reviewed by Lyn McConchie.
I’ve been reading this series for a couple of years now and I’m looking forward to finding the cash to buy the next ones available in the series. The story is basically a quest stretching over a several years road trip with those involved travelling towards the quest’s achievement.
Dale is stranded on a planet where wizards have power. Once down on the planet he begins to accumulate a group who will follow him, some voluntarily, others not quite so willingly. Here and there one drops out, but numbers are usually made up by another who comes along and joins them.
At the start of this volume we have Dale, his friend Jarl, Aerline, a local girl Dale married who is also a sorceress, Kheri, a city thief who originally joined Dale unwillingly, his magically symbiotic twin, Kaowin, Farran, 27th son of a Baron, Sas an ex-trainee-assassin, and Rik, a city bully. In the course of this book they add Raven, a deposed godling, Pharcle, an alien, Thorgeld, a dwarf, Erran, a miniature demon, and a couple of imps. You can’t say that this group is bland.
At the beginning of the book the group has left the city of Villenspell and is heading for where King Yaybar – of the prophesy they received – may even now be fighting for his life against the Gorg invasion. They need to reach him in time to help but his kingdom is on the other side of the world and it isn’t going to be easy to reach the king at all, let alone in any reasonable time.
Again, throughout this book the companions are on the move, most stops of any length being when something goes wrong. The first of these episodes occurs when they cross into a land ruled by a godling, Raven, who calls Kaowin to him – possibly to cause him injury or death. Dale follows and fights the godling, winning the battle and afterwards one of the major gods appears and Raven’s powers and lands are taken from him. He chooses to join the group and travel on with them.
Raven, his character improving, saves a sprite from a spider’s-web, Aerline heals her, and the ruler of the Sprite Realm offers them help. They accept what is offered and after being taken by a difficult path back to their own world from that of the Sprites they travel on again.
They reach the mountain they need to pass, and the road takes them into deep tunnels and caves. This isn’t a path that is quick or easy, as in succession they fight a golum, discover a forgotten outpost of Dale and Jarl’s people where Pharcle, a stranded alien is freed to go with them, Aerline summons Erran, a very small demon, they meet Thorgeld, an old dwarf who elects to join them, a host of imps appear and cause real trouble while large portions of the cave’s roofs fall in trapping the horses which are killed or eaten by cave trolls.
Several of the group are developing dark suspicions now about the Villenspell wizard who helped them, and Kheri is shot while finding an escape route. It transpires that a man, under the command of another godling who is trying to murder Raven, has done this. Jarl tries to teleport to where he may find replacement mounts, but his ‘port’ is intercepted. Once again the group is stalled, in trouble, and all at sea in a wizard’s castle. There they find a trapped, enspelled dragon, whom they release. And thereafter things go wrong to an even greater degree – where this book ends.
Again, I enjoyed Wizards and Wanderers, good characters, great adventures, an intriguing mix of magic and science, and solid plotting.
I continue to buy and read the series and recommend it.