Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #291088 in Books
• Published on: 2007-07-06
• Binding: Hardcover
• 500 pages

Review
The Wanderer's Tale becomes a refreshingly innovative take on the old formula... Bilsborough jettisons the predictable polts that preordained destinies entail. Roll on book two. --Sfx

Synopsis
Many generations ago was destroyed the arctic stronghold of Drauglir. Five hundred years later, rumours spread of the evil demigod's second coming, with terrible consequences for the world of Lindormyn. In the remote northern town of Nordwas a ramshackle group is assembled by the ambitious warrior Nibulus, under the guidance of a mage-priest, to set off on the long and perilous journey back to Melhus to ensure that Drauglir is properly despatched this time round. This quest includes two foreign mercenaries, three bickering priests, a young esquire ...and, last but not least, Bolldhe the unsociable 'wanderer'. Their eventful progress through a desolate terrain embroils them regularly with a wide array of races, creatures, giants and sorcerers - and with terrifying adventures which will affect each of them differently.

Customer Reviews

Shockingly bad...
It is a rare event when I abandon reading a book. In the case of the first book of the Annals of Lindormin, I was glad to.

Things started well. The prologue was snappy, funny and seemed to set up an interesting premise, with a failed evil servant on the run from the forces of good and seemingly reluctant to serve a terrible evil master. There is even a list of weapons in the ObligatoryFantasyAppendix(TM) that seems to be cribbed straight from an old Tunnels and Trolls rulebook. Promising, I thought. Wrongly.

But when that is over, we are dumped back into the realm of turgid sub-Tolkeinesque fantasy that should have died a death with the recent renaissance of dark fantasy - Scott Lynch, Joe Abercrombie, George Martin et al. A group of unsympathetic, poorly characterised adventurers set off on one of the most boring quests since... ooh, Across the Face of The World by Russell Kirkpatrick.

After the first few hundred pages, driving blunt pencils into my eyes would have been better reading yet more of the jarring dialogue and interminable plodding. I skipped to the end. And the epic quest had still not arrived at its destination. Suddenly I was glad I had not wasted more time on this book.

Avoid.

Not up to par
A new author for a new year, however that's about the best that can be said as it's a clichéd blend of novels ranging from Tolkiens work through the Forgotten Realms Saga. That said however you do really have to commend the author for all the hard work that went into the world building as it was really very impressive. Other than that I really felt that David spent way too much time writing, polishing, rewriting and polishing again. He just didn't seem to know where to quit and alas the language is very distracting. All in all, I suppose a great attempt but not one that will make my top list of the this years new releases.

Major disappointment. . .
Well, this novel turned out to be my first major disappointment of the year. . .

Regardless of the number of fantasy books I've read over the years, I'm always thrilled to discover a new talented writer. 2006 brought us a slew of gifted authors such as Scott Lynch, Naomi Novik, Hal Duncan, Brian Ruckley and Joe Abercrombie. Earlier this year, we were introduced to Patrick Rothfuss, whose The Name of the Wind remains a sure candidate for fantasy debut of 2007. Hence, when you discover that both Tor Books and Pan MacMillan have high hopes for David Bilsborough's The Wanderer's Tale, you can't help but be eager to read it.

Still, even though I was excited to read this one, it was quite a struggle for me to reach the last page. And I so wanted to like this novel.

An odd blend of The Fellowship of the Ring, The Sword of Shannara, and various Forgotten Realms books from the late 80s, Bilsborough's The Wanderer's Tale is YA through and through. Pitched to the Paolini crowd, I sincerely believe that this debut has the potential to be a bestseller. But pitched to well-read fans and aficionados of the genre, this book falls short on basically every level.

The most impressive facet of The Wanderer's Tale remains the worldbuilding. Bilsborough's universe resounds with depth. The author's eye for details creates an arresting imagery. And yet, the heavy-handed prose filled with descriptions of all sorts will soon grate on the nerves of even the most patient of readers.

To say that this novel is overwritten would be the understatement of the year. Cutting 25% to 30% of it would get rid of a good chunk of the bloated prose and speed up the pace which leaves a lot to be desired. There seems to be at least one adverb per sentence -- I kid you not!

Sadly, the characters are rather clichéd -- every last one of them. I would be hard-pressed to find another such unappealing cast. There isn't one three-dimensional character in the bunch. For the most part, they are little more than cardboard cut-outs.

The dialogues are juvenile throughout The Wanderer's Tale, which is another reason why I believe it should have been aimed at a younger crowd. To say nothing of the puerile humor contained within the pages of this novel. Unless, of course, you have a thing for someone farting the national anthem. . .

Although the quest remains the biggest cliché associated with the fantasy genre, David Bilsborough shows a fertile imagination. But the execution falls flat, irrevocably so. And with such a stumbling and occasionally clunky narrative, the rhythm is sluggish throughout, with vast portions of chapters in which nothing occurs.

Overwritten, overlong, overhyped. . .

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