Venom and Song: The Berinfell Prophecies Series - Book Two

Written by Wayne Thomas Batson and Christopher Hopper

Narrated by Adam Verner

Now in the strange realm of Allyra, the Seven young lords confront a traitor in their midst, a creature-infested forest, teenage fears and doubts, inexplicable mysteries . . . and the Spider King himself.In a rigorous training program that makes boot camp look like Disneyland, the Seven must quickly learn to harness their own powers, work as one, and elude the Spider KingÆs spies. But as the ancient Berinfell Prophecies are revealed, the Seven soon discover their training might not be enough. To stop the Spider King they must also unravel the secrets of the Rainsong, travel to a creepy, trap-infested fortress to find the legendary keystone, and lead the Berinfell Elves in an attack on the Spider KingÆs own turf. An epic adventure with powerful messages about true strength, forgiveness, and working together as one body that will grab the attention of intermediate readers.Learn more about The Berinfell Prophecies at www.heedtheprophecies.com.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tommy Nelson
• Release date: Oct 1, 2019
• ISBN: 9781401605841

Reviews for Venom and Song

[belac2_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Fantastic! This book continues the adventures of the seven elven lords. As with some series the second book seems to be written just to get to the last book. Not so here! This book is absolutely amazing buy it now!

[krau0098 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I was really excited to read this book. I loved the first book in this series, The Curse of the Spider King, it looked like it was setting up a wonderful epic fantasy series. This book was okay, but there are just too many characters and too many switches in viewpoint...it is hard to ever really get into the story.This book picks up right where the first one left off; the Seven are fleeing the Spider King's ambush and going into the hidden elven realm of Nightwish. In Nightwish they will start their training and learn both how to work together and how to make the most of their abilities. In the end the big question is; will they be able to confront and defeat the Spider King?I really really loved the first book and was excited to see what this middle grade epic fantasy developed into. Well...let's just say this book wasn't as good as I expected. This book has a major problem that takes away from everything else and that is the number of characters. The number of characters alone wouldn't be a problem if the authors didn't try to tell the story from all of their individual views. This results in a story that is very fractured. In one chapter you might change view point 4, 5, or even more, times. Rather than giving us a better picture of what is going on, the opposite happens. Basically everytime I really started getting into the story I'd get jerked away and have to start reading from a different perspective.The crazy shifting from one character to another leads to another problem. I didn't care about or really get to understand any of the characters. The boys' names are so similar (Jimmy, Johnny, Tommy, Jett) that I was always struggling to remember who was who. Thinking okay Tommy like bows, Jett is strong, etc. I basically has to stereotype the characterse in my mind to keep them straight. In addition to this we don't get to spend enough time with any of the characters to really get to understand them and their motives; in general we never hear what they think, just what they do. Occasionally the authors step back to have a poignant moment with a character, but these are scarce and seem awkward.Okay, so the above are my main problems with this book. There were still a lot of things that I did like. The authors have created a solid fantasy world, that could be extremely engaging. The action scenes are well done (if fractured because of the constant viewpoint switches). The story itself is epic in proportions and never drags, it is fairly well paced. The story wraps up at a good point, but leaves you with an idea about what the next book will be about.Overall, I am sad to say, that because of the number of characters whose viewpoint you read from I found the story fractured, anagonizing to get through, unengaging, and filled with characters that I never could really care about. I had enough trouble getting through this book that I probably won't read anymore in the series. This is too bad because I love the world that the authors have created and think this could end up being a wonderful epic fantasy series. Maybe if future books try and focus on just a couple characters they will better and I will give them a shot. As of now though, I think I will skip future books. I would recommend the Fabelhaven series by Brandon Mull or John Flanagan's Ranger's Apprentice series in place of this series; both are great fantasy series aimed at the Middle Grade audience.

[goldarrow · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Archery, Swords, Fire, Speed, Spies, Hidden Secrets, New Lands to Explore, Unknown Enemies, Spiders, Elves and much more are in this book by Wayne Thomas Batson and Christopher Hopper.The elven lords have returned, but even in their home land they face trouble and confusion...Johnny~ Learning of his true family and has trouble with over protectionKiri Lee~ Has mixed feeling and uncertaintyKat~ Sadness over her earth parentsAutumn~ Wants to be more independent.Jimmy~ Bitterness and trying to fit inJett~ Has a deadly choiceTommy~ Learning to be a leaderI felt this book started out slow and boring. Wayne Thomas Batson and Christopher Hopper spent a huge part of the beginning describing the land of Allyra. I felt like I was detached from the lords because of that.Suddenly it is as if Wayne Thomas Batson and Christopher Hopper figured out what the plot would be and then they started the action.You meet the Spider King and see how evil he is. Disputes are happening among the Elders. A quest for the map is sent out. Past mistakes are arising. The lords are in training and are learning about their skills, their heritage, friendship, and Ellos.With little time, will they be ready to fight the Spider King?The Battle was well written and there were only a few boring parts. Though I think the ending was just a little odd. I wish that Wayne Thomas Batson and Christopher Hopper had done something else.On the plus side the ending had one of the best/worst twist ever... I still can’t believe that happened…Things I didn’t like,The lords ages~ I felt they would get mixed up. One moment they are 13 year olds, then the next they’re acting like they are 30. And the romance of the book was a little old for the age of the kids. I don’t see why Wayne Thomas Batson and Christopher Hopper had to pair them up like that, I feel it didn’t help the plot at all.And the Gnomes were a little odd, I don’t think they fit the setting.But other then that it was a good book, not the best by these two authors but still good.

[whisperthespy · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I did not enjoy this book quite as much as Curse of the Spider King, but it was still a fairly interesting read.Cons - In several ways the character interactions or the dialogue seemed unrealistic. There were one or two very mild coarse jokes that were quite un-entertaining or humorous, to me at least. Also there is teen romance, which, while perfectly clean, I still do not approve of. Finally the books were not very carefully edited; typos and several small but clear errors stood out rather strongly to me.Pros - It was enjoyable to see the seven elven lords interacting; I liked observing their diverse, clashing and developing personalities. The authors made the book realistic but emotional through several unlikely twists at the end of the book. There were several bits of dialogue that were very funny and/or very quotable; me and my siblings often say at random times to each other "Mind the biscuits!" I read this book in haste; if I went back and re-read it might enjoy it more. It was an exciting, good fantasy tale but not one of my favorites.-whisper 

[mesmericrevelation · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I received this book for review and I actually haven't read the first one. I was really hoping to get into the city so I could buy the first book but I never got the chance. I can't believe that even though I didn't get the chance to read the first book i was still hooked from the first page of this one. I thought I would be completely confused and it would take awhile to get into, but I had no problems. It took me about a week to read Venom and Song but only because we had a heat wave and I just couldn't read, but as soon as it cooled off a bit, I picked up the book and read pretty much the whole thing in two days. This book is incredible. Great characters, awesome plot, it's well written and now I absolutely need to go out and get the first book. I am sad that the book ended. I want more.

[wintersread · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Now having returned to the unusual world of Allyra, the renowned Seven Elven Lords struggle to meet up with the expectations of their fellow Elves. They must train to fight in the elite Vexbane form while they can. Meanwhile, the Spider King’s forces rally to locate and exterminate the elves. When bad turns to worse, the Lords must be ready to thwart the Spider King’s plans and end his reign of terror. But who knows what horrors the Spider King has kept locked away.This fantasy fiction novel definitely has a feel of its own. It has a unique combination of story styles: medieval, other-worldly, and contemporary. It even throws in a little harmless romance. It’s plot was well thought-out, despite a few minute details missed. Different from the previous novel, Curse of the Spider King, there were less main characters. What Mr. Batson and Mr. Hopper pulled off is that each of the 9 main characters’ individual characters were shown and developed well throughout. Most important were the story’s themes, such as trusting God at all times and fellowshipping with believers. I recommend this book to anyone who sees it on a shelf.