The Blind Archer [Paperback]

John Gregory Betancourt (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1988

In a distant time, when Earth was flat and ruled by magic, wizards knew well the perils of sorcery. It was a lesson young Ker Orrum had yet to learn, for he had just discovered the flame of power within him, and he yearned to wield it. When the Oracle spoke of a journey and of a gem, Ker Orrum's fate was sealed: he would wrest the Great Ruby from the mighty god called the Blind Archer. Many others had tried; none had succeeded. Yet Ker Orrum was determined to fulfill his destiny, ignorant of the awesome forces he was about to unleash. Before it was over, his odyssey would sweep him into a horrifying world of vision without sight, where he would need more than magic to conquer the searing wrath of the Faceless Demons!

--This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Ker is reminiscent of Ged of Earthsea and Paul of Dune. Rolicking adventure!" -- Jessica Amanda Salmonson, author of the Tomoe Gozen Saga --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From the Publisher

This is John Betancourt's first novel, written when he was 17, and shows the talent which later made him a bestselling science fiction author. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 233 pages
• Publisher: Avon Books (Mm) (February 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380751461
• ISBN-13: 978-0380751464
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,993,606 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

John Gregory Betancourt (b. October 25, 1963 in Missouri) is a writer of science fiction, fantasy and mystery novels as well as short stories. He has worked as an assistant editor at "Amazing Storie"s and editor of "Horror: The Newsmagazine of the Horror Field," the revived "Weird Tales" magazine, the first issue of "H. P. Lovecraft's Magazine of Horror" (which he subsequently hired Marvin Kaye to edit), "Cat Tales" (which he subsequently hired George H. Scithers to edit), and "Adventure Tales" magazine. He is the writer of four Star Trek novels and the new "Chronicles of Amber" prequel series, as well as a dozen original novels. His essays, articles, and reviews have appeared in such diverse publications as "Writer's Digest," "The Washington Post," and "Amazing Stories."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An interesting read, December 6, 2001

By 

James Manson (St. Paul, MN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Blind Archer (Paperback)

Overall not a bad book. The basic plot is relatively routine. Young nobleman, conflict with father, off on adventure, save the world from evil. It reminds me of the books by Elizabeth Boyer.

The characters are fairly well defined and the system of magic is pretty well set up. There does seem to be a preoccupation with having no faces but it feeds into the storyline well.

The book suffers from it's length. There's simply too many things shoved into a 232 page book. As a longer book or even a short series it would have allowed Betancourt to flesh out the world, the characters and the conflict between the gods and the demons. As it is you finish it and kind of ask yourself " is that it?". He sets up an interesting pantheon of gods but never gets around to giving any information about them except for the one involved in the plot, the Blind Archer. The hints he gave about the others made me curious to find out more about them.

All in all a good bit of light fantasy reading. The author bio in the back stated that Betancourt was planning on more books set in the same world. Apparently he never got around to writing any. Given more time to fill out the details of the world it might have proved interesting to read.