Sword and Verse by Kathy MacMillan (Epub)

Description

In a sweeping fantasy that award-winning author Franny Billingsley calls “fascinating and unique,” debut author Kathy MacMillan weaves palace intrigue and epic world-building to craft a tale for fans of Rae Carson and Megan Whalen Turner. Raisa was just a child when she was sold into slavery in the kingdom of Qilara. Before she was taken away, her father had been adamant that she learn to read and write. But where she now lives, literacy is a capital offense for all but the nobility. The written language is closely protected, and only the King, Prince, Tutor, and Tutor-in-training are allowed to learn its very highest form. So when she is plucked from her menial labor and selected to replace the last Tutor-in-training who was executed, Raisa knows that betraying any hint of her past could mean death. Keeping her secret guarded is hard enough, but the romance that’s been blossoming between her and Prince Mati isn’t helping matters. Then Raisa is approached by the Resistance–an underground rebel army–to help liberate the city’s slaves. She wants to free her people, but that would mean aiding a war against Mati. As Raisa struggles with what to do, she discovers a secret that the Qilarites have been hiding for centuries–one that, if uncovered, could bring the kingdom to its knees.

User’s Reviews

Editorial Reviews: Review “A tense, romantic fantasy epic about prejudice, political struggle, and the power of words, SWORD AND VERSE kept me guessing at every turn. Kathy MacMillan is a writer to watch.” — R.J. Anderson, Andre Norton Award-nominated author of ULTRAVIOLET About the Author Kathy MacMillan has been a librarian, American Sign Language interpreter, children’s performer, teacher, storyteller, and writer. Her previous work includes educator- and parent-resource books about promoting literacy through signing with all children. Sword and Verse and its sequel, Dagger and Coin, were inspired by her research into ancient libraries and her interest in exploring the power of language. Kathy lives near Baltimore, Maryland. To learn more about Kathy, visit www.kathymacmillan.com.

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐Let’s start off by looking at that gorgeous cover. Isn’t it so pretty? This book must be fantastic because that cover is just so gorgeous. I mean that can’t be the only good thing about this book right? WRONG! The cover is probably the best part. I mean the story wasn’t that horrible. I did finish it. And I did like some of the plot concepts. However, that is about it. This story dragged in certain parts and at others I just wanted to laugh because it was so predictable and dumb. I was very excited for this book and it just left me disappointed.Raisa is a servant and expects to be her entire life. Then she is chosen to become the newest tutor and learn the secret languages of the gods. Her classmate is the crown prince and a romance soon develops between the two. She is approached by the resistance, a secret group set on liberating the slaves. She must decide if she should join the resistance or follow her heart.I should have known this book was not going to live up to expectations. First because it got not the best reviews on Goodreads and secondly because my dog knew this book was going to be bad before I even got that far into it. I think my dog was trying to give me a sign by eating all the binding. Anyway, the thing that made this book unbearable was the lack of connection to the characters. I had no feeling whatsoever for them. They just kind of existed on the page. Their passion and pain and fear never made its way off the page and into my heart. It was dull. And not to mention that the majority of the story revolved around a romance, a romance that had kissing scenes but there was no passion in the kissing scenes. I WANT MORE KISSING! Excuse my rant but come on, doesn’t everyone love when there is description to the kissy scenes? The butterfly feelings, the electrifying touching, the undying need to never let go of that person. That is what I love about kissing scenes and there was absolutely none of it. I was left underwhelmed. (And no one should be underwhelmed after a kiss, reading or in real life. well especially real life!)I don’t have much more to say. I would not recommend this book. It lacks connection and pacing. It might help you fall asleep if you are suffering from a bit of insomnia though, so I guess on that part it is useful but that is not what a book is for.

⭐Since I was a teen, I’ve loved fantasy novels. The really epic ones, with fierce, smart, flawed female MCs, beautiful world-building, and complex challenges. More than anything else, I think fantasy novels (by Tamora Pierce and Mercedes Lackey and Marion Zimmer Bradley and now Kathryn Purdie and KATHY MACMILLAN) have taught me how to be a good person in a difficult world.But one issue I’ve had, one and off, is that I’m not particularly a physical person, and while I love fighting and girl-knights, I also love books that show us different ways for a heroine to be strong. Raisa, in SWORD AND VERSE, is one of those heroines. This story finds her using reading as a weapon, while she’s enslaved in the ruling class’s palace as the prince’s tutor. She’s the most realistic choice on the inside to be asked to lead a rebellion, and the person too who would be the most conflicted about it. Her life is comfortable. She’s falling in love with the prince, who loves her back. The dudes in the rebellion are jerks when they reach out to you; they hate you for your privilege and your complicity. What do you do?The answer is given in a smart, well-paced plot, a complicated romance with power issues and believable misunderstandings, and a bunch of well-drawn supporting characters. My favorite was Jonis, Raisa’s contact in the rebellion, who isn’t very nice, or ethical, who’s doing what he has to to survive. And (spoiler alert) isn’t drawn into anything resembling a love triangle. No bad boy vs good boy cliches here.This is lots of fun and so smart. Recommended.

⭐When I saw the gorgeous cover, with that prominent sword, I thought this might be one of those YAs with a lot of flashy blade-slashing and gory battle scenes that all become the same after a while. But I had hopes for something better.My hopes were fulfilled. This is an intriguing story, set in a world built so well that it feels truly historical, with a reluctant heroine who has to do a hell of a lot more than step up to some pre-arranged “Destiny”.This heroine, Raisa, must first shake off the mental shackles and ingrained fears of being a captive slave for most of her life, before she can surprise herself–and everyone else–by what she becomes. And she becomes an extraordinary, significant person through hard work and dedication as well as risk, entering the realm of mythology herself in an extraordinary finish to the book.I was particularly impressed by the author’s bold willingness to let Raisa have doubts, fears, and realistic caution, as well as a conflict that pulls her back at first from doing what she’s not yet even sure is the right thing. She’s not a cardboard cutout of a heroine (insert “Destiny” here; turn crank; spit out triumphant ending).I’ve read books before where a downtrodden character in a system of oppression is inexplicably untouched by years of grinding abuse. When you create an oppressed protagonist who is somehow superhuman, who can fearlessly fight the way to freedom just beause s/he is BRAVER THAN ANYONE ELSE…it’s just one step away from blaming slaves for being slaves, as if being brutalized and losing your freedom is some kind of cowardly choice you make, or the inherent and understandable condition of simply not being badass.This doesn’t happen in SWORD AND VERSE. Raisa has, at first, no notion whatsoever of trying to be free. In fact, she knows she’s (relatively, for a slave) lucky to have gotten a post in the royal palace learning a secret writing system she’s always wanted to know, and she’s totally not going to jeopardize that, when the alternative is either doing the dangerous cleaning of temple ceilings, or…if she joins the Resistance…being burned alive. So she turns down opportunities to help the freedom fighters, who she’s not even sure she can trust.There’s also the little detail that she’s being tutored in the royals-only writing system by the side of Prince Mati, the heir apparent to the throne of the really not nice at all King. (Why is she, a non-royal, being tutored in a royals-only writing system? You’ll find out.) And they’ve fallen in love.Then a tragedy happens, and Raisa starts putting together clues from her past, with strange tokens and omens in the present, to create a startling new version of reality that thrusts her into the middle of a battle that must be won, not with the sword, but with the power of the words that have been jealously guarded by the kings of the land for so long.You will not believe how it ends. It’s intensely satisfying on every level. The overarching mythos and the separate storylines of the book are all brought to a mutual, breathtaking conclusion. It feels so right, because the characters earned what they won. But there’s a current of magic flowing through the narrative as well, elevating it to a very special level of “yes”.I loved this book! And if you love high fantasy, so will you.

⭐Honestly I felt this was a waste of so much potential!It’s not very often that a book disappoints me like this one, the blurb (may I add an extremely long blurb) gripped me in a way that the book just couldn’t. I felt it lacked depth to the plot and the ending was both predictable and frankly the easy solution. If you want to know a bit more about why I disliked the book please check out my blog: […]Although the storyline was extremely thin, being it only really had one storyline and not much else; I may suggest people scared of fantasy using the book to get used to how fantasy is written if they are scared or nervous about multiple characters or storylines. But I finished it purely for the fact that I felt it must get better.It says that it is the beginning of a series but after the ending I really cannot see where the storyline could possibly go without starting a whole new storyline, and then its not much of a sequel more of a companion novel?

⭐Wow! Talk about storytelling and world-building! From the very first page I was sucked into Raisa’s world and never stopped rooting for her. When she falls in love with the Prince Mati, your heart breaks for her, for it seems like the age-old story of slave girl falling in love with the one thing she cannot have, but as is the case with every aspect of this book, there are layers within layers that lead to a surprise in every chapter and this is a page-turner to the very end. Besides the fully constructed characters, I loved the detail Kathy has put into this book – the mythology, the rules, and most of all, the written language. It was breathtaking and so impressive! The imagination and discipline to do this is mind-blogging and this book will be beloved not only by those of us who love a wonderful story, but by those who love language and linguistics. This is a special book and I will definitely be recommending it to everyone!

⭐This is a beautifully woven fantasy tale. Its action-packed, grand-scale, magical frauenroman explores exploitation and power, hatred and empathy, trust and love. MacMillan has built an exquisite and intricate world here, celebrating language, learning, and the immensely powerful gift and achievement that is the written word. Through her story she makes clear the diversity of ideas behind the evolution of world language systems, and how those ideas feedback into culture. Very thought-provoking and enjoyable. She clearly has a lot of insight into and respect for her audience.

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