Although it is tempting to say that anybody who hasn’t already read this book must have been living in a cave—possibly in a fantasy realm themselves—I was thrilled when I received this reprint.  Fantasy fans over a certain age (it was first published back in 1988) might have read it, but what about people coming to fantasy for the first time these days?  The genre is currently so different, with novels concentrating on court intrigue or urban fantasy and paranormal romance rather than action adventure, that surely younger readers might be unaware that the older stuff has something else to offer.

After Tolkien, this is surely one of the best-loved classics of the genre, containing just about everything you need for a successful "traditional" style fantasy novel.  Simon the kitchen lad starts off as ordinary but is soon swept up into an adventure beyond his wildest dreams when the king dies and the Storm King wishes to reclaim his lost throne.  This is a tale of thrilling journeys to strange realms inhabited by magical beings complete with elves, giants, goblins and all the panoply of this type of fantasy.  Reading it again made me remember why I started reading books like this and I was instantly whisked away to another place—pure escapist fun!  It belongs to a less cynical age than ours and you won’t find black humor, graphic sex or gratuitous violence in here so it is suitable for young adults, making an excellent introduction to what is best about the genre.   It also contains other less appealing elements which typify fantasy—several fat novels (admittedly, more filled with story than most), a rather lengthy and not terribly exciting first few chapters before the story really starts and if you like ground breaking originality you won’t find this either.  What you will find is one of the most quintessential fantasies around—five star stuff.