Customer Reviews

Wanderer

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Readers of Cherry Wilder's "Rulers of Hylor" will return to a world familiar to them from the pages of _A Princess of the Chameln_, _Yorath the Wolf_, and _The Summer King_, but Reimann cannot match the graceful prose style and light-handed touch that made Wilder a master fantasist.

This reader can easily tell where Wilder's plot-notes end and Reimann's authorship begins. For fantasy fans not already familiar with Wilder's tales may find this a satisfying read, but those who have appreciated the subtlety with which Wilder weaves magic into her stories will find _The Wanderer_ to be blunt and heavy-handed by comparison.

For those eager for a bit more of Wilder's Hylor, and curious to know "what happened after", this book does carry the overall story further and will not disappoint. For those who miss Wilder's elegant prose and slowly unfolded plots, this book cannot supply the lack.

I read a lot of sci-fi and fantasy, and am always looking for something interesting. I picked this book up at the library recently, without knowing anything about Cherry Wilder. Now I am hooked. This book is very good, and balances the use of magic and physical combat in an interesting way. The main character, Gael, uses her head to overcome adversaries far more often than not. But she is a skilled soldier who will plunge into a fight when necessary.

I had a feeling this book was part of a larger set, and that turned out to be true as there is a whole Hylor series. The author(s)' depiction of Hylor and its competing kingdoms is detailed and very interesting. The theme is typical fantasy fare, featuring key interactions with a departing elf-like people (why are they never arriving?) but I always forgive that kind of thing and keep reading.

The best part of this book, in my opinion, is the depiction of the kedran, a whole class of female cavalry that serves in multiple kingdoms, and how Gael obtains respect due to her leadership and soldier skills.

The book is a fast, good read and I plan to read the other Hylor books.

Growing up in an impoverished peasant croft family in the Chyrian lands of Mel?Nir, Gael Maddoc has no hope to escape from farm life. She detests toiling the land, finding it boring and costly especially when she looks at her parents and two older siblings. She sees nothing positive in her future though she dreams of adventure.

That changes when Gael turns seventeen as the priest Druda Strawn sees something in her especially after she gave to him last year the ancient map parchment she found. He arranges for her to train with the Summer Riders as a true battlemaid while her family?s back taxes are paid. Gael leaps at the opportunity to train as a mounted soldier and easily adapts to the military regiment with her background helping her with a stoic acceptance.

The Shee Fair Folk also notice something special about Gael as they believe she is the legend, the Wanderer, "the chosen servant of the light folk". They begin guiding her for she is the hope to save the realm.

Though the great Cherry Wilder died two years ago, readers will agree that THE WANDERER is wonderful homage to her terrific fantasy series, ?The Rulers of Hylor?. Fans will not be able to delineate between Ms. Wilder and Katya Reimann who apparently completed this tale. The story line is fast-paced from the moment Gael becomes a soldier in training and never slows down as The Wanderer tries to make things right. Without any gimmicks, readers obtain a realm scarred by war and betrayal with a pinch of magic as a flavoring. This is a fitting tribute.

Harriet Klausner