Tungdil the dwarf has been raised amongst humans, the only one of his kind. He has plenty of friends and a good enough life, making his home in the fortress of the wizard Lot-Ionan. Everything changes when he is sent out to deliver a message and meet up for the first time with his own people. He finds himself in the middle of a battle, and suddenly is faced with the task of being a hero and finding out who he really is.

If you are, like this reviewer, a fan of traditional fantasy then this ought to please. There are all the usual races found in fantasy novels, but with the added twist of some evil zombies (good ones might have been more original!) and even a nod towards steampunk with the dwarves doing a spot of engineering. Originally published in Germany in 2003, this English version loses something in translation and reads a little stiffly at times, but the pacy, action-led style shines through. There is not much new here, but this is an author who manages to make it all seem fresh and exciting, and as there has not been that much of this sort of thing available recently I was reminded why I started reading fantasy in the first place. I will be eager to read the rest of this series—one to watch.