Quite good book by new fantasy author, March 15, 2011
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This review is from: Passage of the Acolyte: part one (Volume 1) (Paperback)
James Vargo has a very good start here to his planned epic fantasy two-volume series. This is the story of Greynol an "Acolyte" (a sort of holy man). Greynol has lived for decades in a quite life of contemplative retirement when he is pulled back into the real world by a dark secret from his past- one that may have dire consequences for the world.The Acolyte thus must gather a small group of escorts for his quest across the continent, and ends up with a group of eager young men.
In many ways, I found the tale so far quite evocative of The Fellowship of the Ring. Don't get me wrong, there's no attempt to copy LotR ( no hobbits, etc), and it's not up to Tolkien's writing level (who is?), but still, there is a sense of the Fellowship here.
I quite enjoyed it. Not a lot of magic or combat, but just enough of both to add a sense of wonder and danger. The world is beautifully described, too. And, it has several nice maps, and we all know how much I like maps in a fantasy novel. Nice character growth and a slow building of what we know about Greynol, too.
There's a few missteps, of course, such as one would expect from a new author. Names are a bit confusing, as is all too common in fantasy books. To an extent, same with the different peoples. What would be a good addition is a glossary with a short character bio and info about the various people, nations, etc.
Still, those are quibbles. I am very much looking forward to the rest of the series.
I rcvd a copy of this book for review.
(NOTE FROM ME: I'M LOOKING FOR MORE REVIEWS. CONTACT ME, I'LL CUT YOU A DEAL ON THE BOOK(S) )
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