Cave Beneath the Sea: The Shards of Excalibur, Book 4

by Edward Willett

Coteau Books

978-1-550-506396

213 pp.

Ages 13+

November 2015

Merlin incarnate, Rex Major, CEO of Excalibur Computer Systems, is ever hopeful of acquiring the four shards and the hilt of Excalibur so that he might open the door to Faerie and launch an attack. During the course of Song of the Sword (Coteau, 2014), Twist of the Blade (Coteau, 2014) and The Lake in the Clouds (Coteau, 2015), three shards have been located but Rex Major is only in possession of one.  Our fifteen-year-old modern-day Lady of the Lake, Ariane Forsythe, and her burgeoning boyfriend Wally Knight, heir of King Arthur, possess the other two shards and are determined to keep  Rex Major from getting his magical hands on any more.

But, just weeks before Christmas, Wally and Ariane’s search for the fourth shard has become more complicated because of Ariane’s missing mother and Wally’s sister Felicia a.k.a. Flish.  Travelling far and wide via magical water transport just to access the internet without tipping off Rex Major to their location (currently in Saskatchewan), Wally discovers photos of Emily Forsythe tagged at the Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal in B.C.  While they pursue that lead, they are painfully aware that Flish, also an heir of Arthur, would be helping Rex Major to pull in the magic and locate the remaining shards.  Fortunately, that is also a blessing as it reveals to the two teens that Merlin and Flish are headed to Cacibajagua Island in the Caribbean, home of a saltwater cave fed by a freshwater waterfall, and undoubtedly the location of the fourth shard. And it’s a dangerous race to find the shard and liberate it from its watery hiding spot.

In Cave Beneath the Sea, Edward Willett has created as exciting a read as the earlier books in the series, continuing to develop his characters and their relationships while the action-filled plot carries the reader to intriguing national and international locales.  Both Ariane and Wally feel the power of the sword, drawing them to its shards but also compelling their anger in those who have hurt them: parents, siblings, bullies, enemies. And while they struggle with those yearnings, they are finding their way to a hitherto-unknown girlfriend-boyfriend relationship that provides them the family they both crave.  It’s hard for me to decide which is the stronger foundation for the story, the characters or the plot, as both are substantial and intricate.  Regardless, Cave Beneath the Sea takes The Shards of Excalibur a fast-moving step closer to the Door to Faerie, the magical entity and Book 5 in the series.

Check this blog tomorrow for details about Edward Willett’s book launch of Door to Faerie early next month to be held in, you guessed it, Regina, Saskatchewan.

The Lake in the Clouds (The Shards of Excalibur, Book 3)

by Edward Willett

Coteau Books

978-1-550-506167

224 pp.

Ages 12+

2015

Two shards of Excalibur found, three to go.  Sort of.  Ariane has the first shard from the Northwest Territories (Song of the Sword, Coteau, 2014) and then, following the song she hears, discovers the second shard at a cave in France (Twist of the Blade, Coteau, 2014).  But bringing the two shards together produces a less harmonious song and more a discordant shrieking, except when Wally Knight brings the two together.  Yep, awkward Wally Knight has some serious King Arthur heir mojo going.  And that explains why Merlin, also known as computer software CEO Rex Major, has "encouraged" Wally to work with him, including stealing the second shard back for Major, rather than letting the seemingly out-of-control Ariane, the heir to the Lady of the Lake, keep it.  So instead of working with Ariane to recover the remaining shards of Excalibur, Arthur's magically-imbued sword, Wally is living with Rex Major at his condo in Toronto while Ariane seethes with anger and resentment for Wally's betrayal and watches over her Aunt Phyllis safely ensconced at their remote Saskatchewan cabin.

But, while Rex Major promises to never lie to Wally as Ariane has, he's taking off for Saskatchewan to use his Voice of Command on Aunt Phyllis and keep her hostage, threatening to kill her, unless Ariane finds him the third shard.  Ariane has no choice but to help Major, sending them to New Zealand in search of the next shard of the sword.  Wally, on the other hand, becomes tired of being restricted and guarded by Major's men, and hacks into Major's computer system, learning almost too late of the man's dishonesty, including Major’s tracking of Ariane's mother whom they all assumed dead.  With some clever manipulations of bank accounts, email and communication with Major's henchmen, Wally is able to escape and rescue Aunt Phyllis, and consequently learn that he has some fantastic powers of his own.

Much deception on everyone's part gets Ariane with Rex Major to Lake Putahi– Lake in the Clouds in Maori–and Wally there on his own, where everything does a flip, again.  Let’s just say that no one seems to leave with the one with whom they came. And, there may be three shards that have been discovered but the shards continue to change hands: sometimes stolen, sometimes surrendered, sometimes gifted.  Excalibur is getting closer to being reconstructed, and the characters’ roles are being redefined.

By continuing to develop his characters so that they never remain good or evil or secondary, Edward Willett has ensured that the plot doesn’t stagnate in a seemingly simple plot of finding the shards of Excalibur and having its power unleashed.  With Ariane and Wally both being affected by the shards and learning of new abilities, as well as other characters being drawn into the story in different ways, The Lake in the Clouds becomes a fuller story.  The plot itself continues to evolve and the adventure is grand, as travel by plane, bus, boat, limo, cloud (yep, that's Ariane) and water (her again) takes the characters from across Canada (Toronto, Regina, Saskatoon, Prince Albert, Emma Lake and Vancouver) and to Hawaii and New Zealand.  The journeys are part of the quest but hold on because your travelling companions are switching places and your next seat mates may be a surprise in Cave Beneath the Sea (Book 4, out November 2015) and Door into Faerie (Book 5, May 2016).

Twist of the Blade (The Shards of Excalibur, Book 2)

by Edward Willett

Coteau Books

978-1-550-505993

217 pp.

Ages 12+

2014

Teen protagonists Ariane Forsythe, heir to the Lady of the Lake, and Wally Knight may have outwitted Rex Major of Excalibur Computer Systems, a.k.a. Merlin, and rescued the first of five shards of the sword Excalibur in Song of the Sword (Coteau, 2014), the first book in The Shards of Excalibur series by Edward Willett, but there are still four more shards to be recovered.  That is, if the two are to trust the Lady of the Lake who has instructed them to do so to prevent Merlin from gaining control of the Faerie world.  But trust is a monumental issue in Twist of the Blade, and  Ariane and Wally begin to wonder who they should trust, who they can trust and if they can even trust each other.  

You see, both Ariane and Wally seem to be changing.  Ariane has started to feel the brutal power that the shards harness, violently defending herself against Wally’s sister Felicia and her "coven", landing Felicia in hospital.  On the other hand, Wally has become quite skilled at fencing and Rex Major is starting to believe the teen is heir to King Arthur of Excalibur fame.  Not surprising that, after being hospitalized because of a terrible fall and receiving no visitors (since his parents are separating and oblivious, Felicia is herself injured, and Ariane is recovering from her attack) except for Rex Major, Wally begins to wonder who's on his side and even how scrupulous Ariane is.  Regardless, the two set off for France to locate the second shard, Ariane travelling via the moisture in clouds and Wally flying there, while Ariane’s Aunt Phyllis hides herself off in her cabin in rural Saskatchewan.  

But it soon becomes evident that Ariane and Wally are making poor choices, doubting each other’s intents and sincerity.  Locating the second shard in a newly-discovered cave outside of Lyon, France is just the beginning of a conflict that has the two teens working at cross-purposes to the task set out for them by the Lady of the Lake in Song of the Sword.

While Edward Willett continues to weave the Arthurian legend into a Saskatchewan setting, he builds on the Merlin, Arthur and Lady of the Lake story by creating a magical sword that craves to be reconstructed and wielded as a weapon.  But Excalibur is more than a sword.  It is an instrument that exerts rage and strength and, as Ariane notes, attitude.

"...the shard was a piece of a weapon–its attitude was brutal and direct." (pg. 113)

Edward Willett capably brandishes the trust issues of teens, especially those related to their families, as the means to progress the story.  But it’s these same issues with which Merlin and Arthur had to deal.  However, without their anger and self-doubt, Ariane and Wally could not learn to believe in others and themselves as worthy of the challenge to bring together the shards of the legendary sword of King Arthur and complete the story of The Shards of Excalibur.

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Watch this space for my next post, a review of Lake in the Clouds, the next book in The Shards of Excalibur series.

Song of the Sword

by Edward Willett

Coteau Books

978-1550505801

224 pp.

Ages 12+

May, 2014

While fifteen-year-old Ariane Forsythe's life is definitely soaked in the reality of a mother who disappeared from a psych ward, an aunt battling cancer, and the torment of mean girls Shania McHenry and Felicia Knight at her new school, Edward Willet has bathed Song of the Sword in an ethereal quality that may or may not allow Ariane to ride out her burdens.  Readers will certainly hope she can, though I'm not too sure Ariane has the imagination to believe this, yet.

When suspended from school for fighting, Ariane heads to Wascana Lake to hide out from her Aunt Phyllis. An eerie singing draws Ariane to the water, allowing her to almost walk on it and then descending an aqueous stairway into the lake.  Wally Knight, fourteen-year-old younger brother and whipping bag of witchy Felicia, is also finding some refuge at Wascana Lake when he happens to witness Ariane's water-walking, and follows her.  A woman of rippling water, calling herself the Lady of the Lake, informs Ariane that, as her heir, she must prevent Merlin from restructuring the shards of the famed Excalibur sword which would allow him to unite the Faerie and human worlds.  Seems Ariane's mother was first offered this task several years ago, just before she disappeared, but had refused.  Bestowed with the Lady's power with water,

"Let the waters live within you, and you within the waters.  The power be yours" (pg. 37)

Ariane realizes that she may be able to find her mother. Although he knows that it will infuriate his sister, Wally insists on helping Ariane, as the Lady recommends. Crushing on Ariane probably has something to do with it too.

"The more he learned about Ariane, the more he liked her.  The fact that he and she had a magical quest to complete was just gravy."(pg. 53)

Enjoying having someone with whom to share, Ariane is pleased that Wally becomes a fast friend and the two work together to learn more about Merlin.  After being followed repeatedly by a man in a Ford Focus decaled with an ECS logo and some scary computer activity, they suspect that Merlin is the incredibly wealthy Rex Major, the head of Excalibur Computer Systems. And when Rex Major is reported to be heading to the Northwest Territories to check out a diamond mine, Ariane is sure that the first shard of Excalibur will be found there.  Learning how to use the Lady's water magic and about some family secrets, Ariane and Wally accept the challenge to get to the Northwest Territories and recover that shard before Rex Major does.

Because Edward Willett ensures that there is a lot of action in Song of the Sword as well as emotional issues of family and trust, it's a fantasy that will grip teens of both genders.  I'll bet that Ariane's travels by water magic–moving between any interconnected conduits and sources of fresh water–will provide some intriguing imagery, and quite a few laughs, especially when she has Wally in tow.  And Edward Willett blends the humour with the ethereal fantasy of Song of the Sword so easily.  As Ariane realizes, it can all seem so silly (life, that is, not the story).

"It's just – it's all so silly.  We're on a quest to find a mystical sword and save the planet from the most powerful sorcerer of all time – but we can't get to it right now because we have to clean our rooms!" (pg. 65)

Readers will be right in there, cheering for Ariane and Wally, worried with every obstacle that jumps into their path, hopeful that the bad guy won't prevail.  Luckily, Edward Willet has only just begun The Shards of Excalibur series.  There are five books set for the series, with Book 2, Twist of the Blade, set for release in September.

If you're fortunate to be in Regina, the setting for the series, on September 25, 2014 (7 p.m.), consider attending the book launch for the series and Twist of the Blade at the Assiniboia Gallery on Smith Street.  And I'll get onto Twist of the Blade as soon as I can to share whether the two major ripples at the end of Song of the Sword become typhoons, heaving against and between our young heroes.  Let's hope not.