The Walrus and the Warwolf
(Chronicles of an Age of Darkness #4)
by Hugh Cook
fantasy
copyright 1988
read in June 2019
rated 6/10: read to pass the time
It takes me a while to get into this book. Would it have been better if I had first read books one to three? Probably not... I have the impression that each book in this series is semi-independent: it's an interleaving of tales rather than a continuous saga.
But good grief! the author originally planned for a sixty-book series! He wrote ten, then stopped. Sales, apparently, did not justify more. I can understand that.
This book -- number four of ten written -- is exciting, non-stop action. No need to know what went before and the ending is good enough. It would be interesting to see where it goes but really, I won't bother.
It would also be interesting to see if there is any explanation for the history of this world. This story is fantasy, with monsters and magic. Plus plenty of scientific leftovers from an earlier high-science civilisation. Will this sf civilisation be expanded or explained? That could be interesting.
If I had the complete ten-volume set, it would be worth reading the lot -- if only to see where the saga goes. But book by book, no.
The story has structure but it's a series of -- linked -- incidents. Yes, it's set in the one world but there are very few links from one incident to the next. Or... is that because I have read only the one book? The stranger who appears, is immediately thrown off the sinking ship , for example -- will he reappear in a later book? In this one book he is an irrelevant bystander. Like many other characters, incidents and places.
On top of that, there are no likeable characters. Okay, again, this could be because this is just one book in a series. It would be nice, though, if the main character were less of a lying, cheating, self-centred ratbag. He does seem to improve by the end of the book... but... Another problem with reading just one of a series.
If you can get the whole series -- and can read ten lots of more than 700 pages -- go for it. For me, it's an enjoyable book but I won't be looking for the rest of the series.
Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper
... Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved
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"Why be difficult? Be impossible." … Ginger Meggs
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