The Witch's Tower
by David W. Walker
Thank you so much to librarian Linda Owens for contacting me and recommending this book!
Hi! Have you ever woken up to think that it would be a completely normal day, but then something happened to make the day amazing? Well, that is how Prince Max of Gaspaar felt on one particular day that changed his life forever!
Prince Max was summoned to the throne room along with his two older brothers, Derek and Gerald. Their father, the King, told them that he felt it was time to choose and heir to the throne. To decide who would be the next king, they would have to go through a test. Whoever could bring back the greatest treasure would be the winner.
Max and his brother headed to a nearby inn called The Red Lion, where they would spend the night together before going their separate ways. While there, a woman named “The Duchess” arrived with a dwarf. The three brothers soon warmed up to her and they began to spend time together. Max went up to bed early because he wanted to be rested for the next day. When Max woke up, both of his brothers, Gerald and Derek, were gone. Derek had woken Max up earlier and told him that the Duchess had shared where a great treasure was and he was going to find it.
Max found the Duchess downstairs and they had breakfast together. While at breakfast, she told Max of a treasure that was a beautiful tree, and gave him a map to find it. With this, Max left the inn to begin the search for this treasure. He came outside and found a shepherd lying sick by a tree. Max ended up agreeing to take the shepherd’s sheep and his dog to the mountains.
Not long after he had left with the sheep, a robber tried to steal one of the sheep. Max used his swordsmanship to drive him away. After he had done that, the dog, Knipper, looked up at Max and thanked him. They talked and grew to become friends. Knipper shared with Max that there were not many animals that could talk left in the world. Max continued on his journey until they reached a bridge. Knipper informed him that there were robbers waiting at the bridge. The fox that had warned Knipper about the robbers, named Fanzig, soon joined their company. They decided to leave the main road and head through the hills of Gumbor to avoid the robbers, despite the giants in the hills.
Pretty soon, the group reached a tunnel. They began to travel through it to reach the mountains on the other side of the hills. Along the way, they ran into an elf named Jumpjilter. He was headed to his homeland, which you could only reach through the tunnels. After hearing of Max’s turning aside from the treasure to join the group, he decided to help them get safely through the hills of the giants.
One day, as they continued on their journey, Jumpjilter informed the group that a giant had been listening to them for nearly an hour. He explained that the giant was waiting until they were tired and stopped so that he could have an easy catch. Their only hope was for there to be another tunnel nearby to escape to. Eventually, however, they all got tired and decided that they may as well be well0-rested when the giant inevitably came. The giant arrived sooner than everyone thought. Max jumped on his horse and rode away from the group trying to lead the giant elsewhere. Eventually, the giant catches up with Max and faces him.
One thing that I would change about this book is that I would add a little more action. There were a few “high stakes” moments, but I would have loved to have my heart on edge a little more.
One of my favorite parts of the story was when Max’s companions reveal something that he has been kept in the dark about. As the reader, I had been waiting for him to figure it out, and it changed everything when he did!
What will happen? Will Willie the giant eat Max and his horse? Or will they somehow escape? What will happen to Jumpjilter and Knipper and Fanzig? What about the treasure? Will Max pass the test and become the new King of Gaspaar? As I always say, read the book to find out!
A few helpful things I like to say about the books I read:
“Run and Get Mom” (how I describe the scariness factor – zero being not scary at all and five being majorly scary): 2
“Yucky-Lovey Stuff” (how I describe the romance factor – zero having no yucky-lovey parts in it and five having major yucky-lovey parts): 1
I give this book 4 wands.
This was a great story that showed the value of honestly, kindness, and doing the right thing no matter what. It had great stories of friendship that melted my heart.
Source: Review Copy
