JOURNEY TO FORGE MOUNTAIN

A 12-year-old boy embarks on a perilous trek to reach a legendary sword school in this opening installment of a trilogy.

Kien hails from a village in the Kingdom and is a target of local bullies. It’s hardly surprising that he has an interest in the martial arts and longs to attend Forge Mountain, a famous school where he can learn to be a swordsman. His quiet life with his mother and younger sister is one day upended. His family flees when they learn an inspector for the chancellor is after them for reasons unknown. The boy and his elderly friend/mentor Fisherman decide that, to protect his family, Kien will become a swordsman like the estranged father whom he doesn’t know. He leaves his family behind and travels with Fisherman to Forge Mountain, but skilled warriors hunt them. Kien trains with his father’s old wooden sword and, though separated from Fisherman for a time, stumbles across a few allies. This diverting series launch checks off a number of welcome traits—bouts of action, an expansive landscape, likable characters (and hateable villains), and a touch of the supernatural. Ly’s concise, unadorned prose enriches this brisk story, especially the variety of camps, villages, and bustling towns Kien and Fisherman pass through. A highlight is a major city showcasing people of the Kingdom’s different regions and distinctive styles of clothes, from “form-fitting inner tunics” to glittery flowing robes. Though his fighting skills aren’t yet proficient, Kien is an honorable, appealing hero who (for example) won’t give up someone’s whereabouts despite getting knocked about. Kien’s cryptic quest sparks many adventures and reveals a mystery or two. It all amounts to a superb tale on its own as well as a fitting setup for subsequent books.

A laudable young hero helms this taut, sensational fantasy adventure.