Recently, I won a copy of the teen’s Christian fantasy novel, Venom and Song, in a giveaway. Written by two well known authors: Wayne Thomas Batson (author of The Door Within trilogy) and Christopher Hopper (author of the White Lion Chronicles), Venom and Song is the second book in The Berinfell Prophecies Series.
I had heard a lot about these books but never got around to actually purchasing them. So, I was very excited about the opportunity to read Venom and Song. Now, perhaps I should have started off by reading the first one (The Curse of the Spider King), because I found Venom and Song a little confusing and hard to jump into at first. But I read it anyway and I am looking forward to going back and reading the first one in the near future.
Now, if I had read the Curse of the Spider King, I would have known the tale of the seven not-so-normal teens living fairly normal lives on earth and their discovery that they were in fact not only not humans, but from another world! They were the lost elf lords of Berinfell from the land of Allyra. I would have known about their desperate escapes from the armies of the Spider King sent to capture and destroy them, and the Elf warriors who traveled to earth to help them get away.
But I didn’t. So, I jumped into the story where Venom and Song begins, with the harrowing arrival of the seven elf lords into the world they left as infants. Venom and Song tells the story of their battles, trials, and difficulties as they are thrown into an entirely new life in a land that is at war. Pursued by enemies sent by the evil Spider King, the seven begin the training necessary to assume the task that is laid upon them as Elven lords: to ensure the survival of their race in the midst of a war that has lasted centuries. In order to do this, they must learn to work as a team, pass tests (worse than the toughest final you ever took!), fight off the terrible Warspiders (you thought you hated spiders before?), and discover the mystery of the legendary Rainsong.
Pros:
Over all, I really enjoyed Venom and Song. It was a fast read for me. I finished it in one day, despite the fact that is it 400 pages long. But, I’ve been starving for something new to read recently, so perhaps that had something to do with it. The story itself was exciting, for the most part page turning, and enjoyable!
I loved the way the seven learned to work as a team! Their… extremely creative training regime was exciting and at times hilarious.
None of the characters were perfect, each had their own faults and weaknesses and I learned to care about them as they grew over the course of the story from normal kids into leaders.
The story was intriguing and kept my attention. As any reader of Wayne Thomas Baston should know to expect, there were lots of battle scenes that kept the story moving at times at a breakneck pace!
I liked the fact that the seven didn’t turn into great warriors or heroes or leaders overnight… they had to be trained, and they made mistakes, but they learned from those mistakes and they got better! It was a lot more realistic in that aspect than lots of other fantasy stories!
Cons:
At times, it felt like certain parts of the story were cheap shots to get a laugh. Other times, something was so out of the ordinary that it seemed calculated purely to grab attention. Some scenes seemed rushed and not well explained, as if their whole purpose was for shock value.
I figured when I started reading it that with such a large cast of main characters – 7 – there were bound to be POV errors, and sure enough, I found them! POV can become especially confusing when there is a character that can read thoughts… yeah, I wouldn’t want to try to tackle that one as a writer!
The large cast of characters made it especially confusing for me to jump into the book – especially when some characters had similar names (Jimmy and Johnny, and a whole host of elves with equally obscure and difficult to pronounce names!) – and especially when the seven lords were given a special elvish name in addition to their regular name! Aghhh! It wasn’t until probably the middle of the book that I figured out that Jimmy was the kid from the UK who’s gift was foresight, and Johnny was the one who could shoot flames. Actually, the only way I finally got it straight was because I linked Johnny in my mind with Johnny Storm from Fantastic Four. ;) But I probably wouldn’t have had this problem if I’d read the first book first.
There was a scene where one of the characters was not permitted to say anything but “yes” or “no.” It was part of one of the tests the seven had to take. But in the middle the character suddenly started talking and nothing was ever said about it. So, just a little inconsistency that the authors didn’t pick up on!
Overall, though, I really enjoyed Venom and Song, and I would definitely recommend it if you enjoy young adult Christian fantasy! I’m looking forward to reading both the previous book and the next book in the series!
~ A Servant of the King
Oh, and as an aside, I’ve put a little response button at the bottom of the post. If you wouldn’t mind clicking “I have read this post” after you read it, I would greatly appreciate it! That way I can just get an idea of which of my posts are being read. I stole… ahem… borrowed this idea from another blogger, so thanks to Squeaks at the Hidden Doorways blog.
Becky says
Hi, Gillian, I stopped by your blog because I have a Google alert for the term "Christian fantasy." When I saw you had a review of Venom and Song, I was curious. The CSFF Blog Tour featured that book back in September, I think it was. (Your thoughts mirrored those of the majority of our participants).
Anyway, I have two questions. is the "Swords of Ink" an actual group? Do you critique each other? And, have you considered joining CSFF Blog Tour? From what I have seen on your blog, you'd be an asset to the tour.
Becky
A Servant of the King says
Hi Becky,
Thank you for stopping by!
Swords of Ink at present is a very small group for young Christian writers – me and a few other friends. We write together and read and critique each others work. I'd like to expand at some point to include other young Christian writers, but I haven't yet decided on the best avenue for that.
Actually, I just discovered the CSFF blog tour yesterday, and would be very interested in joining!
rebeccaluellamiller says
I'm always happy to hear about groups of fantasy writers. No need to make it big unless you want it to be a promotion group as well as critique. You and your friends can learn together as the Inklings did. I just like hearing about such groups.
We'd love to have you become a part of CSFF. Just leave a comment at our site. It will end up coming to me, but I can handle it "officially" via email that way.
Also, if you're on Facebook, we just put up a page. And I'd be happy to have you friend me as well.
Becky
A Servant of the King says
Ok. I actually did that last night – hopefully the comment went through. Our internet is not always the most reliable thing in the world!
Jake says
Interesting! I have heard much of CSFF. :)
Glad ye liked the book! Though it would probably be better to read the first book first. Methinks I should give away the first book before I give away the second–or both of them together. ;)
A Servant of the King says
@ Jake: Yeah, probably. But I'm looking forward to getting to read the first one now!