Young teens fence with ‘The Devil’s Sword’

Kevin Taylor is a gifted athlete, but his talent lies in fencing — a sport that seems silly and sissified to his conventional-jock older brothers.

It’s only when the brothers are forced to fence their 12-year-old sibling, and are badly beaten, that they begin to respect the sport and Kevin.

But Kevin will face a far more important battle 15 months later when he enters The Desert Challenge, a fencing tournament held at Nellis Air Force Base. He’s already a contender for the gold medal of first place, but the stakes are raised immeasurably when he and his teammates are taken hostage and forced to participate in a complex plot to steal a secret weapon called “The Devil’s Sword.” Now Kevin must win every match, or his teammates, coach and father will all die.

“The Devil’s Sword” is interesting on two levels. In addition to being a believable high-adventure story set in and around Las Vegas, the author clearly explains the sport of modern fencing, and the tactics and personalities necessary to winning.

Fencing has been called “physical chess,” because both games are similarly built on a few simple moves which can be knit together into an almost-infinite number of combinations. Successful players at either game tend to be smart people thinking several moves ahead, and only by doing so does Kevin manage to advance in the tournament — and buy another few hours of life for his friends and his father.

The author, Douglas E. Richards, also wrote the critically acclaimed “Prometheus Project” series of science fiction thrillers for ages 9-14, and has written extensively for “National Geographic Kids” and “American Fencing” magazine. He lives in San Diego.