Shadow Prowler by Alexey Pehov
Apr. 12th, 2010 12:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
After centuries of calm, the Nameless One is stirring.
An army is gathering: thousands of fell creatures joining forces from all across the Desolate Lands, united for the first time in history under one black banner. By the spring, or perhaps sooner, the Nameless One and his forces will be at the walls of the great city of Avendoom.
Unless Shadow Harold, master thief, can stop them.
Epic fantasy at its best, Shadow Prowler is the first in a trilogy that follows professional thief Shadow Harold on his quest for a long-lost artefact that will save the Kingdom of Siala. Bound by oath to fulfil his commission, even if he dies trying, Harold is accompanied by an elven princess and her escort, ten Wild Hearts, the most dangerous fighters in the world; and by the king’s court jester – who may be more than he seems.
Shadow Harold is the best thief in the City of Avendoom, which is why the King Stalkon wants him to recover the Rainbow Horn from Hrad Spein – a legendary underground palace come burial ground built by orcs an elves and filled with traps. It’s a dangerous mission and time is of the essence. The Rainbow Horn is the only device powerful enough to contain the Nameless One – a magician who years ago was transformed into an evil being and who controls hordes of orcs (creatures who hate men and the so-called lesser races and seek their destruction). Unless the Nameless One can be contained, the world of men will be destroyed.
Yet Harold knows that getting into Hrad Spein and surviving is going to be almost impossible. The only map of it is in a part of the City destroyed by a magical accident many years earlier and abandoned. Few people who go in return. Even assuming that he gets the map, there’s still the journey to Hrag Spein and while he’ll be accompanied by ten Wild Hearts (specialist warriors renowned for their toughness), a powerful Elven princess and magician and the goblin court jester, Ki-Ki, there’s no guarantee that they’ll make it through the hostile territory alive.
A Russian bestseller and translated into English by Andrew Bromfield, fans of traditional high fantasy will enjoy the quest element which will presumably unfold over all three books. However, those looking for something different will be disappointed.
Much of this book feels derivative and at times it reads like a computer game, with Harold having to find certain things, perform certain actions and buy special equipment. The voice itself is also off-putting, with Harold often referring to himself in the third person or editorialising on other characters and sometimes the action jumps between scenes with key information missing. The most interesting character is Kli-Kli the goblin jester. He recognises Harold as the legendary shadow dancer from legend and his mix of intuitive comments and practical jokes keep things entertaining.
The flashback scenes are well written in the third person (although one is highly reminiscent of the legendary Spartan defence of a key pass).
It’s an okay enough story and once you get used to Harold’s voice it’s an easy enough read. It’s just that there are other high fantasy stories out there that are doing new things.
The Verdict:
It’s a traditional quest-type high fantasy and as such there isn’t a great deal that’s new in the story or the characterisation. It takes a while to get used to Harold’s voice, but once you do it’s an easy enough read.
An army is gathering: thousands of fell creatures joining forces from all across the Desolate Lands, united for the first time in history under one black banner. By the spring, or perhaps sooner, the Nameless One and his forces will be at the walls of the great city of Avendoom.
Unless Shadow Harold, master thief, can stop them.
Epic fantasy at its best, Shadow Prowler is the first in a trilogy that follows professional thief Shadow Harold on his quest for a long-lost artefact that will save the Kingdom of Siala. Bound by oath to fulfil his commission, even if he dies trying, Harold is accompanied by an elven princess and her escort, ten Wild Hearts, the most dangerous fighters in the world; and by the king’s court jester – who may be more than he seems.
Shadow Harold is the best thief in the City of Avendoom, which is why the King Stalkon wants him to recover the Rainbow Horn from Hrad Spein – a legendary underground palace come burial ground built by orcs an elves and filled with traps. It’s a dangerous mission and time is of the essence. The Rainbow Horn is the only device powerful enough to contain the Nameless One – a magician who years ago was transformed into an evil being and who controls hordes of orcs (creatures who hate men and the so-called lesser races and seek their destruction). Unless the Nameless One can be contained, the world of men will be destroyed.
Yet Harold knows that getting into Hrad Spein and surviving is going to be almost impossible. The only map of it is in a part of the City destroyed by a magical accident many years earlier and abandoned. Few people who go in return. Even assuming that he gets the map, there’s still the journey to Hrag Spein and while he’ll be accompanied by ten Wild Hearts (specialist warriors renowned for their toughness), a powerful Elven princess and magician and the goblin court jester, Ki-Ki, there’s no guarantee that they’ll make it through the hostile territory alive.
A Russian bestseller and translated into English by Andrew Bromfield, fans of traditional high fantasy will enjoy the quest element which will presumably unfold over all three books. However, those looking for something different will be disappointed.
Much of this book feels derivative and at times it reads like a computer game, with Harold having to find certain things, perform certain actions and buy special equipment. The voice itself is also off-putting, with Harold often referring to himself in the third person or editorialising on other characters and sometimes the action jumps between scenes with key information missing. The most interesting character is Kli-Kli the goblin jester. He recognises Harold as the legendary shadow dancer from legend and his mix of intuitive comments and practical jokes keep things entertaining.
The flashback scenes are well written in the third person (although one is highly reminiscent of the legendary Spartan defence of a key pass).
It’s an okay enough story and once you get used to Harold’s voice it’s an easy enough read. It’s just that there are other high fantasy stories out there that are doing new things.
The Verdict:
It’s a traditional quest-type high fantasy and as such there isn’t a great deal that’s new in the story or the characterisation. It takes a while to get used to Harold’s voice, but once you do it’s an easy enough read.
