4 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
Dragon Scroll of Nepthali by B. L. Madole is a young adult, fantasy, and action-packed novel. It reminds me of a very long fairy tale, which includes kings, queens, castles, and dragons, of long ago. It is a story of good and evil; of prosperity and poverty; and of hope and despair.
The story began with the background of two brother dragons, Orpheus and Natas, who protected humans and gave them wonderful resources. After the Great Goblin War, Natas became jealous of Orpheus and was filled with resentment, envy, and pride. He forced Orpheus to write a scroll filled with his evil demands, but Orpheus sealed it with some magic of his own. Natas was put into a long, deep sleep and would awaken whenever within the castle, twins would be born. Orpheus made a magic sword from one of his scales and gave it to the king of Nepthali. The Dragon Scroll and the sword together would one day protect the kingdom. The people turned against Orpheus, so he kissed the king good-bye and left a heart-shaped imprint, which would mark the true royal bloodline.
The Chief Royal Scribe shared the message of the Dragon Scroll to give hope that one day Orpheus would return. Later, the Dragon Scroll was stored away and forgotten by most of the people and many thought it was a fairy tale. However, the story was passed down through the years to Amalek, who told the story of Orpheus and Natas to his daughter Mitzy. Mitzy loved the story and often quoted Orpheus,
Treacherous and conniving bands of humans and half-human/half-goblins, called the Bara, attacked the innocent and good people of Nepthali for many years. The evil Narok and Mezrah both wanted the throne and the power of the Dragon Scroll. Most of the story told of their evil and murderous deeds, which paralleled alongside and intertwined in the life of Mitzy and the castle occupants. Mitzy’s mother became a servant to the queen and Mitzy grew up in the castle. Mitzy got to know Prince Roffius and some of the Royal Guards of the castle. Twins were born in the castle and Natas awakens! The story really unfolded after this with a lot of action and suspense. There was just enough romance in the book that it didn’t take away from anything, rather it added to the feel of chivalry in ancient times. One really needs to read the book to enjoy this story in depth.“A hope which is pure and true shall not disappoint.“
There were many characters good and bad, intertwining with each other and within the story. The characters were well developed and I felt like I knew many of them personally. I received such satisfaction from reading this book. There seemed to be no lag times, as the happenings pushed forward and there was always plenty of action. I would recommend it to young adults, as well as to older adults. Anyone who likes the old fairy tale style of stories that include dragons or just a good story will enjoy this book. I found that it should be placed on the top of a list of such books to read. Due to the murderous actions and killings, this book would least appeal to small children.
I best liked that the book was extremely well written, not only grammatically, but also from the descriptive language used and in the plot. I liked that if one wanted to find some parallels in the story to some truths about hope in life, one could let their imagination soar. I rate Dragon Scroll of Nepthali a strong 4 out of 4 stars. It is difficult to believe that this is B. L. Madole’s first novel. I cannot think of anything that I did not like about the book unless I count for the fact that a lot of good people died innocently by the hands of murderous and ruthless men. The book deserves a perfect score for the detailed, meaningful, and highly entertaining story.
******
Dragon Scroll of Nepthali
View: on Bookshelves
Like LV2R's review? Post a comment saying so!