Claervont Captive: A Review

Recently I read Claervont Captive, by Bryce Roberts. (twice, actually, and I bought it so I could recommend it to others and let them borrow it) Here's the review I wrote.

The first chapter of Claervont Captive by Bryce Roberts drew me in, and the rest of the book did not disappoint. My interest held all the way through. In fact, I read the entire second half in just one afternoon. A medieval-themed novel, it was well-written, full of detail, action, and strong characters.

We follow the story and growth of Michal as he narrates his tale and learns what it truly is to be loyal and honorable. I found it quite satisfactory watching him age and mature, rising to be a great leader. Sharing his trials and emotion, his failures and joys gave me much enjoyment, though at times I did cry.

The second part of Claervont Captive far exceeds the already-wonderful first half. Michal’s friends rally round him, giving him the support of true allies. The word choice throughout the novel is excellent; I truly appreciated that.

I would say that for all the detail, some parts are a bit gory and slightly violent, and a very, very few issues are hinted at that are on the mature side of things.

For being such a delightfully heavy book(even as a paperback), Claervont Captive is a quick read. When I finished, I was left with deep satisfaction and soaring inspiration. Though the ending looked dark from some points, the wholesomeness of the book cannot be denied. I’m left rather eager for the next book in the series. Claervont Captive is a well done book and I recommend it highly.

If you're interested in reading it, you can buy it here. It's also listed on Goodreads. 

Photos of Germany and Holland

This year has been quite the year for travel in my family. As of now, we have spent a total of FOUR MONTHS not at home since January. I feel quite sorry for Dad, who's off on another trip very soon. Anyway, all that to say, on our last trip, we flew to Germany and then Holland, and it was just too beautiful not to post pictures.

This was the view from our balcony in the room we stayed in. 

  Our place of boarding was a three minute walk from the train station.

 This was the old town gate. I would have loved to climb those stairs, but there was a padlocked grating at the bottom.

 There was only one old church building in the very small town, but it was a beautiful one. (the church we attended didn't meet there though)

 Above, this was the old Latin school, and though I can't quite remember what date it started, it was a long time ago.

 We visited the remains of a sort of fortress.

 This museum was only open on sundays and holidays, so unfortunately we didn't go to it.

 My sister, some friends of ours and I built a fort up in the woods in our spare time.

 We took the train quite a fair distance through Germany to get to Holland.

 We stayed in a small town with some friends.

On one of the days, we took a trip to Amsterdam to visit some art museums. It's a lovely city. 

I think we all had a nice time on our trip, but as always it's great to be home. The flight back went pretty much without a hitch, so we were all very thankful for that after our outgoing flight had been such a hassle.