eBook Publisher: LOK Publishing
First Published: 2021
Pages: 817
It's been a long time since I posted a review. Maybe the books I've been reading just haven't been as inspiring as I need them to be in order to be in the 'right' mood for a review? Maybe I got a bit burned out, (all of my own making), from feeling the pressure to update the blog? Or just possibly, the types of genres of the books I've been reading finally got to me and I needed a rest? Whatever it was, I'm glad that I seem to have my mojo back, and more reviews will be following (both on this blog as well as in print if various editors like my submissions).
I'm going to start of with a couple of High/Epic Fantasy novels that I completed whilst on holiday in the last few weeks. Both come from the pen(s) of father and son writing partnership - Dan and Robert Zangari, and take place within their fantasy realm of Kalda. To start off, we are going to look at The Prisoner of Tardalim.
The Zangaris have been self-publishing for a few years now, and have created their own publishing house, Legend of Kalda (LOK for short). So far they have published a few novels and a handful of short stories based in their world. In some ways I consider them in the same arena as Michael J. Sullivan, who has flirted with self-publishing recently to great success (in my opinion) with his Legends of the First Empire sequence and its' follow up, The Rise and Fall.
In addition, the Zangaris (like Sullivan) have used Kickstarter to initiate some of their products. I'm a big fan of Kickstarter as you'll notice from Digital Bibliophilia's twitter account, where I occassionally post tweets highlighting my support of various fiction products - admittedly most of which are heavily linked with Sherlock Holmes. There are a lot of writers and would-be authors who use this platform to try and get their work out into the 'real' world and I have to say that based upon my experience with this product (and Sullivan's, albeit after having been published), it's one that you shouldn't ignore - there are some really good pieces work out there.
Okay, let's get stuck into the book. The Prisoner of Tardalim is actually a prequel to the first novel in the main storyline of the Legends of Kalda. The time difference from what I can recall is never specified, however there is a character tie-in between the two series of books that gives the impression we are talking about a number of decades seperating the two tales. I took the decision to read the prequel first, which is counter to the actual publication order. This is somethig I rarely do, but in this case I decided to make an exception and see how it would affect the experience. At the time of writing, both the main series and the prequel series have not had their repsective sequels published, so this is going to be a developing experiment.
The central protagonist in this novel is a young Sorothian mage by the name of Amendal Aramien. We join him as he is returning home after carrying out the Aramien family tradition of journeying into a dangerous foregin land in order to attempt to 'capture' rare fantastical creatures. He is a Conjurer, an order of mages who are able to enthrall and capture creatures and store them inside a magical realm. When needed, conjurers are able to recall them from that land, and by taking control of the animals minds, control their actions and thoughts. Almost like a fantasy fiction version of a Pokemon or Yu-gi-oh player, they can summon as many insects, birds, magical creatures or elemental entities to do their bidding for them.
Rather relunctantly, Amendal finds himself roped into assisting an expeditionary force who are travelling to a once-believed mythical continent in order to explore the fabled Prison of Tardalim. With the promise of adventure, the chance to capture creatures unknown to exist anywhere else in the lands of Kalda, and the chance to discover lost technology (items known as Tevisrals) which are capable of achieving seemingly wonderful feats, he sets off across the seas accompanied by his closest friends (all mages of different orders) and a large force of allies from a foreign country to the frozen wastes of Tardalim.
As the journey begins it becomes clear that the intent of their allies from the country known as Mindolarn are not quite as honourable as was claimed when the expedition was being organised. The Sorothian magic-wielders appear to have been brought along simply to assist the Mindolarnians in gaining access to the Prison in order to retrieve something far more sinister than anyone can imagine. Amendal has to balance his desire to gather an increasingly powerful menagarie with the safety of his friends and the rest of the expedition.
I wasn't sure if reading the books out of publication order would be confusing. Dan and Robert Zangari have developed a highly complex and detailed world with an epic backstory. The good news is that it didn't have any noticable negative effect, everything in this book is clearly explained and demonstrated through top-notch story-telling, and you do not need to have any prior knowledge of Kalda to enjoy this book. I'm certain that readers who will have read the main series first would get all the nice little references and call-backs, but for me none of that interfered with my enjoyment.
The story is so engaging and the characters feel just right for this type of fantasy epic. There is enough interaction between Amendal and his colleagues to create a good rapport with each person. The novel is split into Parts, and there is a nicely illustrated page at the start of each one that highlights which characters you are going to experience the story through. Of course Amendal is the main person, but the other key players have just the right amount of time to allow you to follow the plot when Amendal is otherwise engaged, or when their own perspective provides interesting insight.
I really loved how the book was able to take me on a fantastical journey, without ever having any boring or overly expositional sections. Each and every scene was pertinent, interesting or revealing. The action sequences, of which there are quite a few, were thoroughly thrilling to read. Amendal and his magic-weilding friends are very often thrown into perilous situations, and through his conjurers ability to recall enthralled beasts, a lot of the action feels like you are witnessing scenes from a Ray Harryhausen movie. Imagine a battle between The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms versus two King Kongs with a few Lord of the Rings Ents thrown in and you'll get the picture.
There is promise of more books in this prequel series, and that really excites me. The ending of The Prisoner of Tardalim, although being completely satisfying for this book, promises more interesting devlopements in the future (well, in the past I guess as its a prequel, but you know what I mean).
This was a real winner and I would encourage anyone who likes fantasy fiction to at least give it a try. For my part, all I can say is that after finishing this one I went straight on to read The Princes Errand by the Zingaris without any hesitation.
No comments:
Post a Comment