Another Review at MyShelf.Com

The Wanderer’s Tale

by David Bilsborough



Five hundred years ago, the evil deity Drauglir was defeated by a valiant band of soldiers. But now he is stirring once more, and it is up to another brave group to do something about it. Enter the bold Nibulus Wintus, son of the Peladane warlord who musters a crack team to do the deed. They will have to journey across some difficult terrain, and meet many fearsome monsters before they get to the eerie vastness of Vaagenfijord Maw, the Tower of Darkness…

Classic (or bog standard, depending on your viewpoint) fantasy in fact! The skill lies in how the tale is told, as the plot of a quest adventure was mapped out in the mists of prehistory. Newcomer Bilsborough opts for a style laced with humor, somewhere between David Eddings and K J Parker and invariably a recipe for a good lively tale with some substance to it, as surely a lack of humor reduces the characters to ciphers. This is not the whole tale, there will be other books in the series (presumably two more if this is a real classic fantasy), and there we will be further let in on the characters and what makes them tick. They are an interesting bunch, some more than others, but all of them are male. Apart from a few of the monstrous creatures they encounter, this is very much a man’s world, which makes the story rather one-sided. Remedy this, add at least one startlingly original feature in book two and this will be a good solid series that will appeal to fans of classic fantasy.

The Book

Tor (Macmillan UK)
6 July 2007
Hardback
9780230014480
Fantasy
More at Amazon UK || US
Excerpt
NOTE: Some fantasy violence

The Reviewer

Rachel A Hyde
Reviewed 2007
NOTE:
© 2007 MyShelf.com