Never Yield

Steven Lam

The Axe of Sundering

By M. L. Forman

Failure does not always mean we should stop trying and give up. Instead of seeing it as a lost, we can learn from these mistakes, and make sure we avoid them next time, helping us towards the path of success. M. L. Forman helps show this through Alex’s numerous adventures.

The Axe of Sundering is the fifth book in the series Adventurers Wanted. I suggest reading the first book, Slathbog's Gold, and work through the series as it provides information that is relevant to the plot and Alex's character development. He learns more about who he is, and learns more about being a wizard during his adventures. The series had a substantial amount of imagery and description, drawing me in and immersing me in the book. Also, the books end with the end of his adventure but foreshadows what may occur in the next book. Throughout the book, there is a great deal of creativity, making each thing and place unique, having some sort of backstory to it.

The Sands of Nezza, the fourth book, takes Alex to Nezza, the place where his friends are imprisoned. While helping his friends escape, he learns of Magnus, the evil wizard, who currently ruled over the city of Karmus, making sure no one could leave. To prevent other kingdoms from knowing this, he imprisoned adventurers of travelers who tried to go through these lands. After defeating Magnus, there are clues that lead to the Brotherhood, an evil organization that is planning on causing unrest in the lands and ruling the lands. In The Axe of Sundering, Alex spent his time in his house in Alusia, waiting for Whalen, his teacher, to come back and instruct him on what he should do. When Whalen arrives, he asks Alex his name, questioning if it was really him. Whalen fills him in on what is happening and needs Alex to go with him to the lands of Jarro, where Whalen's previous apprentice and nephew, Jabez, had taken over the lands, spreading fear and evil. Whalen knew that "he had no hope of sneaking up on him... not sure that he is powerful enough to destroy him" (Forman, 11), and needed Alex's help. Whalen and Alex head out on their journey, hoping to stop Jabez before he becomes too powerful.

During the first half of the book, Whalen does not inform Alex on the majority of the things that are going on with Jabez, making Alex antsy and worried. “Alex knew something was very wrong, and that Whalen was keeping it from him so he wouldn’t worry” (Forman 125-126). Although I was just reading the book, I could understand Alex’s emotions in this as he was blindly following Whalen during this quest and did not know how he could help as he wasn’t given any information to do so. As the book progresses, Alex learns more about his second self, a true-silver dragon, and how he can use it to benefit him. Throughout the book, Alex is faced with hardships, each one becoming more and more difficult as the books comes to an end. Through Alex’s actions and experiences, Forman is trying to convey to us that failure does not mean we should quit, and instead should learn from your mistake and fix it the next time it. After breaking the wall separating the living and the dead, Alex knew “he had failed. There would be no way to mend the wall” (Forman, 393). Alex had let Zain, the evilest wizard, come back from the dead and was preparing to gather forces to take over the other territories. Alex felt as if he failed, and had let the world perish, but Salinor, Alex’s friend and dragon, had convinced that all was not lost and could fix his mistake. Forman uses this book to relay to us that we should learn from our mistakes.

Although this is similar to a typical adventure story with the protagonist always having success and gaining fame and honor, The Axe of Sundering showed how having success all the time can be detrimental to us as we won't learn from what we do wrong. I personally liked this series a lot, with it being written in a flowing manner and containing little messages that are helpful to some. This book would be great for people who love to read fiction and are interested in magic. The Adventurers Wanted series is filled with fantasy, imagination, and a great deal of action, making it very enjoyable to read whenever.