The Adventurer's Guild #1-Jaikus and Reneeke Join the Guild [Paperback]

The Adventurer's Guild / 294-0-000-69109-0

When I was a kid, my favorite computer game (and, indeed, the first one I remember playing outside of "Colossal Cave") was Sierra's "Quest for Glory". The game placed the player into the boots of a young Fighter/Mage/Thief who had traveled to a small cursed town in the mountains in hopes of lifting the curse and becoming an honest-to-goodness hero. In true Sierra fashion, the game was as humorous as it was engaging - your player-character was frequently referred to as being a proud graduate of the "Famous Adventurers' Correspondence School for Heroes".

With all this in mind, I can hardly help but enjoy "The Adventurer's Guild" from fresh author Brian Pratt. "The Adventurer's Guild" follows the adventures of two young boys, fresh from the farm, who dearly want to join the local and famous guild for fighters, mages, and thieves, but are vexed by their complete lack of experience, money, or connections that would provide them with an entrance to this exclusive and important club. The two boys spring at what seems like wonderful fortune when a local adventurer is willing to take them on an adventure and allow them to earn a good word with the guild, but they're about to learn that real adventures are more dangerous than romantic bards' tales often let on.

Pratt's writing and setup really shine - he's taken the "usual" fantasy setting of so many D&D adventures and has provided an amusing undertone to the world that reminds me so strongly of the tongue-in-cheek Sierra humor that I like so much. I flat-out guffawed when a smith in the first chapters complains that all fresh farm boys want swords (as opposed to the perfectly good maces he keeps unused in the back room) and the reader can't help but enjoy the verbal dressing-down the boys suffer at the hands of the Guild guard. Later, when the adventure develops, Pratt is able to perfectly spin an exploratory tale that is both visceral and visual - the reader always feels actually there, seeing the traps, feeling the poisons, and suffering with the characters. Pleasingly, character development is fairly solid, with Charka, Kate, and Seward standing out as nicely three-dimensional characters, which helps to round out some of the two-dimensional qualities of the two main characters.

To be fair, "The Adventurer's Guild" isn't perfect. As engaging and fresh as the writing is, the narrative flow does get broken occasionally to provide 'relevant' backstory that the reader will often not deem worthy of the interruption (such as a quick explanation of why a character is used to cold baths whilst swimming tensely through a dangerous swamp). And at least one character, Reneeke, comes strongly across as an author surrogate - always kind, wise, patient, clever, strong, gentle, and well-spoken, despite his rough upbringing on a farm, his supposed reticence to be an adventurer, and the fact that he really should have gotten fed up with his friend Jaikus by now. Indeed, I felt myself wishing for a little more balance between the two - with greater strength and courage from Jaikus and with a little less hyper-competence from Reneeke.

None of these flaws, however, detract from the fact that "The Adventurer's Guild" flows smoothly, and provides a fun and engaging "adventure game" type narrative for the reader. And while my impressions almost certainly stem in part from my nostalgia, I was truly pleased with the guilty pleasure that "The Adventurer's Guild" provided, for I was definitely transported back to my youth. Although I would absolutely love to see a revised second edition to tighten the writing, I still recommend this edition of "The Adventurer's Guild", and I definitely look forward to reading more of the adventures of Jaikus and Reneeke.

~ Ana Mardoll

The book's introduction begins, "Rumor has it that the great city of Reakla had its beginnings nearly a millennium ago." The author immediately transports the reader into Reakla's fascinating world with what seems a cross between a fairy tale that adults will enjoy and a history lecture by a teacher who makes history come alive.

"The Adventurer's Guild" is the story of two young lads, Jaikus and Reneeke, who set out to be adventurers. They've heard wily tales of battles won and lost by adults who dared to earn their living by embarking on dangerous excursions requested and paid for by various citizens of Reakla. Finally, Jaikus and Reneeke manage to get accepted as "springers" in an explorer group bound for a bog inhabited by glow-moths, trolls, and other formidable creatures. Little do the boys know what is involved in being a springer, but they will soon find out!

Charka is the leader of the group. He cares for his flock, but he can eye them down in an instant. Charka's powerful demeanor is always in control, yet he is like big teddy bear at heart.

The wry, sly Seward loves to instill fear in the boys, but he is often the first to respond in battle, putting his life on the line. Seward is loyal to Charka, though one wonders if that is primarily for self-gain. In some ways Seward resembles Jaikus, but with a more mature vision earned by experienced calamities.

Kate, the powerful magic one, is firm but tender-hearted with the boys, seeing the best in them, warding off Seward's fear tactics, and advocating for them with Charka when possible.

Reneeke is the mature and laid back lad, with a more solid bravery than Jaikus's impulsive one. He develops excellent leadership qualities on the trip, and his insights even excel Charka's at times toward the end.

Jaikus is the immature and impulsive lad with big dreams. He is a good kid, fun-loving, ambitious, and on his way to growing up. Jaikus will have some great stories to tell some day of how he started out so foolhardily and got knocked down a few notches at times. But in the end.... Well you'll just have to read the book to find out!

While the book is written for adults, it is sure to be a hit with adventure lovers of all ages. I read this as a 62-year-old grandmother, and loved it. My 10-year-old grandson was also intrigued by the story.

Reakla is a magical place, with dangerous missions and occasional descriptive language of creatures that attack or are slain. For me, it is reminiscent of fairy tales I enjoyed as a child, only much more sophisticated. There is always a feeling that the boys will survive the mission in the end, and be even better for the lessons learned. I found it suitable for my grandson, but the book is primarily written with adults in mind. You may want to review it first if your child is easily frightened.

This story is carried along in an upbeat and positive way that transports the adult reader into a reprieve from daily cares, while it teaches responsible behavior to youngsters who may read these adventures. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good adventure.