Tor Books - June 1998

Order the book!! HARDBACK -- -- -- Order the book!! PAPERBACK

I think that this is a first book for Farland, at least I haven't been able to find any others, but it sure doesn't seem like a first book- I found no flaws at all. Farland sounds like a nom-de-plume to me, and I wouldn't be surprised if it was written by one of the established masters.

While the basic story is fairly typical, the system of magick is rather fresh- The Runelords get their powers by taking "endowments" of the attributes from "donors"- A donor may give sight, hearing, strength, grace, wit, etc. to another person, who will have that attribute augmented, while the donor will lose the same. A Runelord can take many enhancements in all attributes, becoming "superhuman".

The story centers around Prince Gaborn Orden, a young Runelord, son of the King of Mystarria, who hopes to win the hand of Princess Iome, the daughter of the King of neighboring Rofehaven. He finds the country under attack by the forces of Raj Ahten, who has thousands of endowments, making it nearly impossible to kill him.

Gaborn Pledges an Oath to protect Iome, and aided by his bodyguard Sir Borenson, the Earth Wizard Binnesman, his father King Orden and his fathers army, tries to free Rofehaven from Raj Ahten's clutches. The battles are not particularly long, but they are very bloody. Just about everyone on the "good guys" side is killed, before Raj Ahten is "run off" by a combination of Gaborn's new found powers of earth magick and a deception wrought by Princess Iome.

This appears to be the first book in an epic series, although nothing is said about sequels. All I have to say about that is that there better be a sequal and soon. Because, apparently, the real threat isn't the Raj, but an invasion of Ravers- Intelligent, magick wielding monsters.

There are a quite a few surprises and plot devices in this story, but none of them are frivolous or artificial. It will keep you entertained. I lost a days worth of work because I couldn't put it down. The major characters are mostly likable, and even the highly endowed rarely lose their humanity.

If you are a fan of epic fantasy, you will like this book, and if you haven't read any before, this is a reasonable place to start

. AND THE SECOND VOLUME is now out:

THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF

Order the book!! HARDBACK -- -- The Sequel is almost as good as the first in some places, and better in other areas- All, in all, an entertaining experience.

As Gaborn Val Orden, now the "Earth King", tries to get a "handle" on his new powers, he also has to face Two serious enemies: Raj Ahten is back, with even more endowments from tens of thousands of people.

The more serious threat is a horde of Reavers, led by a Reaver Mage, with the intent of destroy the entire land; earth, water, and all of man's creations. The only hope for humanity is for Gaborn and Raj to become allies. Worth the read, and I'm looking forward to the next episode.!