Song of the Sword, the first book in the critically acclaimed young adult fantasy series The Shards of Excalibur, written by award-winning Canadian author Edward Willett and published in print by Coteau Books, is now available as an audiobook, narrated by the talented Elizabeth Klett.
The remaining four books in the series, Twist of the Blade, Lake in the Clouds, Cave Beneath the Sea, and Door into Faerie, will be coming out in audiobook format over the course of 2018.
In Song of the Sword, Ariane Forsythe, a teen girl from Regina, Saskatchewan, discovers she’s heir to the powers of the Lady of the Lake, from the legends of King Arthur, and is given the formidable task of recovering the five scattered pieces of King Arthur’s sword Excalibur before Merlin, in his modern-day guise as computer tycoon Rex Major, can do so. Merlin wants to take over the world, using Excalibur’s powers, and then launch an invasion into his own world of Faerie. Only Ariane and her unlikely sidekick, the slightly younger and much geekier Wally Knight, can stop him.
The first book in the series takes Ariane and Wally from Regina to the shores of Hudson’s Bay, then to a diamond mine in the Northwest Territories. The remaining books see them seeking the shards of Excalibur all over the world, from the south of France to the mountains of New Zealand, from a Caribbean island to the Saskatchewan prairie. The books are filled with magic, adventure, friendship, family, betrayal, and danger.
The Canadian publishing news magazine, Quill & Quire, wrote of Song of the Sword, “Every so often…a writer is skilled enough to utilize the stories of King Arthur and Camelot to significant effect. Guy Gavriel Kay’s Fionavar Tapestry Trilogy is definitely on the list. So, too, is Song of the Sword, the impressive new YA novel from Regina writer Edward Willett…a taut, compelling narrative, well-drawn characters, and a keen sense of genuine peril and true wonder. It’s a powerful, fun, engaging read.”
School Library Journal wrote, “This is a fantasy of epic proportions, with the perfect blend of suspense; well-developed, likable characters; and a touch of sarcastic humor.”
Read more about the series at shardsofexcalibur.com.
ABOUT THE AUDIOBOOK:
Song of the Sword, the first book in the critically acclaimed young adult fantasy series The Shards of Excalibur, written by award-winning Canadian author Edward Willett, is now (as of February 2018) available as an audiobook, voiced by professional audiobook narrator Elizabeth Klett.
Synopsis:
In this first book of the series, Ariana meets her ancestor, the famous Lady of the Lake, and is sent on an important and dangerous quest to reunite the pieces of the fabled sword Excalibur.
Ariane’s life is complicated. Her mother suddenly disappeared two and a half years ago, she’s trying to get used to living with her aunt after bouncing around a series of foster homes, and she’s taking a lot of grief from the clique of “in” girls at school. To make matters even worse, now she’s having strange dreams involving swords and knights and battles, and things seem to get weird whenever she touches water.
The weirdness comes to a head the morning the lake starts singing to her. Next thing she knows, she’s underwater, talking to the Lady of the Lake of King Arthur fame (who turns out to be an ancestor), has acquired a nerdy sidekick, Wally, has been bestowed magical powers, and has been sent on a quest to find the five scattered shards of Excalibur before the powerful wizard Merlin, in his unsuspected modern-day guise, can get his hands on them. Can Ariane and Wally figure out how to use her new abilities to meet the challenge…or will they die trying?
About the Author
Edward Willett, from Regina, Saskatchewan, is the award-winning author of more than 60 books of science fiction, fantasy, and non-fiction for readers of all ages. He won a Saskatchewan Book Award for his YA fantasy Spirit Singer (and has been shortlisted multiple times), and won the Aurora Award for best Canadian science fiction novel for his adult novel Marseguro, published by New York’s DAW Books, one of science fiction and fantasy’s premiere publishing houses. His non-fiction runs the gamut from biographies to science books to computer books to history. His latest novel, his eighth for DAW Books, is The Cityborn; his next, Worldshaper, coming out in September, starts a new science fiction series. He’s also written for DAW under the pen names E.C. Blake (the Masks of Aygrima trilogy), and Lee Arthur Chane (Magebane). Willett began his career as a weekly newspaper reporter and editor. After a few years as communications officer of the then-fledgling Saskatchewan Science Centre, he became a fulltime writer. He also acts and sings, both professionally and just for fun.
About the Narrator:
Reading books out loud has long been a passion for Elizabeth Klett. She has been a professional audiobook narrator since 2011, with over 100 titles available at Audible and elsewhere. She has been recording free audiobooks for LibriVox since 2007, and has produced over 60 solo
recordings of novels, short stories, and poetry. She can also be heard voicing various characters in audio dramas at The Online Stage, and reading poetry at Rhapsodize Audio. She lives in Houston, Texas.
