Customer Reviews

The Rover

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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).

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.

This wondrous novel was a nice, lighthearted and easy read. It will probably only take you a week to read because you just want to know what happens next. This fantasy book is a great read for anyone at any age. Even though there really is not a plot the events are ones that will entertain you forever as Edgewick Lamplighter takes them on. The events are not quite original yet Odom makes them engrossing. You will flip the pages faster than you can imagine with this delight read. I LOVED THIS NOVEL!!! I wish I could give it ten stars!

Everyone else has very nicely outlined the plot of this book, so I won't go there. I will just say that once you start reading this book you will not be able to put it down.

The little librarian hero, Wick, careens from adventure to adventure with almost nonstop action. Yet the author does not neglect the characters. Wick is wonderful to read about, and he is surrounded by a cast of equally colorful characters. A warning, though, this book only gives hints at the huge backstory of the world Wick travels. Some readers may find this to be frustrating, as they are used to the current fad in fantasy of massive books telling every detail of a world from every possible point of view. I, however, enjoy a bit of mystery and puzzle to my stories and enjoyed trying to figure out things along with Wick!

I do hope Mel Odom writes more about Wick and his world. This book, while nicely wrapped up at the end, left me longing to know more of this world!

THE ROVER begins in the Vault of All Known Knowledge in Graydawn Moors. Years prior to the story, the Cataclysm decimated populations and ravaged whole races, and the world's books were brought to the vault where they have been stored and protected for many years. Edgewick "Wick" Lamplighter, a young (only seventy years old) dweller is a Third Level Librarian at the Vault. Wick loves his work as a librarian and especially enjoys books from Hralbomm's Wing, the area of the library where imaginative, adventure stories are kept. Throughout his own adventures, Wick never strays from describing himself as a librarian but by the end of THE ROVER, his work experience on a resume would be quite extensive. Wick is captured by pirates and aboard the One-Eyed Peggie, he progresses from potato peeler and dishwasher to proper pirate in just eight days. He and the other pirates have many encounters while sailing on the Blood-Soaked Sea, but Wick becomes a hero when he saves the ship from being burned by an Embyr, a princess who is caught in a spell that has taken away her memory and requires her to burn for revenge. The Captain offers Wick a reward for saving the ship, and Wick asks for the packing paper so he can record his experiences in pictures and words. Historian can be added to his resume at this point as he tells tales from the past, writes the stories of the pirates, and of course, records his own adventures. When the One-Eyed Peggie is threatened by a slave ship of goblinkin, Wick is forced to surrender himself to the goblinkin in order to save the pirates who have become his friends. Wick's life becomes even more complicated after he is sold on the slave market, and by the end of his adventures, he can add thief, artist, author, and dragon slayer to his resume.

Mel Odom, author of THE ROVER, received the Alex Award from the American Library Association. This award recognizes outstanding adult fiction and non-fiction books that appeal to a broad cross-section of teen readers. Odom has had over 100 books published, including books in the SABRINA THE TEENAGE WITCH series and BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER series.

Action in THE ROVER centers on Wick, the little librarian, but the other characters are also intriguing. Wick's encounter with the Embyr is brief, but she makes a distinct impression because of Wick's story about her past and her reaction to his story. Brant, the leader of the group of thieves, is also a fascinating individual, a mysterious figure in black who emerges as a likeable protector of a band of misfits. Some of the other characters who appear for a short time make a strong impact, and they make the reader hope for more of their stories in future Mel Odom novels. The settings are always clear - from the depiction of the differences between the dweller and the dwarven homes in Graydawn Moors to the complicated description of the tunnels, lakes, and caverns in the mine shaft. The story moves smoothly, taking time to provide background information, develop characters, add a sense of place, while keeping action at a fast pace.

THE ROVER will appeal to all who, like Wick, think adventures in real life are much too dangerous but, also like Wick, love the excitement that can be borrowed from books. Whether a librarian, potato peeler, pirate, dishwasher, historian, thief, artist, author, and dragon slayer, the reader will enjoy Wick's story and his attributes that could be listed as admirable qualities on any resume - curious, experienced, dependable, resourceful, imaginative and brave. Wick becomes a friend, and readers will close the book looking forward to a sequel.

I really enjoyed this book. It is one of the best adventures I've read since The Hobbit. The story is fast paced. The characters are so believable you care about them. If you are looking for a fantasy novel with classic adventure, read The Rover.

This is the first fantasy adventure book I can remember reading where the hero beats the bad-guys using his skills as a librarian. What are those skills? Knowledge of history, knowledge about people and animals (acquired through books), etc. With each part of the book, I was wondering how librarian skills could help little Wick out.

Sure it uses cliched themes made popular by Tolkien, D&D, etc.(How come no one's commented upon this?), but the action is fast-paced (despite comparisons to the great Terry Brooks, whose action flows very slowly), the cover art is fun to look at (The Bros. Hildebrant have come a long way, in terms of style, since they illustrated the Sword of Shannara), and the air is one of geniune interest and wonder.
The tale follows Edgewick lamplighter, a dweller (sort of like a hobbit,but with bald feet) and third-level librarian at the vault of all knowledge, the only library remaining since the great cataclysm. The chief librarian, upset by his idleness but willing to give him a chance, gives him the task of delivering a strange, lumpy package to a local post office. After delivering it, he can't help but follow the mysterious soldier who picks it up. While pursuing this man, Edgewick is attacked by mythical creatures of darkness, and, unknowingly slaying one, he is kidnapped by pirates who admire his talents, beginning a great adventure of wizards, hidden crypts, mysterious puzzles, and fierce dragons.(the dragon may seem a bit Smaug-like to cliche-haters, but wait'll ya see how he's defeated!)
A great delight, and a wonderful page-turner.

I devoured this 400 page novel and absorbed the story with such intensity I was immediately addicted. The Rover's main character, a timid librarian who oozes frailty, brings us with him on his adventure. I'm not saying "takes us with him" because the reader willingly follows him. As Wick witnesses the events between the fingers held over his eyes, the readers will feel themselves wanting to pull them apart so we can see more. And what makes this book so great is that we DO get to see more.

Mel Odom tantalizes the reader with every paragraph and gives us just enough of a taste to want more but doesn't allow us to gorge ourselves until we're full. The characters are full of life, the story is sooooo well-paced, the world is mysterious, and you can almost "feel" Wick's experience as he travels and sometimes trips into his next encounters. I hope there is another adventure for Wick in the near future because I haven't thoroughly enjoyed reading this much since I discovered The Sword of Shannara 15 years ago.

As a librarian myself, I really enjoyed this book. Edgewick Lamplighter, third-level librarian at the Vault of All Known Knowledge, has a reputation for his absent-mindedness and for having his head up in the clouds, thanks to the thrilling adventures he is always reading about. And READING about them is what he is comfortable doing, thank you very much. As a halfling (think Bilbo Baggins) he enjoyes a quiet life away from danger and adventure. But one day, danger and adventure drag him away from his home!

One day, he is ordered to bring a mysterious package down to the post office. His curiosity gets the better of him, and he follows a cloaked stranger down to the docks. The next thing he knows, he is being chased by evil wraiths, bent on his destruction! This is only the beginning of an epic adventure that will see Wick shanghaid by pirates, sold into slavery, and adopted by a band of thieves.

This adventure is well paced and fun. In addition, it poses some interesting philosophical questions about the role and mission of libraries in society, as well as open access to information. I enjoyed Mr. Odom's writing style and story line. The events and characters were well developed and believable. I would have liked to have known more about the mysterious stranger in the first couple of chapters of the book, however. Maybe there will be a sequel?

All in all, an entertaining piece of fantasy literature. If you enjoyed THE HOBBIT, you will like this.