by
Ken Hood
ISBN: 0-06-105410-0 Order from: Amazon.com
An exciting introduction to the military career of a young man in an alternate Europe, full of fighting, travel and innovative magic, and a light dash of romance.
Reviewed by David on July 28, 1998
Genre: Fantasy (Alternate Reality, Sorcery, Demons, Historical)
Synopsis: In an alternate world, where Christianity never took hold, magic is real, and Batu Khan had conquered Western Europe, Toby, a young Highland Scot becomes an outlaw when defending a woman he kills an English soldier. In addition to being hunted by the occupying English, a fugitive sorceress sets her aim on Toby for nefarious reasons. Bereft of allies, and pursued by arms and demons, even Toby's prodigious strength is insufficient to compensate his inexperience and lack of allies. Luckily for the 18-year old Toby, a local spirit curious about the world takes residence in Toby's body, and alternatively helps and hinders the young man as he fights for his life and the lives of his friends.
Full Review: Ken Hood built a fascinating world—at the end of the fifteenth century Europe is much like ours, except for the drastic absence of Christianity. Instead, the population centers are guarded by the tutelary spirits—domesticated versions of the gods of hills and streams. The wild spritis are mischievous, sometimes benevolent, and occasionally vicious.
The sorcerers are able to control, through evil rituals, other spirits that become eager for murder and torture—demons. Sometimes, these demons prove stronger than the sorcerers and turn on them.
Tobias Strangerson Campbell, the big bastard son of a local girl raped by English soldiers, is ostracized in the tiny village where he grows up. When circumstances force him to become a fugitive from the English, his only allies are the Scottish rebels, plotting, as ever, another war with the English. Toby, despite his youth, is too bright to join another doomed battle.
Lady Valda, the ruthless and lovely former mistress of the King, and a powerful sorceress, takes an unhealthy interest in Toby. When a spell cast on Toby misfires, the local Hob, a feral spirit residing in a nearby grove, possesses Toby out of spite and curiosity.
His escape is complicated as much as helped by his few friends: the bookish friend eager for adventure, the maiden whose distress Toby alleviated by killing the English soldier, and an arrogant and capable noble-born rebel. At the end, it is only Toby's own strength, courage and his Hob that stand between the Lady Valda's demons and the Scottish fugitives.
The book is full of action: fights with enemies, arguments with friends and rivals, sorcery and perilous escapes. Toby is a character of remarkable common sense, if little learning. He and the Hob make a formidable combination, whose adventures are described further in Demon Rider and subsequent books. The world is a little sketchy, but the major characters are well drawn.
Overall: 6.5; Plot: 6; Characters: 6.5; Style: 5.5; World-building: 5.5; Originality: 6.5;
Copyright date 1995, HarperCollins (HarperPrism), March 1995, Mass-market, 373 pages
ISBN: 0-06-105410-0 Order from: Amazon.com