The Rover (Mass Market Paperback)

by Mel Odom (Author) "Shadows, Wick thought sourly as he studied the treacherous mass of darkness at the end of the long bookcase, are foul and nasty things..." (more)
Key Phrases: One-Eyed Peggie, Hanged Elf's Point, Captain Farok (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
This amiable, inoffensive Tolkienesque fantasy from bestselling author Odom will satisfy the same teenaged and young adult readers who flock to the author's Buffy and Angel novelizations. Older readers, however, will find the adventures of Wick, the book's hobbit-sized dweller hero, tedious. As a "Third Level Librarian in the Vault of All Known Knowledge," Wick can read, unlike most of the odd creatures he meets oxymoronic "big dwarves," trolls, goblinkin, Boneblights in a series of contrived encounters that make up the overlong story. Shanghaied by pirates (dwarves who seem on the verge of bursting into Gilbert and Sullivan's "Tarantara, tarantara"), Wick saves the pirate ship from a flaming female Embyr, but the plot doesn't really catch fire until midway through, when humans, in particular the engaging leader of a band of thieves to whom Wick is sold as a slave, push the dwarves offstage. In the familiar tradition of The Lord of the Rings, Wick rescues a beautiful elven lady from a web spun by a huge spider, decodes a puzzle using his reading skills and defeats a colossal dragon by inadvertently dropping its gem-heart into a lava mountain. It's no wonder that by tale's end "the little librarian," as the author likes to refer to Wick, has grown in self-confidence and esteem. With the movie of The Fellowship of the Ring on the horizon, this knock-off from the Master can only benefit from the reading public's insatiable appetite for all things Tolkienian. (Aug. 27)
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal
Adult/High School-Edgewick Lamplighter is a third-level librarian in the basement of the Great Library. The bookish, fearful, pint-sized fellow's vast knowledge of the world has been acquired through reading. When the Master sends the halfling to deliver a package/letter to a warder on the Yonderling Docks, his curiosity gets the best of him. Wick follows the man down an alley and saves him when he is attacked by creatures called Boneblights, sent by the evil Lord Kharrion. Wick is shanghaied by pirates, given to goblins to be sold as a slave, and then adopted by a gang of thieves. In for the adventure of his life, the quiet librarian wants nothing more than to be at home in bed reading. The development of Wick's character is as good as the weefolk in Terry Brooks's The Sword of Shannara (Ballantine, 1983) and in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit (Houghton, 1938). Odom has created a likable, believable character who will continue his adventures as a newly promoted Second Level Librarian in charge of great books. Fans of the movie version of Tolkien's Fellowship of the Ring (Houghton, 1982) will be looking for books to satisfy their interest in weefolks. Readers will enjoy the wealth of creatures in this tale of magic, mystery, and self-discovery, and will stand up and cheer for this little guy who reaches for his best shot and saves the day.

Linda G. Sinclair, Alexandria Library, VA

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Tor Fantasy; 1st edition (September 16, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765341948
• ISBN-13: 978-0765341945
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #283,774 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wick's Big Adventure, October 1, 2002

By	Carolyn Faseler (Norman, Oklahoma) - See all my reviews

THE ROVER by Mel Odom is an entertaining tale about Edgewick (Wick) Lamplighter, a librarian in the Vault of All Known Knowledge. Wick, a three foot high dwarf-"dweller", is shanghaied by pirates and experiences an heroic journey that takes him to many exotic and dangerous places. During his adventures his curious nature slowly evolves and he becomes a giant of heroic proportions. The bad guys in Wick's world are goblinkin who delight in torturing dwellers, an Embyr who is a beautiful young woman trapped in a forgetful and flaming body, and Shengharck, a vicious dragon who can crisp his enemies in a heartbeat. When Wick finally gets back home to Greydawn Moors, he realizes that the books he'd chosen to read had provided him with lots of important knowledge about the world unknown to him previously.

Mel Odom is a gifted writer who works in many fields: fantasy, game related fiction, science fiction, movie novelizations, horror, young adult, juvenile computer strategy guides, action-adventure, and comics.

Wick's growth throughout the story is phenomenal. Frightened of shadows in the beginning, his courage is activated by evil doers and eventually zooms into the stratosphere at the end. Getting the answers to perplexing questions and mysteries is no problem for Wick because he draws on a vast reservoir of knowledge extracted from books deemed frivolous by Grandmagister Frollo. Because none of the bad guys can read, Wick's story reveals how evil is perpetuated by ignorance and superstition.

The "little librarian" will capture the interest of an extensive array of readers who can look forward to two more books in this series of page-turners. Don't miss them.

Mel Odom's huge and loyal following of readers have loved these novels in the fantasy genre: THE LOST LIBRARY OF CORMANTHYR, THE THREAT FROM THE SEA TRILOGY, and RESSURECTION.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book!, September 11, 2001

By	Kurt A. Johnson (Marseilles, Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Rover (Hardcover)

Edgewick "Wick" Lamplighter, Third Level Librarian and (Hobbit-like) Dweller, spends all of his life in the service of the Vault of All Known Knowledge. However, though the library is his job, his mind rests on the adventure novels that form a small corner of it. He dreams of adventure, until one day, much to his dismay, his dreams come true. Shanghaied at the docks, he finds himself amongst pirates, slavers, thieves, mercenaries, goblins, wizards, and a whole horde of nasties! This is the roller coaster-ride story of a little man in a big world!

This book started out somewhat slow, and I began to fear that the whole thing would be too slow and verbose. However, once Wick's adventures began, the whole story took off! In this book, Mel Odem paints a picture of a fascinating world, which he populates with interesting characters, and fills with gripping adventure.

Unlike many other Fantasy books, which focus on an era of climactic struggle between good and evil, this one looks at such a world some hundreds of years later. The pieces were not put back together, but instead a Dark Age descended. This is a great book, one that I highly recommend to all Fantasy readers (especially fans of Dungeons and Dragons).

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Libraians and Pirates -- Awash with Adventure!, September 6, 2001

By	C. Reid "go2yourlibrary" (Bloomington, IL USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Rover (Hardcover)

Just when the little librarian, Wick, thinks that life can't get any better than being a Third Level Librarian, with access to all the books in the Vault of All Known Knowledge, he is sent on a mission for the Grandmagister. But Wick, like ALL LIBRARIANS, is a curious little dweller... and finds himself launched into adventures on the high seas and involved with goblins galore.

Like any good library, this book is full of adventure, stories and excitement! (Librarians will love the portrayal as Librarian as Hero and the subtle questioning of the mission of libraries-- Are they there to protect knowledge or share it??) The characters in this book came alive-- pirates, goblins, halflings and ---more!

Read it! It is absolutely wonderful. I am sure Mel will gift us with further adventures of Wick!!

PS Mel-- could you put in a map next time?