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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
One of the most enjoyable pieces of fantasy I've read in some time, May 4, 2010
This review is from: The Dwarves (Paperback)
Let me start with the negative. I found the book to start very slowly, and struggled for some time getting going. It is a large book and I'm not sure if some of this, as well as some of the dialogue problems owe to the book being writting originally in German and translated for us to English. However, once past the first 100 pages or so I literally couldn't put the book down. It was a quick, enjoyable, action packed, and at times humorous story, with great backgrounds and backdrops.
Is it the greatest piece of fiction ever written? By no means will it be mistaken for that. However, it is an exceptionally enjoyable ride to read it. Maybe akin to the summer action flick blockbuster, that is never going to win an Oscar, but may give you the most enjoyment for your dollar all year. That is this book. Flaws aside, the characters are captivating, the ideas though common enough to fantasy have their own unique and interesting twists, and the book is just darned hard to put down once it gets going.
I couldn't recomend it highly enough, it sits in a treasured spot now in my collection.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
I'm reading War of the Dwarves next!, September 17, 2010
This review is from: The Dwarves (Paperback)
The main heroes in fantasy novels are usually the special human 'chosen one', magicians and elves - so a story where the dwarves take center stage totally got my attention. The story is set in Girdlegard, an enchanted land wherein for hundreds & hundreds of years, the dwarven kingdoms have protected the borders against evil. I started reading the first chapter (prologue) on a whim and just couldn't quite put it down afterwards. This one was a winner - a really well-written prologue about how the dwarves of the Fifthling Kingdom fell victim to the evil of the Perished Land, thus opening up Girdlegard to invasion by evil creatures. That first chapter had heroic dwarf characters and epic battle scenes marked by betrayal and grand tragedy. Sucked me in for sure!
Then the novel goes into the present story proper, and we are introduced to the hero, the scholarly blacksmith dwarf and human foundling Tungdil. He ends up on a mission to save not just his fellow dwarves, but also all the good men and elves of Girdlegard. Markus Heitz doesn't really try to break new ground with his fantasy creatures - elves are elves, dwarves are dwarves, orcs are orcs... same as in 'Lord of the Rings'. He does add new evil creatures like the alfar (twisted elves), and he also give the dwarves a complex and well-structured society & culture (including politics) that hasn't really been delved into that much. And since Tungdil has grown up only amongst humans & knows as little about dwarves as we do, we discover dwarven-society with him as he goes about his mission.
Tungdil is a really likeable character, and I've always had a soft touch for the outsider / nerd turned hero. And the band of characters who end up being on Tungdil's team are a likeable (if mismatched) bunch too - a pair of dwarven warrior-twins, an alcoholic dwarven mason, a drama troupe that includes human (and not quite human) actors & prop master, a rebel magician & her mysterious demon bodyguard - I found myself just drawn in on all the action as Tungdil traveled across Girdlegard before the final battle with Nod'onn (former good magician who is turned by the Perished Land into evil).
I have to say though that the rest of the novel doesn't quite measure up to the brilliance of the first chapter; the quality of the writing becomes a bit uneven after that. For some strange reason, Mr Heitz writes majority of the dwarven characters really well, but fails when he has to write humans. Any chapter that concentrated on the humans (kings, magicians) ended up with stilted dialogue and wooden, flat and poorly developed characterization. Another disappointment for me was how weak Mr Heitz' villains were - from the supposedly villain-to-end-all-villains Nod'onn to the smaller villains - such as Bislipur (a dwarf who becomes Tungdil's adversary).
All in all though, I had a rip roaring time going through Tungdil's journey with him, and if the journey seemed a bit too long and circuitous at times with a bit too many X saves the day coincidences (the book really needed a good editor to trim-off many unneeded scenes), well, gosh-darn-it, I liked Tungdil too much and found the story too entertaining at that point to give up. I'm looking forward to reading the second book in the series 'The War of the Dwarves' next!
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
stinky cheese and beer never sounded so good [no spoilers], August 9, 2010
This review is from: The Dwarves (Paperback)
"The Dwarves" begins an exciting saga following Tungdil Bolofar, an orphaned dwarf raised by humans. The German translated novel presents a phenomenal story packed with great characters, a rich history, and a fun adventure. The blend of excellent political maneuvering and kick "axe" battles in the name of questing generates an instant classic.
The notable secondary characters are Lot-Ionan, magus and father figure to the blacksmith Tungdil, and the giant warrior Djerun, a mysterious guardian to Andôkai, another maga. The magic system though somewhat vague requires great attention from a magus. The dwarven attitude and comments are very entertaining.
An enhanced map of the significant terrains and a more comprehensive appendix would have been useful.
I haven't enjoyed a storyline as much in over a year and highly recommend the series to any fan of the fantasy genre.
Thank you.
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