Saturday, 6 October 2012

FANTASY REVIEW: The Dusk Watchman - Tom Lloyd

Release Date: 30/08/12

SYNOPSIS:

After his pyrrhic victory at Moorview, King Emin learns the truth about the child Ruhen, but he is powerless to act. Instead, he must mourn his dead friends while his enemy promises the beleaguered peoples of the Land a new age of peace. The past year has taken a grave toll: the remaining Menin troops seek revenge upon Emin, daemons freely walk the Land, and Ruhen's power is increasing daily. And yet, a glimmer of hope remains. There is one final, desperate chance for victory: a weapon, so terrible only a dead man could wield it, and only a madman would try. But if they do not grasp this opportunity, King Emin and his allies will be obliterated as Ruhen's millennia-old plans are about to bear terrible fruit. If his power continues unchecked, Ruhen will achieve total dominion and not just over mankind, but over the Gods themselves. One way or another, the future of the Land will be decided now written in the blood of men.


REVIEW:

Having read the other four books in the Stormcaller series, I was split in two by the knowledge about this title, firstly I was excited as I’d loved the others and couldn’t wait to embark into Tom’s imaginative world but also tinged with sadness as this was to be the final part of the series. As such that meant that there were no hard and fast rules as to the survivability factor, a lot of threads to tie up and of course making sure that the tale moves at quite a pace without being bogged down with details that the reader demands answers for.

What Tom manages to do in this book is bring together everything that’s gone before and improve not only the world but make sure that the series ends on a high note. The characters are crisp, the pace unrelenting and of course when added to his wonderful writing style that weaves a tale as good as any other out there, really gives the reader something to not only celebrate but savour as they work their way through which makes this not only a gem of a book but a cracking finish to a series that’s bewitched me for years. Great stuff.



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