The Sword of Darrow

by Hal Malchow, Alex Malchow

Overview

In a magical realm filled with creatures of every possible shape and size, war is brought upon the peaceful kingdom of Sonnencrest by evil goblin King Malmut. Princess Babette, the only surviving member of the royal family, manages to escape and seeks refuge with Asterux, a powerful wizard who agrees to teach Babette magic, and who disguises her as an ugly gypsy girl to protect her from King Malmut's thugs.

Ten years later, Babette must use the magic she has learned to help aid the kingdom's only hope at defeating the goblins' horrible reign: Darrow, a lame boy who can barely pick up a sword but has a great gift for inspiring others. With Babette's unseen help, Darrow begins a journey to free his country once and for all and bring peace back to Sonnencrest.

Written by a father and his then eight- year-old son who struggled with a learning disability at the time, "The Sword of Darrow" is an enjoyable adventure that shows how even the unlikeliest of heroes can rise up against injustice.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781935618478
Publisher:	BenBella Books
Publication date:	05/31/2011
Pages:	372
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.20(d)
Lexile:	740L (what's this?)
Age Range:	7 - 18 Years

About the Author

Hal is a nationally recognized political consultant who has worked for candidates at the presidential level all the way down to local offices. His work has won numerous creative awards and he helped pioneer the use of statistical modeling and data mining techniques in the political arena. After becoming discouraged by the negative character of political campaigns, he closed his firm in 2010. He continues to do some consulting and is looking forward to a writing career.

Alex is 16 and a student at the prestigious St. John's College High School in Washington D.C. where he is an honor roll student and a starter on the school's nationally recognized football team.

At the time he and his father started the book, Alex was eight and struggled with dyslexia. So when he began work on the book, he still could not read. He later enrolled in the Lab School in Washington D.C., which teaches children with learning differences. After 12 months of intensive work there, he was reading at his grade level.

Editorial Reviews

"
"... a brilliant book."

—Parents & Kids Magazine, July 2011

"... 372 pages of pure awesomeness ... Some of the best fantasy I've read in a while. ... even though it is a fantasy book, I'm sure a lot of teens can relate to. It gives a great message saying that anyone can do the right thing and that anyone can be the hero."

—Reading Teen, May 2011

"...flowing perfectly and always holding the reader's attention. With so many amazing and creative characters, The Sword of Darrow aspires toward the ranks of The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter."

—Gathering Leaves, June 2011

"... beautiful and amazing ... Alex and his father Hal weave a tale of a love for humanity in the darkest hours with characters that feel genuine. It's a difficult thing for a writer to do, bring characters to life with the breath of words and reach out to the reader, but this is just what they do."

—Outnumbered 3 to 1 blog, April 2011
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From the Publisher