Elitist Book Reviews

Oh man. I don't even hardly know where to begin. It seems like only yesterday that Pyr's Lou Anders was talking up this new series he had acquired. It all started with Tom Lloyd's THE STORMCALLER, and Lou Anders was telling everyone who would listen that it was the start of a series that would please all those rabid Steven Erikson fans. Being one of those Erikson fans myself, I was intrigued. I personally picked it up based solely on Anders' description.

Fast-forward several years later, and here we are with the fifth and final novel in The Twilight Reign. THE DUSK WATCHMAN. I had the privilege of reading this novel quite a while ago, and it's been absolute agony not having anyone to talk with about it. I was going to wait for the US release of the novel to write up this review, but I just can't do it. Not enough willpower.

I'm just too dang excited to tell you what I think of this novel, and the series as a whole.

THE DUSK WATCHMAN was incredible. Absolutely stunning. One of the best Fantasy novels I've read.

It's extremely hard to write a review like this. I just want to keep screaming out that the novel is awesome over and over again. I mean, what else do I need to say? Just buy the freaking book! The whole series! Get it for family, friends and strangers! Most importantly, send me the UK versions of books 4 and 5 so I have a matching set!

Then I take a deep breath, and let the reviewer take over.

THE DUSK WATCHMAN takes place right after the carnage of book 4, THE RAGGED MAN. I really, really want to talk about that ending, because it plays heavily into the motivations of Isak, Vesna, Emin and the rest, but that would be spoiling both novels. Instead, let's talk a bit about the themes of THE DUSK WATCHMAN, and the overall feel of it.

First, THE DUSK WATCHMAN deals with consequences. The cast of the series has put themselves on the line countless times, and they've sacrificed literally everything to stop the evil which is now present in the world. And guess what? It hasn't been enough. All that sacrifice. All that pain. All that anguish. It's barely kept The Land afloat. To get a little bit into the plot of the novel (without spoiling any of the surprise), our heroes discover further hints as to a weapon that could potentially alter the downward spiral of the world.

That's all the characters of THE DUSK WATCHMAN have. Hope.

This is a very bleak novel. Every character has been shattered in either their body or mind--or sometimes both. And even with all the death and destruction--and yes, even MORE sacrifice--there is that tiny, delicate thread of hope that has somehow been woven into the novel. If there is one thing that I can point at with Tom Lloyd's progressing work, it is his ability to successfully weave a variety of contradicting emotions into his novels. Every time you read a section with Isak, you will feel this. Every time you read a section from Vesna, you will feel this. All I can do is applaud the author for such a deft handling of heavy material.

In my review of THE RAGGED MAN, I asked for some more variety in the locations the readers would visit. Lloyd did it. He gave me exactly what I wanted, and I loved it. You want details? Too bad. Go buy the novel and read those details for yourself.

The ending. Wow. Just...wow. This isn't just an ending for a novel. This is the ending for an entire series. When an author begins a series, he makes a promise. This promise usually goes unfulfilled. I've read so many series that fail at this critical junction. The endings fall flat, or characters do stupid things so the plot can progress...or we don't even get the final book at all. I've read very few finale novels where the ending made the entire series completely worth it.

THE DUSK WATCHMAN has one of the most insane, awesome endings of any series I've read...and then the Epilogue completely makes you rethink EVERYTHING.  It's the type of ending that you read two or three times, not because it isn't clear, but because it is sooooooo good. Again, it is equally heart-wrenching and triumphant. The last time I felt this satisfied by a series finale was when I read Erikson's THE CRIPPLED GOD.

I suppose that the best compliment I can give Tom Lloyd is that I was 100% impressed by THE DUSK WATCHMAN. He scratched every itch I had, and even a few I didn't know existed. I hesitate to use the word "perfect"...but I'm just so blown away by how this all came together. Is there another word? Stunning? Exceptional? Pick one, and it will likely be true.

I'll just say this: THE DUSK WATCHMAN not only is the best novel in Tom Lloyd's The Twilight Reign, but it masterfully serves as a capstone to one of the most entertaining and enjoyable fantasy series I've ever read. Every fan of Steven Erikson should be reading Tom Lloyd's The Twilight Reign.

Recommended Age: 17+
Language: The characters don't shy away from swearing. It can be pretty strong at times.
Violence: Crazy, crazy violent. But as usual, Lloyd handles it in such a way that it never feels like shock-value.
Sex: I don't remember anything explicit, but there are references.

The US release date for THE DUSK WATCHMAN seems to be November, but it seems fuzzy. Hopefully this means we'll see it then, or maybe (fingers crossed!) a tad earlier. If for some reason you haven't started this series, you need to drop everything and give it a go. The opening novel, like Erikson's work, has a steep learning-curve...but it is worth it. Here are your links to the full series:


THE STORMCALLER
THE TWILIGHT HERALD
THE GRAVE THIEF
THE RAGGED MAN
THE DUSK WATCHMAN

As you all are well aware, we reviewed the first three novels in Tom Lloyd's Twilight Reign series and basically said they were the best thing since sliced bread. So with the release of THE RAGGED MAN, the fourth book in the series, it really became a question of "What more can we say?"

As it turns out, quite a bit.

Those of you who recently read THE GRAVE THIEF are probably still picking your jaw off the ground after that COMPLETELY INSANE ending. Main characters dying, other characters becoming the Mortal-Aspects of Gods, Gods dying, and Styrax being completely awesome. It seems like after every novel in this series we say to ourselves "How is Tom Lloyd going to top this?" Somehow he always does, and his endings leave us completely floored. This novel was no exception.

THE RAGGED MAN picks up right after the bloodbath at the end of THE GRAVE THIEF. The Land is in turmoil. Styrax has become even more vicious in his conquests. Civil war is blooming everywhere. Times are grim. THE RAGGED MAN features a fairly common theme: the tragedy and loss that come from war. Just because many of the characters in Tom Lloyd's series are larger-than-life doesn't mean they have nothing to lose. It is really in this aspect of the novel that Tom really drives home the cost of war. There is a section toward the latter quarter of the novel where Carel is ripping into Vesna about how much everyone has lost. It is in these losses that the great and powerful should realize they are no better than the lowborn. It is particularly powerful to see how Styrax copes with his own losses.

Another of the themes that is illustrated in THE RAGGED MAN to near perfection is the idea of duty. Characters are literally bargaining their souls away because of the duty they feel towards the Land, and towards their Lords and Gods. No matter the cost, there are a few characters that realize just how bad events are becoming with Azaer pulling everyone's strings. You see, with this novel we are getting people's full motivations. It's more than just conquest. Far, far more, and Tom does an amazing job of raising the stakes in a way that makes the reader cognizant of the current and coming dangers. Only those who are willing to sacrifice everything will be able to save the Land.

We've said constantly that we love this series. We recommend it to everyone. However, with our recent reading of Jordan and Sanderson's TOWERS OF MIDNIGHT, we realized WHY we love this series so much. Lloyd's Twilight Reign contains all the things we feel are lacking in the Wheel of Time. Danger. Death. Consequences. This series even touches on some similar themes--the long dead king that was living in Isak's head for example. Sound familiar? Only the handling of it in Lloyd's series is so much better, and the purposes behind it feel much more immediate. Where the WoT gets bloated, repetitive and passive, The Twilight Reign is focused, dark, aggressive and active. THE RAGGED MAN really hammered home this sense of fulfilled literary promises that have been withheld by WoT and many other stagnant, epic fantasy series. Another comparison? OK. A few years ago we were at a convention where Lloyd was said to be in a similar vein as Steven Erikson. This is 100% accurate. That's all you need to know.

If there is one thing we wish we could see more of in Lloyd's stories, it is a bit more variety in the Land. We end up being plopped down in the same areas. If you look at the map, we pretty much stick to a extremely small area of the world. Other places are mentioned, but we never see them. Granted, this is part of what gives the story its focus, but there is a huge and rich world to explore here--not to mention the various cultures we barely get glimpses at. With only one book left in the series, it's obvious we aren't going to see these places. We are holding out for some stand-alone sequels like Joe Abercrombie is doing. And by "holding out" we mean begging.

The ending. What can you say. Holy. Freaking. Crap. A portion of the ending was expected--big huge battle with all sorts of death and destruction. But just because you know generally WHO is going to show up to save the day doesn't mean you know HOW it is all going to happen. Trust us, the ending of this book was completely fantastic. In a sense, it was reminiscent of book 1 where the prophecy was broken. The last few lines of the novel really illustrate just how crazy things are probably going to get in the final book.

In THE RAGGED MAN, Tom Lloyd has once again raised the stakes in his series. The action was amazing like usual. Tragedy often strikes just when things seem to be going well. Consequences are real and powerful. This is a grim, dark world that somehow still has glimmers of hope as the incredible characters fight tooth-and-nail for their futures. But now comes the hard part: finishing it all off. With a solid ending, this series could become a cornerstone of the genre. The wait for THE DUSK WATCHMAN is already killing us.

If you aren't reading this series, you are doing yourself an immense disservice. Fortunately, this is easily fixed. Go buy this book, and the three before it right now.

Recommended Age: 17 and up.
Language: There is quite a bit more this time around due to the focus being more on soldiers.
Violence: Tom writes awesome action. He writes very visual and visceral violence. This is a bloody, bloody novel.
Sex: Nope. None.

After spending the weekend hanging out with agents, editors, and authors, as well as fans, we think this is a pretty good time to post an interview with one of our favorite authors. As you probably already know, we have a lot of respect for Tom Lloyd and his writing. We are pleased to give you this little interview with one of the new, great minds of current fantasy.

Hey Tom.

Hello!

It is becoming a trend here on our website to start an interview off by allowing the author to throw humility (should there be any) to the side. So we extend that invitation to you, of course, and want you to tell us why you're so great.

Because you guys say I am? No? Erm, ok then… I’m great because my fantasy world is more rounded than most, it has a greater depth of history and society than you often find. If you don’t like that, fuck you then ;0) The world-view is as complex as a cold war novel, and the battles will take your breath away! People also like the fact Isak’s isn’t the only perspective you could use for the series – Styrax certainly isn’t one of the good guys, but he’s just on the other side of the conflict to Isak – it wouldn’t take much to tell the whole tale from his side of things and I think that adds a little more authenticity to proceedings.

Along the same lines, in a recent email to us you mentioned you know what your strengths are as far as writing goes. For our readers, what are those strengths specifically? And if you're feeling brave, tell us what you think your weaknesses in writing are.

Well that’ll teach me to foolishly speak out of turn. Ahem, I think my strengths are instilling some passion into scenes, sweeping the reader up into the plot so they keep turning the pages as well as giving them a world they feel has lots yet to be discovered and explained. On the other side, my prose isn’t prize-winning and I’ve still got a lot to learn on the technical side of things. Writing in a passive voice is what comes naturally and it’s something my editor is slowly trying to beat out of me, and because I do like the view to be detailed and rounded I can go off on explanations that really aren’t necessary and need red pen to be scrawled all over.

When you aren't writing what occupies your time?

Watching sport on TV. No, seriously… well, ok I do have to drag myself away from it on occasion, but it’s only reluctantly. On the work side of things I’ve been in publishing for almost ten years now and I now work part-time as contracts manager for Atlantic Books in London – an arrangement which has made a big difference to my writing life, halving the hours I spend in an office. This has given me my social life back from the years when I wrote Twilight Reign and Grave Thief in evenings and weekends, which is useful since I got married in July and need to have some time left to spend with Fi!

Prior to THE STORMCALLER, how many books did you write that were never published? Was writing always an aspiration of yours?

None, well, kinda… I spent five or six years writing Stormcaller, not just on the plot but writing and rewriting as a means to teach myself how to write. Upon reflection that was pretty silly, I should have used a more disposable idea than the start of a complex multi-book series, but I didn’t think so hard about it at the time! Once I’d had a few rejections from publishers and agents I started on something new, working on the assumption that Stormcaller might never be anything more than my practice novel. Sixty thousand words in and Stormcaller got picked up by an agent, just after I’d prepared myself to write it off, so technically there’s an unfinished novel called Moon’s Artifice that I’ll return to once I’ve finished book 5 of the Twilight Reign.

As a brand new, published, author, you have a unique perspective on the publishing industry and what it is like to get published. Tell us a little bit about that please? Also, what has it been like working with the illustrious Lou Anders for the US releases of your novels?

Well my perspective is probably a bit different to most authors – I’ve worked for three publishers and two literary agents in my career, so in some ways it was just perfectly natural because people get published around me all the time. But then I had to remind myself that my name, my actual frigging name, would be on the cover of a book! And then I was given a copy of the book, something that looked grown up and real but containing stuff I’d made up while avoiding uni work! I did have to slap myself around the face from time to time and remind myself it was real. Lou came on board just after Twilight Herald was published I believe, and I have to say I didn’t really know what to expect. Having sold a fair bit of translation rights in my time I knew you often only ever spoke to you main editor and Jo and I have a very good relationship. I wasn’t sure whether I’d really ever even speak to Lou, but I’m glad to say it didn’t turn out that way and they actually go together perfectly (whether they realise it or not). It’s hard not to be caught up in his enthusiasm and we probably average an email a day as we chat about all sorts – whether it’s the nature of Gods, TV shows or ancient history. He’s a geek’s best friend really; extremely knowledgeable and so brimming with encouragement and excitement for what you’re doing he provides extra energy to get the work done! When I needed to know more about hell, for example, he had the perfect book for my needs and I suspect that’ll be a pattern to continue for a while to come.

The world you have created in The Twilight Reign series is mind-bogglingly (yay!) in depth and intriguing. How long did you spend world-building before the actual writing process began, and how much time did you spend fine tuning the world during the writing?

Before I started? About a day or two – I came up with the characteristics of the tribes, white-eyes and the sorts of Gods I wanted, after that I started to write. The world is very much something that’s developed in parallel with the books, sometimes through needing to solve a specific question, often just random thoughts that felt right at the time and I had to assume would make sense later! It’s a tapestry I’ve added to over the years, several aspects of which only exist in my brain and will probably never appear on the page but that’s the way these things work, I wouldn’t want it to be predictable.

We haven't seen the entire series yet, but what are your plans for the future? Do you have a new idea brewing? Do you plan to stay in the genre?

Absolutely, the only problem is shutting the new idea up for long enough to get the last books of Twilight Reign written! The book I started when I was giving up on ever seeing Stormcaller published will be what I hope to do next – no publisher has seen it yet so there’s nothing firmed up, but what I want is a set of stand-alone novels, with a loose series title of The Empire of a Hundred Houses. What I don’t want to do is launch into something as long and complex as Twilight Reign straight away; I need a rest where I’m only thinking about one book at a time! After Empire I’ve got some ideas sketched out for a more full-on multi-world fantasy than Empire (which will have the magic & monsters dialled down a bit, but remaining a fantasy setting) but it’s Moon’s Artifice and the three other Empire outlines I have to follow it that are the nagging voices keeping me awake.

Describe a day in the life of Tom Lloyd?

Pretty dull really! I can’t write in the mornings so I tend to just chill out, watch TV and check emails etc, then work out or attend to the basic admin of being an adult. After lunch I’m shut away in my study, music blaring and writing on an old computer that runs Windows NT and has been unhooked from the net so there’s nothing to distract me. That goes until six or so, then I realise I’m knackered and the wife’s about to arrive home so I should probably gear myself up for human interaction. Alternatively, I go into work which involves me staring at a computer and swearing– so basically the difference there is a lack of prog metal.

Do you have a favorite character in your series? Why? Which character is most like you?

I like loads of them – from the start Isak and Styrax were most realised in my head so became favourites, but others have forced their way in. Legana had only a small role in book 1 but she’s demanded greater prominence to the plot in each book, just as Doranei was only meant to be secondary until Zhia started flirting with him. Amber is another who’s carved a place for himself – while Mihn I knew was important and always treated him as such, but it was only half-way through writing book 3 that I realised why that was. As for the character who’s most like me, Isak’s got more of my personality than any of the rest. While he’s certainly not meant to be me and there are some major differences, I’m (only occasionally) irrational, stubborn, childish and prone to stupidity when angry, in the same way he is. As he’s my main character I’ve put more of myself and the teenager I used to be into Isak, something that was completely intentional from the start.

Who is your favorite author, other than yourself of course?

How could I pick just one? Terry Pratchett is a genius who deserves even more accolades than he receives and influenced the Twilight Reign hugely, while Steven Erikson is also brilliant and his Malazan series leaves me - someone who writes kinda complicated books - in awe, and that’s not even starting on Tolkien, le Carre, Greene or the writer whose style I enjoy perhaps more than any other’s: M R James.

We are seriously looking forward to THE RAGGED MAN. Any teasers you can share with us about it?

Let me think… Someone VERY major doesn’t make it to book five, there’s a wedding, more than one secondary character dies horribly, someone sells his soul (literally) and there’s a shadow with claws. Plus there’s invasion, mass-murder, daemons, Gods being bullied and a new white-eye nicknamed ‘The Mad Axe’. That enough?

Now, a super-tough question: Seriously, who do we have to bribe to get cameos in the final book of the series? We could die in gruesome manners. Come on. You know this sounds fun...

All requests should be given to me wrapped in a bundle of bank notes, the manner of death depending on how big the bundle is!

Thanks for visiting with us Tom, do you have any parting words for us and our readers?

Just that they should read the books all the way through! It’s a dumb thing maybe, but one reader review on Amazon annoyed me more than any other. The person said they’d given up after 470 pages, not bothering with the last 30 because they didn’t understand what was happening. If you hate it and give up after 50 pages, fine, but complaining that things aren’t tying together and refusing to allow that might happen in the last two chapters, well - it’s stupid, pure and simple. I ain’t going to be spoon-feeding the reader, if you don’t finish the book you may well have unanswered questions!


Go check out Tom's website and livejournal. Send him emails. He is cool.
www.tomlloyd.co.uk
http://tomlloyd.livejournal.com

Every now and then, we get a little hesitant to pick up and read a novel. We know, this is a dangerous admission on our part--believe it or not we are human sometimes (the rest of the time we are Review Gods, remember?). You see, when we find a series of novels that we like, each subsequent novel in that series becomes more exciting and terrifying to pick up. Why? Because we are afraid of being let down (read: Jim Butcher).

You, faithful readers, may recall our review of Tom Lloyd's THE TWILIGHT HERALD a few weeks back (go here to read it). We loved it, and said you all should go out and worship Mr. Lloyd. We recently received a lovely care-package from Pyr SF&F that contained Lloyd's THE GRAVE THIEF. Yeah, Nick squealed and passed out like a teenage girl at a Beatles concert. Seriously. We were quite nervous to start this novel. What if it wasn't as good as the first two? What if we hated it? What if he (Tom Lloyd) decided to throw his aspirations to be an author out the window? We've been talking with Lloyd since our last review of one of his books, and in a recent email, he told us what he hoped to accomplish with THE GRAVE THIEF:

"The middle novel of a series is a tough one to approach - you know there's going to be a lot left open and a lot has been dictated by events of the previous two. Hopefully I've dealt with that by surprising the reader at points. Along the way there might be the odd comment on fanaticism, ethics in politics and war, duty, loyalty, and fear - but mainly it's angry daemons an' stuff."

See, even Tom was worried a bit! So, how was the novel? Did Tom Lloyd deliver? If we could only use two words to describe it, what would we say?

Pretty dang cool. (Well...math was never our strong suit. We can't be good at EVERYTHING...just MOST everything.)

Luckily, we get more than two (or three...) words to tell you what makes this novel so brilliant.

THE GRAVE THIEF builds itself around the results of the ending in the second book, THE TWILIGHT HERALD, which was explosive to say the least. It's hard to keep that excitement, so we will admit--and assume that Tom would agree--that there is a bit of a adrenaline drain at the onset of this third installment. However, with the great cast of characters, an expansive, original and interesting world, and the rising feel and threat of conflict...well, let's just say that adrenaline drain didn't last long. At all.

The events in the second book leave the characters feeling somewhat overwhelmed, beleaguered, haunted, and downright stressed out and the third book capitalizes on that.

And...wait for it...the novel takes a turn for the ominous and dark! Yay!

While THE GRAVE THIEF is the middle child of Tom's series, he certainly went to efforts to make sure it wasn't easily dismissed. The characters are all given a significant and enjoyable amount of 'screen-time'. None of them felt like they were hogging the spotlight, which meant we never felt like we wanted to skip a few pages (you know you've done this in novels before). This was a hard feat to accomplish, especially in light of the darkening moods and attitudes of some of the characters. And this is exactly where the third book shines. It is evocative in it's mood and emotion. Something that helped us through the slower moments. It impresses us tremendously that Tom was able to take something that could have ruined this novel, and make it one of the strongest aspects instead.

The book is engaging and heavily thematic, but there is seriously a lot going on here, both in overt and subtle ways. There are so many new threads and plot-lines that are added and fleshed out here that we just about felt overwhelmed. Just about, but not quite. THE GRAVE THIEF kept us right on the edge. Tom's writing paints a beautiful picture, and uses those threads to make us want more and more. And yes, it is obvious that there is more to come. A lot more.

The focus in this book are the topics of politics, religious fanaticism, and the resulting conflict from those things. We like this sort of stuff, but it did slow the book down quite a bit compared to the earlier two. There are some real world issues that are reflected here in Tom's writing, but it dodges the pitfalls of writing with an agenda. Something a lot of authors could learn from (Was that subtle enough? Did you get who we were pointing the finger at?).

Now with all that said with regards to the slower parts and the focus of the novel, we can move on to the action. The action is, as we have come to expect from this series, nothing short of incredible. We loved every minute of it, and we even reread some of the scenes a second and third time for the sheer pleasure of it. Not to be outdone by the extremely fun conclusion to THE TWILIGHT HERALD, Tom reaches new heights in this books finale. It isn't as grand or epic as the the previous book's ending but it will drop your jaw. The last chapter alone is worth the cover price of the novel. Luckily for us, and you all, the entire book is worth it too.

So the answer to the burning question that you all certainly have is: Yes, this is epic fantasy done extremely well, and Tom Lloyd had assured that he is an author with staying power. THE GRAVE THIEF is different, darker, and slower, yet retains the stuff we love about this series and is a worthy addition to that series and we can't wait for THE RAGGED MAN, the next installment.

In case you didn't get the hint, go buy THE GRAVE THIEF right now! It was released this week!

Recommended Age: 16 and up. Yeah, we upped the age by a year due mostly to the darker tone. However, if you read the first two, your age shouldn't prevent you from picking up the third one.
Language: Nothing too bad or foul really. Like with Erikson, this impresses us.
Violence: Like we said, though not on the same epic magnitude as the prior novel, the action and violence here is insane. By insane we mean there is lots, and it is incredibly well...executed (*snicker* See what we did there?)
Sex: You know, we don't don't actually remember any. Once again, Tom proves that you can have a dark, epic fantasy without resorting to shock-value.

Go email Tom at http://www.tomlloyd.co.uk/contact.html and tell him how much you love him. Because we know you do. Also keep an eye out in the next little while. We have a series of interviews planned, in which Tom has agreed to feature in. (Can you guess how excited we are? WEEEEEE!!)

Don't worry. Despite having the word Twilight in the title, THE TWILIGHT HERALD is nothing like the book in our last review. This is Tom Lloyd's second entry in his Twilight Reign series, and it is much grander is scope and larger in size than the opening book, THE STORMCALLER.

In a word (and you only need one from us): AWESOME.

Tom Lloyd is a newcomer, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have what it takes to blow us away with his story telling. He has managed to create a believable, original setting using the familiar fantasy tropes and bending or breaking them to his will. Populating his enormous, top-notch world is an exponentially growing list of characters, most of whom are distinct and interesting.

Isak, the main protagonist of the series, becomes a lot more interesting in this second book than he was in THE STORMCALLER--despite having less actual 'screen' time--but his friends and enemies once again steal the scene like they did in the first entry to the series. Lloyd's depictions of his characters allay all of our fears, and proves to us that he knows his characters inside and out; Lloyd has thought them through, and has gone to great lengths to make them believable and interesting. No easy feat considering the number of superhero-esque people walking The Land.

In THE TWILIGHT HERALD, the story focuses on the city of Scree, where the major players in this series are all drawn for one reason or another. We particularly liked the sheer number of points of view in THE TWILIGHT HERALD. We get a very real handle on the motivations and machinations of many of the characters. The only negative we could find for the book was that we felt inundated with the characters talking, talking, talking, and still talking. However, despite this the slow buildup of tension intrigued us every step of the way. The climax is explosive and leaves us breathless, waiting for THE GRAVE THIEF, the series' third book.

The moody, gloomy setting of this second book only heightens our excitement for the destruction and doom that is going to follow. This is writing done well. We don't need the author to tell us in footnotes or interviews that things are grim--his writing shows it and we feel it.

The battles are big, brutal, and beautiful (enough 'B' words for you?), the politics are fun to read and create a sense of depth greater than even those lauded colossal fantasy series (you know who they are), and the world feels very real (except for the lame name of the world 'The Land').

Go buy it.

Recommended Age: 15 and up.
Language: We can't remember anything particularly foul.
Violence: This book makes Quentin Tarantino look like an amateur. Not only is it gratuitous, but extremely well done. Thumbs way up on this part.
Sex: References to adultery, and promiscuity, but nothing that isn't on prime-time TV.


Nick's note: I was in my local B&N looking for something new and exciting, and being disappointed. Then I saw a lone copy of THE STORMCALLER. I picked it up on sheer production value alone. As I chatted a bit with Lou Anders, while I was reading THE STORMCALLER, about why he liked it, I realized Tom Lloyd was the real deal. THE STORMCALLER wasn't without a few minor shortcomings, but it showcased Tom Lloyd's talent and made me hungry for THE TWILIGHT HERALD. I wasn't disappointed when I started and finished Book 2. I got the same giddy feeling reading Book 2 that I got playing Final Fantasy Tactics back in the day. In fact, in a lot of ways it reminds me of that story. Tom Lloyd, for me, is on the verge of joining the ranks of my favorite authors.

Do us a favor and go by Tom's website, and give him your undying love for writing AWESOME fantasy novels. Guess who we are nominating for the Hugo Award next year?

http://www.tomlloyd.co.uk

And once again, go give Lou Anders and the folks at Pyr SF&F a big hug for publishing incredible novels here in the US.

http://www.pyrsf.com