The maze of characters, the explosive enemies, the dark- hearted god. Rodin must deal with them all in the epic novel Swordfire. The vermin king Exayfur has all the right qualities. A touch of menace, excellent fighting abilities, and an ounce of humor. Exayfur used to be one of the most powerful animals in the magical land of Regan. The twelve-year-old author, Sun-Ui Yum, despite his age can perfectly weave in Exayfur perfectly. This animal fantasy book is only edged by the Redwall series. If you're looking for heart pounding excitement, but just enough humor, look no further than Swordfire by Sun-Ui Yum.

Exayfur, is well constructed, and is a favorite of mine for some of these reasons. He has all the great qualities for a villain in a series like the Regan Saga. His touch of sinister ness makes him feel like a real villain, and not a phony one. He is like some villains such as Voldemort of Harry Potter and Kronos of Percy Jackson. His fighting ability makes him no pushover for Rodin, and gives him a challenge. His ounce of humor makes him likeable for the readers and lightens the mood of the book. As I have said before, he is a great villain, and he has all the right qualities. That is what I think of Exayfur in the book Swordfire.

I usually side with the heroes in stories, but I'm not going to in Swordfire. My favorite characters had been Exayfur, Starret (one of Rodin's friends, and Trok another of Rodin's friends. I thought that Rodin acted too full of himself. He thought that he could go anywhere and challenge anyone, and I didn't like that. He just didn't have enough heroism to make people root for him. Trok and Starret had more courage each than Rodin had, and Rodin is the hero of the story. Rodin was one damp spot in a pretty good book, and like I
said, I like the heroes, but not in this book.

Two warriors whisked Rodin, on a usual fine day, in to a quest. The warriors' names were Tranere and Starret. These two animals, mouse and otter, were bonded magically at birth by magic. Rodin's two friends, Trom and Trok, went along as well. Their mission was simple: kill Exayfur the tyrant and bring peace to Regan. Rodin is a hero in a prophecy and it is essential that he kill Exayfur. Now before time runs out they must complete their mission or doom Regan.

Prophecies, the bane of fantasy books, give away the endings of books. Prophecies are usually disguised so a different meaning lies under what you think it is. But after a little bit of thinking the meaning will become clear and ruin the book. As is the case in Swordfire, there is a huge prophecy that includes Rodin in it. That is another thing that I hated about the book: the prophecy. The prophecy, I thought, gave the book away. In Swordfire the prophecy plays a major role, but I don't think it is needed. Every fantasy book has some prophecy or another. I like originality, but I hate that prophecies are over used.

Finally, if you scan the scan the excitement shelf stop at Swordfire by Sun-Ui Yum. Exayfur brings in the quality of a villain that hasn't been seen often. The qualities are there, along with the connections to the Redwall series. Exayfur is the main attraction hands down. He used to be powerful at fighting but now he is good else -where. Starret and Trok are enough for the heroes to compensate. My finals say is buy it and be ready for a roller coaster ride that you won't forget.

4 out of 5 scrolls