Thursday, March 20, 2008

RotS Reviews II

What Heroes Leave Behind- A very satisfying story of an old warrior facing yet another challenge that should be left to the young. It is a great read that suffers from a terrible title. Yuck. But other than that I loved it. Hawkins hits all the right marks in telling the tale of a hero near the end of his days. The fear of encroaching death, not by glory but by simple frailty, is a powerful presence and rings true throughout. The action is well told and delivers plenty of punch while you follow the hero all the way to the end.

Fatefist at Torkas Nahl- Grand armies and evil tyrants. This is the stuff of epic sword and sorcery tales. With the backdrop of a huge battle before the gates of a nigh impregnable city comes a story about a warrior monk who is the Fatefist of the Mikari. What makes him a great character is the conflict within him as he is seduced by the power of a demonic sword that wouldn’t mind changing owners. While he duels the tyrant he is lured by the call of glory so there are actually two fight scenes in one. The large battle movements are really only hinted at but that’s fine because it’s the scenes revolving around personal battles that are the best and capture the intensity of the moments very well.

Deep in the Land of Ice and Snow- This is a pretty straightforward story of a young warrior who seeks the counsel of a sage before claiming his kingship. It is well done and has some cool scenes with witches and wolves. The exchanges between the characters are interestingly relayed and the end brings a smile to your face. It’s a simple tale and a pleasure to read.

3 comments:

Rogue Blades Entertainment said...

I'm serious, Jeff - you're hired. ;)

Anonymous said...

Nice synopses, Jeff. Wow. I didn't realize there was that much to my Fatefist story. I've got to give Jason a lot of credit for his guidance in refining this story. It wasn't my best work . . . until Jason and I worked around to being my best short fiction.
Thanks for the review!

Jeff Draper said...

Jason, I'll do it.

David, 'Fatefist' was jammed with so much it almost needed to be a novella.