David Blisborough, The Wanderer's Tale

The Wanderer's Tale

David Blisborough

Tor, Jul 2007, $24.95

ISBN: 9780765318671

Five centuries ago on Lyndormyn, the heroic Peladanes defeated the evil rawgr Drauglir and his supernatural minions. Their victory ended a monstrous reign of terror.

However, the Peladanes failed to kill Drauglir. Appa the cleric claims to have seen Drauglir's return in a vision. No one except warriors Nibulus and Finwald believe him, but they fail to raise an army to stop the rawgr at their fortress; no one believes them besides the descendents of those heroes of five hundred years ago. People are living the good life and refuse to sacrifice. Meanwhile the rawgr have been spotted in their broken fortress Vaagenfjord Maw in the northern wasteland as they have begun an assault on humans. A band of six (Appa, Finwald, Nibulus, his pal Methuselech, a mercenary, and Bolldhe the destined one) begin the quest to kill Drauglir.

This exciting, relevant fantasy contains parallels to the current American Global War Against Terrorism as most of the populace live in prosperity, see no threat, and have not been asked to sacrifice their affluent lifestyle for centuries. However, unlike President Bush, Appa actually pleads with people to help him and his compatriots to save their realm, but most are too detached to care what is happening in the far north. Although somewhat typical of a save the world fantasy quest, fans of the sub-genre will root for the magnificent six warriors with their differing personalities and personal agendas as they set forth to stop the evil Drauglir.

Harriet Klausner