The Fire Duke (Keepers of the Hidden Ways, Book 1) [Hardcover]

Joel Rosenberg (Author)

Book Description

Series: Keepers of the Hidden Ways, Book 1 | Publication Date: May 1995

Torrie Thorsen is drawn into a magical world beyond the Hidden Ways, where he must preserve the realm from a legendary necklace with the power to destroy the universe. By the author of Guardians of the Flame. 12,500 first printing.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Rosenberg is best known for his popular Guardians of the Flame series, which postulated a crossover between our universe and a dungeons-and-dragons-style world. Here, he creates a new crossover world, this one based on a rambling version of watered-down Norse mythology. Torrie Thorsen, Ian Silverstein and Maryanne (Maggie) Christensen are college buddies and expert fencers who go vacationing together at the Thorsen residence in North Dakota. A wolf hunt draws Torrie, Ian and the rest of the menfolk away from the house, allowing Maggie and Torrie's mother to be kidnapped by agents of the Fire Duke. To rescue them, Ian must join forces with Torrie's Uncle Hosea, a mysterious and powerful being who helps the young man channel his latent anger at his abusive father into a positive and deadly force. This paean to masculinity, swordsmanship and the Norse way is often hard to take seriously-as when Torrie cheerfully notes that he was more frightened the first time he tried to slip his hand into a girl's bra than he is facing the deadly Fire Duke. Still, armchair Errol Flynns and latter-day Vikings will probably enjoy all the exuberant, if boyish, derring-do.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Rosenberg inaugurates a new and highly promising fantasy series, Keepers of the Hidden Ways. While visiting at a friend's family's farm in the Dakotas, a young fencer discovers that the father is a refugee from Faerie, that the family handyman is something on the order of a Norse god, and that the folk of Faerie (both good and evil) maintains interest in the family. What follows is an excellent and intelligent fantasy adventure in which both a small Great Plains community and the world of Norse mythology (given a few original and witty twists) are used to good effect. In evidence are the wit, scholarship, brisk pacing, good if sometimes wordy characterization, and appreciation of good food that have become hallmarks of Rosenberg's work and bode well for the rest of the series. Roland Green

Product Details

• Hardcover: 354 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow & Co; First Edition edition (May 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688141536
• ISBN-13: 978-0688141530
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,898,854 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Excellent New Story from Joel Rosenberg, March 20, 2000

By 

Allan Bradley - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Fire Duke: Keepers of the Hidden Ways Book One (Mass Market Paperback)

A trip home from college with friends turns into a nightmare with attacking werewolves and a journey to a mythical land..Once again Joel Rosenberg creates characters that you feel you know right down to their soul..Once you read this one you'll have to have the next 2 in the series & they won't dissapoint you..

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Impressive, June 5, 2000

By 

"hess42" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Fire Duke: Keepers of the Hidden Ways Book One (Mass Market Paperback)

Rosenberg starts another 'dual' series here, but with enough of a different spin than the Guardians of the Flame saga that it doesn't feel like he's done it all before. I'm always impressed with the way he gives the reader insight into the history of his characters without being overwhelming. A great mixture of action and insight, the 'what' and the 'why' of what's going on in the story.

And as usual with Rosenberg, the story is excellent. Thorian the Younger and Ian Silverstein are both worthy young heroes, and happily enough carry some baggage with them that actually affects them both positively and negatively throughout the story.

The Keepers series, in my estimation, doesn't quite measure up to _D'Shai_ and _Hour of the Octopus_, but it's definitely in the same ballpark. Solid, entertaining writing, definitely recommended for fans of Rosenberg or fantasy in general.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars well-written fantasy with Norse influences, August 1, 1996

By A Customer

This review is from: The Fire Duke: Keepers of the Hidden Ways Book One (Mass Market Paperback)

Ready for some fencing and Norse gods in your fantasy? This book delivers. Torrie Thorsen, college student, brings his friends home for vacation to rural Minnesota. Rosenberg shows the uniqueness of the family such as the fencing studio in the basement, Uncle Hosea's creations, and the mysterious gold which is the basis of the family fortune. His father's past as the professional duelist of the House of Flame invades the present as werewolves attack through a portal from another world. The beginning of the book is the strongest because of the descriptions of people in rural Minnesota. The character development of Ian Silverstein (Torrie's friend) is very well done. The fantasy world is well-constructed with lots of conflict. The special guest appearances by figures from Norse mythology are fun. I wish there had been more development of the female characters. The second book in the series is The Silver Stone.