Customer Reviews

The A'Rak

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I give this only 3 stars because I became annoyed at the alternating narrator device employed by Shea. For reasons only he knows, he wanted to present the story from a different perspective, so probably 40 percent of the book is from the perspective of Nifft's counterpart. The bad thing is that the female counterpart is honorable and adheres to a strict honor code. We Nifft fans want the old Nifft tales where rules were meant to be broken.

There is a lot of backstory in this book, and the plot contrivance is basic (i.e. chase from one goal to the next).

But there are some moments of great description, style, humor and action that is very "Nifft-like" that should please readers of the incomparable "Incompleat Nifft". Chances are, all of you have read that first collection. If not, drop what you are doing, and read it now. Its a rare 10 carat diamond in a sea of costume junk.

I have loved Shea's stories about Nifft the Lean since NIFFT THE LEAN, his first Nifft collection, came out in 1982. (I'd love to see what, say, George Lucas or Spielberg could do with "The Fishing of the Demon-Sea" or "Come, Then, Mortals, We Will Seek Her Soul," maybe starring Will Smith as the intrepid Nifft -- nbody else I can think of has quite the panache, the dash, the daring, the attitude, and the ability to clock somebody a good one before he, she, or it can do him serious damage that would go with Nifft.) _The A'rak_ continues in this same tradition. Not only is it a great adventure story, but it is one of the finest satires on our current political scene of any I've ever read. Long may Nifft wave!

Having been a Nifft the Lean fan since the first book, I eagerly bought and devoured The Mines of Behemoth. In the final installment in the saga, The A'rak, however, I did not care for the changing between Nifft and Lagademe as narrators. That being said, I did enjoy every page and recommend it to all. A very vivid world, bizarre creatures and one of fantasy's most original heroes await you.