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susanvoss18

Summer Sword by James Livingood

Summer Sword - James Weston Livingood, Jack Nolan

Wyatt planned a lovely camping trip,  bought some new gear, invited friends,  and then suddenly became unemployed. Sitting  at his campsite,  his friends having departed, he drinks a few beers and starts hearing voices. Lucky for him he is not going crazy, but rather chatting with a wind esper, Thunder Born, who is in hiding from his own kind while he rebuilds his strength after a mugging (of sorts).

I have listened to 2 other Livingood books, Pale Rider and Magic Factory, and the man set a high bar with those works. Summer Swordis a close third in enjoyment, though I feel this work has the most potential for a worthy series. In fact, this audio edition contains a snippet from Book 2 in the series, and I quite enjoyed the teaser.

So Wyatt is someone I can immediately sympathize with. While I have never been fired or let go from a job, I can totally relate to having a sudden change in circumstances…. and when you couple that with friends deserting you, you have one sad puppy of a character. He definitely needed Thunder Born.

The wind espers in general are pretty interesting. They can give a part of themselves to affect the world around them, or to pacify a larger, meaner wind esper. Thunder Born is mugged harshly at the very beginning of the story and he has to stay in hiding for a time to rebuild his strength. Hence, he is lonely too and decides to chat up poor Wyatt via the camp fire.

Things get fun & raucous once these two have built up their friendship. Indeed, a sword comes into play. There’s an accidental fire, perhaps a near drowning. Even a thoroughly burnt marsh mellow. Yep. Best camping trip ever.  While this story was a little slower to start than other Livingood stories, I did quite enjoy the plot once the setting was in place. I definitely look forward to the full version of Book 2.

I received this book free of charge from the author (via the GoodReads Audiobooks Group) in exchange for an honest review.