Owlswick PressPhiladelphia,PA -- ©1989 -- 139pp
ISBN: 0-913896-26-8
illustrated by Stephen Fabian
autogaphed by Darrell Schweitzer
A warrior, wizard, prince challenges the god of the underworld, rescues his unborn daughter from his dead bride, and rules a land where nothing but he and his daughter can live.
I actually quite enjoyed the first half of this book, wherein the prince goes mad upon learning of the death of his bride, throws himself in to the study of wizardry and commences on the journey in to the underworld to steal his bride back. It was exciting and disturbing (this vision of the underworld was well described and unsettling -- a world in which ALL the dead retreat to no matter what god they worshipped in life, and no matter what goods they offer to entice the god of the underworld to provide favor).
The second half of the book, which had the prince, now mad, living on his own island with his daughter whom he held prisoner, fell flat. It was boring and seemed to have no purpose. What was the drive for these last 60+ pages? Where was the story going? Nowhere, it seems.
It felt like an exciting short story that had been extended.
Not a recommended book.
No comments:
Post a Comment