The Forging of the Shadows / Oliver Johnson

The Forging of the Shadows

(category: fantasy)
book 1 of The Lightbringer by

Oliver Johnson

published by Legend Books in 1996, read in February 2010

Agamedes' opinion: 7 out of 10

This is an enjoyable -- straightforward -- story. Good guys, bad guys, quests and battle... Sword & sorcery and a climactic... series... of battles. When the remaining goodies are about to be swamped by a tide of thousands of undead -- they are saved by the rising of the sun. But this is not the annoying, Oh goodness, I had forgotten that the sun was about to rise! No, the goodies are battling it out with the thought and hope that they will survive till sunrise. A pleasingly honest approach by the author! The author wrote his first novels for children, and it shows. There is plenty of gore and violence, and sex slaves in a brothel, and sudden death and vicious monsters. Yet there is an overall air of, almost chasteness. No dwelling on the violence, it just happens. No dwelling on rape and sex, it has already happened, off-stage. And when a few attractive women have their clothes gradually ripped off, we are told that flesh is visible... but we are not told just what bits of flesh are involved. A satisfyingly deep and complex adventure which would not give too many nightmares.

..o0o..

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