Customer Reviews

Cometh a Grey Host

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

 

 

Cometh A Grey Host, by Richard D. Farley, is a wonderful tale. Set in a mythical world of the author's creation, our hero, Aubaine of the Quarterstaff, is an honorable thief who has wandered far from his homeland to experience his world. As the story begins, Aubaine has recently wandered into a region of his world that is inhabited mostly by the 'races of Men,' but Aubaine, while still considered Human, is of another race.

As he is of a slightly different skin color than the locals and, apparently, somewhat larger than average, his actions are noticed easily by those who would be his friends. And by those with more sinister designs. His adventurings soon bring him into contact with a grey host, a multitude of shadowy creatures that threaten to destroy his world. Aubaine and his friends must flee from this legion, but they are determined to discover and reckon with the source of this threat to their existence.

Cometh A Grey Host might remind you of the Tolkien Trilogy or Robert Jordan's series, The Wheel of Time. But, at around 90,000 words, this is a shorter, faster-moving saga. Mr. Farley has created a rich landscape for this tale-a unique geography, flora, and fauna-and, happily, the descriptions are not repetitive as frequently found in longer books. I found this tale enchanting, and the delicate prose was a pleasure to read.

Having read countless science fiction / fantasy novels over the years, I found Richard Farley's tale "Cometh a Grey Host" extremely entertaining. It has all the elements I like to see in such a work: magic, violence, sex, plot twists. Farley's Tolkien-esque style and thoughtful character transitions kept me up late into the night turning the pages. Which brings me to another point - Farley doesn't drone on and on with lengthy, irrelevant details (some of Anne Rice's fiction comes to mind, though I enjoy her tales, as well)... yet he manages to develop realistic characters, developing them as the story moves along. And move along it does! At just under 300 pages, it's a comfortable weekend read without consuming all your time. If you're into this genre at all, I wholeheartedly recommend you give this up-and-coming author a chance! I enjoyed the book and I _hope_ he comes out with something new soon. Not since Zelazny have I been so caught up in a tale. Refreshing new ideas mixed in with classic fantasy. What more could you want? Perhaps a sequel...