Praise and Reviews
HERE'S WHAT REVIEWER SYLVIA COCHRAN OF ROUNDTABLE REVIEWS HAD TO SAY ABOUT THE SORCERER'S KEY:
THE SORCERER'S KEY is Clayton Bye's 272-page fiction debut novel
that was published in January of 2005. While this novel of the Fantasy
genre is Clayton Bye's first work of fiction, he is a seasoned
speechwriter as well as a well-known author of motivational books, such
as GETTING CLEAR, HOW TO GET WHAT YOU WANT FROM LIFE, THE IT CAN'T BE
DONE, NO WAY, YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING, CRAZY OR UNBELIEVABLY STUPID TO
TRY IT HANDBOOK FOR SUCCESS, and THE HUNDRED.
THE SORCERER'S KEY examines the reality of God against the
backdrop of Eden (as the cradle of life) and Earth. Existing parallel
to one another, yet with the majority of Earth's inhabitants blissfully
unaware of the magical place that is Eden, the fragile border that
separates both worlds is suddenly in danger by the workings of Morgan
Heist, sorcerer and ruthless user of the "dark arts." Heist will stop
at nothing to gain free access to both worlds, and seeks to conquer and
rule both. In his path stands young Jack Lightfoot whose key allows him
to travel between the worlds. Unfortunately, Jack is unaware of the
powers that seek to control him, and he soon finds himself in mortal
danger. Will Morgan succeed and literally take over the world? Will
Jack stand in his way?
Clayton Bye's work of fiction creates a fascinating set of "what
if" scenarios. What if God had tried to start over? What if the devil
is still around and lending active support? What if magic and sorcery
were God's gifts to mankind? What if they weren't?
THE SORCERER'S KEY is a fast-paced read that combines action,
adventure, and even romance with the elements of spirituality,
religion, and magic. Without taking the quick way out by route of an
omnipotent deity and an equally formidable adversary, Clayton Bye
avoids the easy answers to the age old question of good versus evil,
and instead offers the reader a third version, what if God made
mistakes? What if the devil is not as powerful as we would have him be?
An interesting read!
LEA SCHIZAS FROM ALLBOOKREVIEWS.COM WROTE:
Eden - haven to both good and evil?
Jack Lightfoot feels a need to end a lifelong battle with the
most feared sorcerer devil in Eden, Morgan Heist; a battle his father
has struggled in for over 20 years
Young and inexperienced for Morgan, Jack finds himself in a very
compromising position when Morgan confronts him at one point. The
overpowering spell to reveal how Jack is able to travel so freely from
earth to Eden, with no side effects whatsoever, is a climatic scene.
Jack, realizing he foolishly and prematurely stepped into this fight
without truly understanding what he was facing, now needs to pull every
trick in his possession to get out of this predicament,
Traveling back and forth from earth to Eden, Jack desperately
searches for the answer he unknowlingly possesses, before his next and
ultimate face-off with Morgan: how does he, indeed, possess this power
to travel so freely? With the help of old friends on earth and new ones
in Eden, Jack slowly begins to piece together this puzzle.
Alongside this battle enters Kate, a resident and eye-beholding
beauty of Eden, who allies with Jack to help him capture and rev up his
hidden magical powers.
Interesting and riveting characters amidst an intriguing plot
sets this fantasy novel apart from ones I have read. Mr. Bye, using
first person point of view, draws you into the Lightfoot family
predicament, allowing the reader to step right along with Jack and help
him solve the mystery of the "key."
Mr. Bye excels his writer's voice in this truly highly
recommended read. At times, its appeal felt like an Agatha Christie
mystery, intermixed with a bit of that Stephen King flair for bonding a
reader with his characters.
AND MY THANKS TO SERENA POLHEBER WHO WROTE THE FOLLOWING FOR THE GOTTA WRITE NETWORK:
Jack Lightfoot has known that Earth is not the
only place where man lives. Beyond The Sword lies a land of magic and
sorcery, Eden. Both of Jack's parents traveled through the void to
settle on Earth taking with them the secret of traversing the void.
Being raised as a child of other-worldly people has not been easy. Jack
spent weekends throughout his childhood training and preparing for the
day that his father's ex-partner, Morgan Heist, would rip through the
void in search of his father's secret. Now that day has come and Jack
is forced to rely on unused skills and his wits. He traverses the void
and is chased from one world to the next. During his race for his life
he comes to learn a myriad of truths that have been only alluded to in
the myths and religions of Earth.
Morgan Heist has finally
found a way across the void to find his erstwhile partner, John
Lightfoot. Now that he has begun the search it will not end until he is
successful. He will rule this world without magic. With magic.
This
book was an amalgamation of magic, religion, self discovery, and
adventure. Jack was a complex character that grew from the beginning of
the book to the end. The fabulous world that CC Bye created was rich in
details and consistent throughout the book. I felt as if it were not
only possible, but probable. Morgan Heist did his job as the antagonist
remarkably well. He was everything evil and his minions added an extra
edge. I was amazed by the depth of character and the well-thought out
plotline. With a unique look at the mythology and ideology of our
culture CC Bye took a fantastical reality and drew the reader in from
page one. I give Sorcerer's Key a full 5 turns of the key.
--Copyright Serena Polheber
September 18, 2006
EVEN PETER FERGUS-MOORE OF THE THUNDER BAY CHRONICLE-JOURNAL MANAGED TO SAY A FEW NICE WORDS:
...Bye succeeds in painting a believable
picture through the eyes of his 20-something protagonist Jack
Lightfoot, whose parents are fugitives from a parallel, magic-centred
world named Eden. Bye loosely borrows his universe of Eden and Earth
from the Judeo-Christian world view, with a Creator-God and a devil who
more or less compete for influence. I say "more or less" because Bye's
God is a deist God, who set the whole thing in motion and then walked
away in disgust. Before leaving, however, God set up a barrier between
the two worlds. That the barrier is somewhat permeable, and that people
can occasionally travel between the worlds, though at great personal
cost, makes Bye's narrative possible.
...The real competition
for control and influence is between an evil, all-powerful sorcerer in
Eden, Morgan Heist, and the Lightfoot family, who Heist sees as
hoarding the secret to safe travel between the worlds. Heist
desperately wants to extend his empire to the non-magical Earth, and so
embarks on a deadly single-minded hunt for the Lightfoots, and Jack is
caught squarely in the middle of it all.
...Bye's characters
are largely believable, and the writer stays firmly within the
parameters he has set up for his worlds. Much of the book is seen
through Jack Lightfoot's eyes and rendered in Jack Lightfoot's
language. Not surprisingly, Jack's story is not only a narrative of a
struggle between good and evil, but a chronicle of Jack's growth as a
person.
HERE'S WHAT PAYING CUSTOMERS ARE SAYING:
The Sorcerer's Key is a great, fast paced read. The
narrative of the scenes was excellent. I could easily picture Jack
running through the Safeway parking lot in Kenora, even though I
haven't lived there for over 4 years. I could almost as easily picture
in my mind the author's vision of Eden. Well done!
Gene, Mount Gambier, South Australia
Excellent! It should be made into a movie.
Lyle, Kenora, Ontario
I couldn't put it down.
Stephanie, Alexandria, Ontario
You've got a winner!
Andreas, Thunder Bay, Ontario
Better than J.K Rowling.
Judy, Kenora, Ontario
Enjoyed immensely. Read in a night. Very good read.
Hali, Kenora, Ontario
I am an avid reader of the genres of Fantasy, Science
Fiction, and just plain “weird tales” ala H.P. Lovecraft, JRR Tolkien,
Raymond Fiest, Tad Williams, Terry Goodkind, Terry Brooks, Charles
DeLint etc. Clayton Bye’s new fantasy novel, “The Sorcerer’s Key” would
not be out of place amongst these authors. The storyline of Eden and
its parallel existence to our earth is storytelling at its finest, and
I very much look forward to the continued interactions between the two
worlds, especially the meshing of what is “traditionally” known about
the biblical Eden and the realm of fantasy created by Mr. Bye. I
recommend this book to any person with a taste for the fantasy genre.
Terence, Kenora, Ontario
Enjoyed your book. Well written & interesting.
Judy, Rainy River, Ontario
