Thursday 15 August 2013

FANTASY REVIEW: The Warrior's Journey - Edward Drake

Release Date: 30/07/13
Publisher:  Anarchy Books

SYNOPSIS:

The Warrior’s Journey is an epic fantasy set in a mystical dark age where monsters roam the plains, mages wield powerful sorcery and arguments are settled by the honour of the blade.

In the land of Castille, Garrick Chilver is a soldier trained in combat by his honourable father, Sir Nickholi. The tale follows Garrick and his companions, an enslaved pair of outcasts, an old knight returning home to his family, an imprisoned murderer, a young innocent marked for great power, and a mysterious sorcerer – as their land is struck by a series of terrible and catastrophic disasters. As demons and dark sorcerers roam the lands wreaking terror, chaos and death, Garrick and his companions find a common goal in their struggles against the corrupt Brotherhood of Guardians and the evil Paladins of the Gods.

When the person closest to Garrick is slaughtered by the leader of the Paladins, Garrick’s journey of vengeance brings him to the capital of Castille where, alongside its rulers, he will face the true evil that stalks the world...

The Warrior’s Journey is an epic tale of champions and honour, showing what it truly means to be a hero - a shining example of a bright flame ranged against the darkness of chaos!


REVIEW:

I love a fantasy story that multiple elements to it, I love seeing heroes forged in the heat of battle and those who choose to stand up against the dark regardless of the odds they face. It’s a great way to escape the modern world and above all else as the cast bands together it creates bonds stronger than steel. Throw into the mix a high body count, emotional losses alongside characters who face life changing events all round make this an interesting title.

All round it’s a solid enough book to sit down and read however for me, I felt that there were quite a few problems with this title. Firstly the magic was way too powerful, it was quick to utilise, did untold damage and those who were injured only had to survive a battle to be fully healed by a local cleric or mage. That, for me, took away a lot of the danger that each character faced as they only had to survive a battle to be fully healed. Yes they had a scar but there were no limitations to them in future combats such as a weakened leg or sword arm that made them less effective.

Secondly and perhaps more importantly when gods start getting involved, it really does take the mick for me as how are humans meant to face off against them, yes they have some options but let’s face it in a straight off fight they’re going to be trampled into the mud so much so that it’s going to pretty one sided affair. For me, what I feel the author should have done would have been to utilise the characters on the mortal plane like chess pieces in a similar way to the original Clash of the Titans did. It would have created all sorts of possibilities and also kept the ridiculous power away from the board.

That said it was a solid enough title and I will read future outings as I’m curious to see how it will play out but, if the power isn’t curtailed or the mages hampered in some way then its going to get old extremely fast.

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