Sepron the Sea Serpent by Adam Blade has been reviewed by Focus on the Family’s marriage and parenting magazine. It is the second book in the “Beast Quest” series.
Sepron the Sea Serpent by Adam Blade has been reviewed by Focus on the Family’s marriage and parenting magazine. It is the second book in the “Beast Quest” series.
Tom, a young blacksmith’s apprentice, is on a heroic quest to save the kingdom of Avantia from the terrors of six beasts. The beasts, which used to protect Avantia, have been placed under the magic of the evil sorcerer Malvel. Armed with tools from the kingdom’s wizard, Aduro, Tom and his friend Elenna have already set Ferno the Fire Dragon free from Malvel’s spell. Now Aduro’s magical map informs the pair that their next quest is to free Sepron, a sea serpent that has been causing floods along Avantia’s coast.
Before Tom and Elenna can reach the ocean, Sepron causes a tidal wave to wipe out their path. The two manage to find the remains of a fishing village struggling to survive. The serpent has destroyed all but one of their boats. Tom and Elenna offer to help the villagers repair that boat so they might be able to catch some fish.
When the tar they’re using spills into a fire, Tom uses his magic shield to protect him as he and Calum, a boy from the village, pour water on the flames. Tom’s shield is unharmed by the blaze, but Calum’s hand is burned. Tom and Elenna ask for permission to borrow the boat once it’s repaired, but the villagers refuse. It is their only hope for survival, and they can’t risk the young people losing it to Sepron.
The following morning, Tom and Elenna plan to take the boat out before any of the villagers wake up. Calum stops them, but they convince him they aren’t stealing it. Tom is intrigued when Calum says Tom reminds him of someone who passed through their village years ago on a quest. Tom wonders if the man could have been his father, Taladon, who disappeared long ago. Calum didn’t know the man’s name, but he agrees to let Tom and Elena take the boat. Calum will watch Silver, Elenna’s tamed wolf, and Storm, Tom’s horse, while they are gone. He also lends them his knife.
Tom and Elenna row the boat into the ocean. The repairs to the boat are not strong, and they start taking on water. Elenna dives under the boat and stuffs the hole with a piece of Tom’s shirt to slow the leak. When Sepron nears, Tom realizes he must swim closer to the sea serpent if he’s to unlock the magical chain that keeps the beast bound to Malvel. Barnacles encrust the lock, so Tom uses Calum’s knife to scrape them free. Sepron battles ferociously, but Tom manages to slip the key into the lock and release Sepron from Malvel’s spell. Sepron carries the drowning Tom back to Elenna and she hauls the boy onto the boat. The serpent drops a tooth into the boat before he slips back into the ocean.
Once recovered, Tom places the tooth on his magic shield. The wood absorbs it. Aduro appears and explains to Tom that the tooth will protect him from the fiercest torment. The wizard tells the children they must head to the northern mountains, as Malvel has placed a spell on Cypher, the giant. He is sending avalanches down the mountains to block the kingdom’s trade routes.
Tom and Elenna agree to take on this next quest, but first they head back to the village to return the boat and retrieve Silver and Storm. Tom offers to give back Calum’s knife, but the boy tells Tom to keep it as a reward. Tom and Elenna head off on their next quest, knowing it will be easier to face it together.
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The story is filled with magical beasts and sorcery. Aduro, Avantia’s wizard, appears to the children as a hologram walking on water. Dark magic binds Malvel to the beasts that are supposed to protect the kingdom. Aduro has given Tom a map that projects a three dimensional image of Avantia and can show them what the beasts are doing to destroy the country. Tom’s shield is able to absorb pieces of the beasts. The shield then uses their power to keep him safe. Calum wishes Tom and Elenna “good luck.”
Aduro the wizard appears to the children at the end of the book to congratulate them and give them another quest.
The book opens with a vivid but not graphic depiction of Sepron’s destruction of a fishing boat. Throughout the story, Tom and Elenna are often in peril, but, while their predicaments are exciting, they are not explicit.
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