The Ant-Man of Malfen (Chronicles of the Nameless Dwarf) [Kindle Edition]

The Ant Man of Malfen begins by introducing the character of Nils. He and the Dwarf are traveling together. Nils agreed to bring the Nameless Dwarf to Jankson Brau. The Dwarf is searching for dwarf of Arx Gravis. The Dwarf is quite a formidable character with his twin ax wrapped in cloth held high over his shoulder. "I need to bring them (Dwarfs) back from Qlippoth before it's too late; before they are lost forever." The Nameless Dwarf (The Ravine Butcher) was attempting to make amends for his past deeds. The punishment for his evil was to lose his name and memory. The memory had returned but he still did not know his name. Nameless saved Nils from the clutches of the Brau and Ilesa. Soon the pair met The Antman. So begins the journey.

D.P. Prior has a talent for characterization. He deftly created Silas, Nameless and Nils. They work well together. The plot of this book is dark, filled with sorcery, brutal fights, and more than a few monsters. While the plot is very dark I also saw just a tad of humor. Prior is a master at imagery. His pen paints a vivid picture of the realms and the characters; such as the scene where Nameless was getting a haircut was so vivid I could see the sweep of the razor. Fans of science fiction and fantasy will enjoy The Ant Man of Malfen the Nameless Dwarf.

This is the second book I've read from Prior and I am again thoroughly impressed. Prior quickly captures the reader's interest with a teaser about who the nameless dwarf is and why he is so feared. Though Nameless' first appearance is more than 20 pages into the book, the reader is already anxious about him well before he arrives on the scene (in a way slightly reminiscent of the shark in 'Jaws'). Although the reasons behind Nameless' reputation is partially revealed in his regret-tinged ruminations later in the book, I would have liked a bit more development in this area--perhaps an encounter with someone who had narrowly escaped him previously?

The story line is suspenseful and engaging but also fun and, at times, very funny. This is quite an impressive range for such a short book!

Despite being little more than 80 pages long, the characterization is very well-developed--particularly the pathos of the Ant-Man. Without giving too much away, Prior is able to radically shift the reader's perception of this character in the space of only a few sentences. Very impressive. Likewise, his treatment of the unlikable and annoying Nils was brilliant. Early on, Prior seems to intentionally make the reader long for Nameless (or anyone) to take an axe to Nils! And of course, the lightning-fast mood swings of the manic-depressive Nameless are wonderfully executed. The level of character development in 'Ant-Man' is massively improved from that in Prior's earlier work 'Thanatos Rising'.

That said, this book suffers from the same key problem as 'Thanatos': it is too short! This story could have easily been expanded into a 200-300 page novel. I would have loved to have been able to read more...

Though, as an aside, I noticed that an important figure (Otto Blightey) from 'Thanatos' is briefly mentioned in the dwarf's recollections. There must be some connection between these two stories--although none is immediately obvious. It will be interesting to see if Prior reveals one in later books!

BTW, Theo Prior is a talented young cartographer; the map provided was icing on the cake. :-)

This novella is masterfully written. I think the resurrection of the character Nameless was such an excellent move on the part of the author. Nameless is a nasty piece of work but you can help but feel empathy for him. The other characters are well rounded and I especially like Ilesa, who has the ability to change into what you want to see. This is a great addition to the Shader series. I cannot wait for the next book.