future. The background was detailed with a taste of more to come. Knowing that the story before me has details yet to be seen fills the imagination and leaves me hungering for more. The richness of description left me impressed. It is amazing what Paul can do with just a few words that would take me a page to impress upon a reader. I only wish this book had existed when I was younger. This rich and detailed adventure would have captured me earlier than other authors did. It is an appropriate read for any age. Great fun!! Very enjoyable!!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

An great read!

In this hard-core fantasy book, Drake Bloodstone is a young man who is sworn to protect and serve his small village. With danger lurking on all sides, Drake becomes a protector to all as he embarks on a quest filled with dangerous griffins, wyverns and dragons. I found Drake¿s connection to the world of spirits and his love back home to be intriguing and can't wait to see how it develops more in the books to come. I also enjoyed the flashbacks to the great dragon battles in the past. It definitely had a huge role-play adventure feel to it, which was fun in some respects but would probably make it a bit predictable for experienced role-play enthusiasts. I thought the climax of the book was great, and left me wanting to know more about what is to come (I won¿t give any of it away). I would definitely recommend this book.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

epic quest fantasy

Wyverns, griffins, and dragons are devastating the villages killing many people because they see humans as food. They also want to control Ae¿leron making it free of dwarves and humans. Humans live in hidden villages as they conceal themselves from the Wyvern-kin attacks from above and the ground assaults of the Drobin Empire army that takes them as slaves. --- The hamlet of Cliffton is in the middle of Thornclaw Forest near the Void, the cloud cover that does not allow anyone to look into the Underworld. Drake Bloodstone does not do much hunting unlike the rest of the men instead he and his canine pals stay behind to guard his people and his home from outside threats. When two Drobin warriors come to the gate, Drake lets them in and learns they are seeking their kin who settled in the nearby town of Armsted in the mine of Quarzaak. They need a guide to escort them through the forest Drake agrees to take them although he believes they hide their true objectives and intentions because he wants them away from his village and because it is the right thing to do. --- THE GOLDEN CORD is epic quest fantasy in the tradition of Tolkien as the first Iron Dragon tale is an enthralling thriller filled with monsters out of the myths devouring humanity. Because of the danger from the sky and the ground, society has been forced to remain in small agricultural packets of hunters, crop growers, and gatherers. There is plenty of action, but it is the ever dangerous Genesse world that makes this a fascinating opening gamut. --- Harriet Klausner

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Awesome adventure

This is a pre-teen book full of exciting characters and creatures. I heard Paul read from his book the Golden Cord once and fell in love with what he read. It is a page turner from the beginning and you can't stop reading it and when you do... you can't wait to read some more. I loved the words he used to tell the story and the great characters he includes. The plot's turns and surprises are out of this world. The characters and the world are very well developed and you will find that they are very likable. The tale has lost of creatures: Griffins, Dragons, demons and much more.

The main character is a young man who become a guide to a tribe not friendly to his own. This young man is very respected and loved in his community and they don't want him to go. The other tribe is looking for a very important person that has been kidnapped and don't know the terrain at all. The group travels to their destination battling dragons, demons and more which make for many exciting adventures on the way.

The story is not that uncommon, what is uncommon is the way Paul sets it to pen. It will easily become a favorite of pre-teens and adults who love good fantasy. The author did an awesome job with the book.

A Great Read

Paul Genesse has created a lush world where danger lurks on every hand. The story drew me in and wouldn't let me go. Wonderful characters. A great read.

A world full of peril

In most fantasy fiction, there is always a world to save from ultimate evil or doom. This holds true for the Golden Cord as well. What's different about this book is that it is filled with dread at every single step. Paul Genesse has created a world so treacherous at every turn that it makes Middle Earth look like Disneyland in comparison. Not only do dragons, griffins and wyverns 'usually grouped as aevians in the book' pose a constant threat from above for the protagonists, but there are plenty of other enemies to deal with, some of which cannot be seen or harmed with weapons. The entire quest to save the world (of which this book is only the first part) takes on a sense of utter hopelessness from the beginning, since obstacles are plentiful, and the reader cannot expect safety for the heroes at any time in the story. In this way, the book succeeds brilliantly in putting the reader on edge. The author does borrow from well known fantasy concepts, but even then, they are turned around enough to make them interesting, e.g. magical healing having to do with the manipulation of time. For my own personal tastes, the book could have benefitted from a bit more comic relief in some places, but a harsh world such as this probably has little place for it. The story works quite well as it is, considering the setting and the characters feel like realistic products of their world to make the read feel honest and thoroughly enjoyable.

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