Customer Reviews

Arch Wizard (The Falconfar Saga Series)

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

 

 

The most glaring thing about this series so far is the fact that the main character, Rod Everlar (probably an anagram for something) is THE WHINIEST "hero" I've read since the Thomas Covenant books. He spends TWO books whining about how he's just a misplaced writer, pity poor me, yadda yadda. The difference is that at least Rod *accepts* he's in a strange new world -- but that hardly changes his behavior. I was expecting that, after the end of the first book "Dark Lord" Rod would be toughed up, possibly even a little nuts. See, Rod is betrayed, captured by a Doom and then tortured for a prolonged period by the evil Doom who dissects bits of Rod to see what will grow back. Nope. In Arch Wizard he's back to his whiny self (puking when he sees people killed) -- say, dude, didn't you spend an indeterminate amount of time being TORTURED in horrible ways after your lady love was stolen by yet another Doom?? Haven't you decided to get serious about this magic stuff you keep being baffled by?

Sheesh! Lots of other side plots, hard to keep interest the way Greenwood bounced back and forth between about 5-6 other character groupings. I hope in book three (which I may buy used this time) our whiny wizard steps it up and gets his butt into gear!!!

Rod Everlar, successful author of fantasy novels, never knew the fantasy world of Falconfar was real until the night Taeauna fell out of his dreams. Taeauna is one of the few Aumrarr left. They are a race of winged warrior women that once numbered in the hundreds or thousands. Taeauna had lost her wings in battle just prior to meeting Rod. The fantasy writer now dwells in Falconfar. He wants nothing to do with magic, though all call him a wizard. All Rod wants is to rescue Taeauna who was kidnapped by the wizard calling himself Malraun the Matchless.

Malraun has bespelled Taeauna's mind. She is now his bodyguard and minion. Malraun and Narmakoun scheme to kill each other and rule Falconfar. Soon Raurklor, hold of Ironthorn, will become the most important battleground of all.

Narmakoun, Doom of Galath, is a ruthless and manipulative wizard. With his dead female minions and the greatfangs he breeds, Narmakoun seeks the magic of Lorontar, the true Archwizard of Falconfar. Most believe Lorontar to be long dead. Narmakoun believes otherwise.

**** The first few pages tell "The Story Thus Far". This will refresh readers' minds of the events from the previous book (Dark Lord) and picks up where the cliff hanger ending left off. There is no single character the story follows. The cast of characters is large. (Named characters are listed in the back of the book with references as to their role in the saga.) I found the story to be wonderful, as all books I have ever read from this author are. Lots of scheming people, magic, and another cliff hanger ending (of course). Well worth your time and money; however, I suggest waiting until the third Falconfar title is released before beginning to read them. That way the ending of each will not be so disappointing. All-in-all, a brilliant saga! ****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

In this sequel to Dark Lord, we return to the world of Falconfar, to find the Dooms of Falconfar locked in a life-and-death struggle. There are plots within plots, and as the Dooms struggle, they are tearing the world apart. And Rod Everlar, the erstwhile fantasy author, he still traverses Falconfar in his quest to find Taeauna, the wingless Aumrarr with whom he has fallen in love. Rod Everlar is determined to rescue Taeauna...if he can stay alive long enough to do it!

Overall, I must say that I enjoyed this book as much as I did the Dark Lord. I like the world of Falconfar, and I liked the nonstop action of the story that moves from crisis to crisis with virtually no letup. Just like in the first book, the sexuality of the story is disturbing and unnecessary - not interesting in an erotic way, and frankly off-putting. Also, another problem with this book is that, being the second book in a series, it has no real beginning and no real end. Some authors succeed in making each book in a series a complete stand-alone story, but sadly Mr. Greenwood did not do that with Arch Wizard.

But, nonetheless, I had a lot of fun with this book, and can't wait to get on to the third (and final?) book of the series. I like a fantasy story with lots of magic and swordplay and daring do, and I got plenty of each with this book. Not everyone likes this story, but I know that I do!

Let me start by disclosing that I am not an avid reader of the fantasy genre. I mostly read non-fiction but when I do read fiction I am drawn towards science fiction and mystery, and I hope to find some fantasy books that I like.

Dark Lord: Book One of the Falconfar Saga wasn't very enjoyable for me, I was very relieved after I finished reading it and Arch Wizard was a very similar experience for me.

It was frustrating for me to keep track of the multiple characters throughout the story, all of their parts told in very small sections of very small chapters. It became difficult for me to remember who each character is after I had read on and not heard of them again and seeing as how many of the characters were very similar.

In the few instances where the plot progressed cohesively from one character's perspective I greatly enjoyed the book. I would have liked it if the author didn't try to rapidly switch from one character's plot to another so quickly because I found it rather annoying to be left hanging for so long waiting to get back to a plot that won't be fresh in your mind.

There is a lot to like about Arch Wizard, though, and I do think fans of the fantasy genre will like it. Greenwood has a gift for description and throughout the book illustrates very beautiful imagery as well as the very grotesque and morbid. Some of the characters, Garfist and Iskarra in particular, are actually quite deep and intriguing, though they don't play as much a part as the pretentious bore that is Rod Everlar.

I would recommend this book (and it's predecessor) to any fans of Greenwood or the fantasy genre. If you like wizards, dragons, winged ladies, blood, magic, etc. you just may like the story of Falconfar, though it is not very deep or original.

Book two of the series provides the second adventure in the 'Falconfar' saga and is a pick for any fan of the prior adventure story. Here Rod continues his struggles in a fantasy world he's created, this time pursuing dark wizard Malraun and encountering an army of evil in the process. A powerful fantasy saga, this is a pick for any strong fantasy collection.