The Wanderer's Tale: (Annals of Lyndormyn 1) [Unabridged] [Hardcover]

A new author for a new year, however that's about the best that can be said as it's a clichéd blend of novels ranging from Tolkiens work through the Forgotten Realms Saga. That said however you do really have to commend the author for all the hard work that went into the world building as it was really very impressive. Other than that I really felt that David spent way too much time writing, polishing, rewriting and polishing again. He just didn't seem to know where to quit and alas the language is very distracting. All in all, I suppose a great attempt but not one that will make my top list of the this years new releases.

Well, this novel turned out to be my first major disappointment of the year. . .

Regardless of the number of fantasy books I've read over the years, I'm always thrilled to discover a new talented writer. 2006 brought us a slew of gifted authors such as Scott Lynch, Naomi Novik, Hal Duncan, Brian Ruckley and Joe Abercrombie. Earlier this year, we were introduced to Patrick Rothfuss, whose The Name of the Wind remains a sure candidate for fantasy debut of 2007. Hence, when you discover that both Tor Books and Pan MacMillan have high hopes for David Bilsborough's The Wanderer's Tale, you can't help but be eager to read it.

Still, even though I was excited to read this one, it was quite a struggle for me to reach the last page. And I so wanted to like this novel.

An odd blend of The Fellowship of the Ring, The Sword of Shannara, and various Forgotten Realms books from the late 80s, Bilsborough's The Wanderer's Tale is YA through and through. Pitched to the Paolini crowd, I sincerely believe that this debut has the potential to be a bestseller. But pitched to well-read fans and aficionados of the genre, this book falls short on basically every level.

The most impressive facet of The Wanderer's Tale remains the worldbuilding. Bilsborough's universe resounds with depth. The author's eye for details creates an arresting imagery. And yet, the heavy-handed prose filled with descriptions of all sorts will soon grate on the nerves of even the most patient of readers.

To say that this novel is overwritten would be the understatement of the year. Cutting 25% to 30% of it would get rid of a good chunk of the bloated prose and speed up the pace which leaves a lot to be desired. There seems to be at least one adverb per sentence -- I kid you not!

Sadly, the characters are rather clichéd -- every last one of them. I would be hard-pressed to find another such unappealing cast. There isn't one three-dimensional character in the bunch. For the most part, they are little more than cardboard cut-outs.

The dialogues are juvenile throughout The Wanderer's Tale, which is another reason why I believe it should have been aimed at a younger crowd. To say nothing of the puerile humor contained within the pages of this novel. Unless, of course, you have a thing for someone farting the national anthem. . .

Although the quest remains the biggest cliché associated with the fantasy genre, David Bilsborough shows a fertile imagination. But the execution falls flat, irrevocably so. And with such a stumbling and occasionally clunky narrative, the rhythm is sluggish throughout, with vast portions of chapters in which nothing occurs.

Overwritten, overlong, overhyped. . .

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According to the blurb on the back of the book, SFX apparently described this as breaking new ground, so you would think the writing has something to commend it. Well, I am going to have to disagree. It seemed to me that this book was written after the author had taken part in a role playing adventure game. The characters and their skills and equipment are described as though reeling off a set of stats from a player's character sheet. Locations are dealt with in unnecessary yet paradoxically unevocative detail. Action is episodic, in the manner of characters responding to a series of linear encounters dreamt up by a dungeon master over several sessions of gaming, resulting in a disjunctive narrative with no real sense of unity of purpose for either the action or the characters, such that I found myself neither caring about characters or what they were doing. I really did try to get through this book, but I got so cross with the writing that I gave up. Maybe this is ground breaking stuff and maybe I have missed the point; if so I wholeheartedly apologise to the author, however this book is not to my taste and I would not recommend it. I will however pass it on to a colleague at work who also likes fantasy epic fiction and if she likes it, then I may be persuaded to give it another go.If she doesn't, then this is going to the charity book shop and I will not be buying volume two. Sorry, but I somehow feel cheated.