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The Adventures of Duan Surk #1
Witches' Forest
Duan Surk is a Level 2 fighter who gets lost in the spooky Witches' Forest with two other adventurers: Agnis, a beautiful witch, and Olba, a highly skilled fighter. The trio embarks on the quest of a lifetime -- battling mythical creatures, outwitting evil sorceresses, and attempting to rescue Agnis' mother from an evil spell!
328 pages, Paperback
First published October 10, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
November 28, 2017
I can't believe the luck of finding this at the Goodwill store and being smart enough to buy it. It was a fun read, a great adventure. I'm looking forward to the other books in the series.
December 15, 2022
Gran serie, he leido 2 de 4, lastima que no se logró publicar por completo las aventuras de Duan.
April 17, 2023
It's a good story but it drags with the very thorough details for everything.
September 15, 2013
BRILLIANT! Wow, did this book surprise me!!
It starts out one way...and ends up another, completely. The first part of this story reads half like an old video game, and half like an anime (Japanese animation) show. At the end of each chapter, I couldn't help but imagine a screen fading to black before a commercial break, just like you'd see on an episode of any anime program.
Witches' Forest is a HUGE throwback to the early RPGs (role-playing video games) of the late 1980s and into the 1990s. People who were gamers during that time - especially people who were RPGers during that time - will definitely relate to this. I had to smirk at the descriptions of leveling up, and the headaches associated with it. Having been an avid RPGer myself during the '80s and '90s, this book speaks my language. I was mildly surprised (and yet also very grateful) that the story didn't start talking about how many HP were lost during a battle, because that would have been too over the top.
Capturing the essence of an '80s/'90s video game is cool...but with it comes the stereotypes of that genre, of that age. And there are a lot of them:
The unlikely, unskilled hero who is shy around girls: check. Oh, and his parents are dead (check) and he was raised by his big brother (check) who he idolizes (check!) and said big brother then went missing (CHECK!) There's the big strong tough guy who is an alpha male know-it-all and also a physical powerhouse...check. The frivolous and elegant token female lead (check) who has wild red hair (check) is a magic user (check) has an exotic pet (check) tends to get the group into difficult situations (check) AND happens to be a runaway princess in disguise (check!!)
Ugh!! I was beginning to despair, fearing that there would be no character development whatsoever. Well, I was wrong! Somewhere around the book, things change. The characters start to break out of their molds, so to speak, and start to become human. And it's a really satisfying thing to watch. The second half has plenty of character development, and boy is it GOOD. I suddenly found myself cheering for, and liking, the same characters who I rolled my eyes at during the first few chapters.
Also interesting is the...well, you can't really call it a love triangle between Duan, Olba, and Agnis, but maybe a "flirt triangle" would be appropriate. Both of the guys do the expected fawning all over the girl, and she does the expected shunning of them until the end - but Duan and Olba banter with each other in an almost suggestive way (Olba suggests, more than once, that people would fall for Duan's "pretty face") and it was actually refreshing, because it definitely broke the paradigm of - girl likes two guys and can't choose, but in the end makes a choice. Because this is not what happens, at all, and I was cheering because that was one stereotype that the book didn't explore!
Another thing I loved, which always scores major points with me, though I didn't expect it in this story: offering a glimpse into the lives of the antagonists, and showing that their side of it wasn't all wonderful (or malevolent, depending on how you look at it). I felt a tremendous amount of sympathy for Queen Ramua...and even some for Samra and Ogma, by the end. Japanese stories tend to get this right, more often than their Western counterparts: the "bad guy" isn't bad just be cause he (or in this case, she) wants to be or finds it amusing. There's always a story behind it...and usually that story has a lot of pain and heartbreak. The last few chapters bring a lot of really complex emotions and themes, which go beyond the middle-school aged reading level that I would have pegged this at. By the end, I was shaking my head in amazement. Once you get past the technical video game-yness of the first half, this is really, really GOOD. The ending is satisfying, though it doesn't completely wrap up the resolution with a bow for you - which I also like, because that's more like real life!
I'm really impressed with Witches' Forest, because it totally exceeded my expectations. For the first half of the book, I was going to give it 3 stars, then while reading the second half, I upped my rating to 4, but by the end, I have to give it 5.
I am so happy to know that there are three more books to read, chronicling Duan's adventures - I will definitely be getting them. And I will also definitely re-read this one...once the action got going, it was a wild, crazy ride, and I LOVED it!
It starts out one way...and ends up another, completely. The first part of this story reads half like an old video game, and half like an anime (Japanese animation) show. At the end of each chapter, I couldn't help but imagine a screen fading to black before a commercial break, just like you'd see on an episode of any anime program.
Witches' Forest is a HUGE throwback to the early RPGs (role-playing video games) of the late 1980s and into the 1990s. People who were gamers during that time - especially people who were RPGers during that time - will definitely relate to this. I had to smirk at the descriptions of leveling up, and the headaches associated with it. Having been an avid RPGer myself during the '80s and '90s, this book speaks my language. I was mildly surprised (and yet also very grateful) that the story didn't start talking about how many HP were lost during a battle, because that would have been too over the top.
Capturing the essence of an '80s/'90s video game is cool...but with it comes the stereotypes of that genre, of that age. And there are a lot of them:
The unlikely, unskilled hero who is shy around girls: check. Oh, and his parents are dead (check) and he was raised by his big brother (check) who he idolizes (check!) and said big brother then went missing (CHECK!) There's the big strong tough guy who is an alpha male know-it-all and also a physical powerhouse...check. The frivolous and elegant token female lead (check) who has wild red hair (check) is a magic user (check) has an exotic pet (check) tends to get the group into difficult situations (check) AND happens to be a runaway princess in disguise (check!!)
Ugh!! I was beginning to despair, fearing that there would be no character development whatsoever. Well, I was wrong! Somewhere around the book, things change. The characters start to break out of their molds, so to speak, and start to become human. And it's a really satisfying thing to watch. The second half has plenty of character development, and boy is it GOOD. I suddenly found myself cheering for, and liking, the same characters who I rolled my eyes at during the first few chapters.
Also interesting is the...well, you can't really call it a love triangle between Duan, Olba, and Agnis, but maybe a "flirt triangle" would be appropriate. Both of the guys do the expected fawning all over the girl, and she does the expected shunning of them until the end - but Duan and Olba banter with each other in an almost suggestive way (Olba suggests, more than once, that people would fall for Duan's "pretty face") and it was actually refreshing, because it definitely broke the paradigm of - girl likes two guys and can't choose, but in the end makes a choice. Because this is not what happens, at all, and I was cheering because that was one stereotype that the book didn't explore!
Another thing I loved, which always scores major points with me, though I didn't expect it in this story: offering a glimpse into the lives of the antagonists, and showing that their side of it wasn't all wonderful (or malevolent, depending on how you look at it). I felt a tremendous amount of sympathy for Queen Ramua...and even some for Samra and Ogma, by the end. Japanese stories tend to get this right, more often than their Western counterparts: the "bad guy" isn't bad just be cause he (or in this case, she) wants to be or finds it amusing. There's always a story behind it...and usually that story has a lot of pain and heartbreak. The last few chapters bring a lot of really complex emotions and themes, which go beyond the middle-school aged reading level that I would have pegged this at. By the end, I was shaking my head in amazement. Once you get past the technical video game-yness of the first half, this is really, really GOOD. The ending is satisfying, though it doesn't completely wrap up the resolution with a bow for you - which I also like, because that's more like real life!
I'm really impressed with Witches' Forest, because it totally exceeded my expectations. For the first half of the book, I was going to give it 3 stars, then while reading the second half, I upped my rating to 4, but by the end, I have to give it 5.
I am so happy to know that there are three more books to read, chronicling Duan's adventures - I will definitely be getting them. And I will also definitely re-read this one...once the action got going, it was a wild, crazy ride, and I LOVED it!
January 14, 2011
Brief premise: Duan Surk is pretty much your typical \smart\" character: intelligent and quick-thinking, but is... physically disinclined. His brother, on the other hand, is brawny and had joined the army for Adventuring (or something or other).^^^^Missing and aspiring to be like his brother, Duan becomes an Adventurer... but finds being one (and levelling up) quite difficult. ^^^^He faints from hunger in Olba's camp, a Level 13 Adventurer, and manages to convince Olba to let him tag along the Quest he's currently on: killing the evil twin witches.^^^^They run into Agnis (and her snow leopard K'nock) who turns out to be a princess determined to make the same evil twin witches reverse the curse they cast on her mother (who was turned into a songbird).^^^^Translated from Japanese by Catherine Barraclough^^^^~~~^^^^This is based on a RPG called Fortune Quest, which I thought would be interesting.^^^^While the plot was interesting and I liked how they wove the elements of RPGs into the novel, the writing was... quite like an average fan-fiction piece. Characters are stilted, dialogue stiff, and general narration was rather clunky.^^^^That was kind of a really big turn off, but I really wanted to know what happened, even though it's quite obvious what would happen - I just wanted to know *how* lol - so I persevered through the rather yucky writing style.^^^^Agnis is such a damn princess (yes I am aware of the irony), but she doesn't have to be that way! Ugh, she rather grated on my nerves.^^^^Duan's okay, but his infatuation with Agnis is meh.^^^^Check, Duan's flying lizard with low-level healing/curing spells, is cute but annoying^^^^And Olba's... he's okay too.^^^^Not too sure if I want to read the 2nd book... might just read the sypnosis... Hmm... ugh.. Agnis is back in it. Bah"
November 10, 2012
Reviewed by Carrie Spellman for TeensReadToo.com
Sixteen-year-old Duan Sark is an adventurer; it's all he's ever wanted to be. He would dream about it when he was stuck in bed through his sickly childhood. They let him in the Adventurer's Club, even though he failed the physical test, because he was smart and he had desire. Now it's a year later and he can't seem to get past Level 2, the army seems to have deserted him, he's lost in the forest, and he's starving. His only friend is Check, a baby grinia (sort of like a mini-dragon).
Things start to look up for Duan when he encounters Olba, an experienced adventurer and fighter. The last thing Olba wants is a tag-along, but it's looking like he doesn't have much choice. Life gets even more interesting when the two guys run into Agnis, a beautiful seventeen-year-old witch, and her snow leopard K'Nock. Agnis has attitude, a short temper, and an odd habit of fainting.
Conveniently, if not happily, Olba's quest and Agnis' mission coincide. The strange group set out to find the witches' castle, in the enchanted forest which is designed to get them lost. Before they can get to the witches, though, they have to get past some crazy obstacles. Not the least of which are themselves.
This is a great fantasy adventure that is fun, exciting, and laugh out loud funny. It's written in a way that you can almost see it happening in front of you, like a movie. The characters are real and entertaining, even the small ones. There's even a Mini-Pocket Monster Encyclopedia at the end, complete with pictures. A great book all around, and perfect for transitioning from Manga to novels.
Sixteen-year-old Duan Sark is an adventurer; it's all he's ever wanted to be. He would dream about it when he was stuck in bed through his sickly childhood. They let him in the Adventurer's Club, even though he failed the physical test, because he was smart and he had desire. Now it's a year later and he can't seem to get past Level 2, the army seems to have deserted him, he's lost in the forest, and he's starving. His only friend is Check, a baby grinia (sort of like a mini-dragon).
Things start to look up for Duan when he encounters Olba, an experienced adventurer and fighter. The last thing Olba wants is a tag-along, but it's looking like he doesn't have much choice. Life gets even more interesting when the two guys run into Agnis, a beautiful seventeen-year-old witch, and her snow leopard K'Nock. Agnis has attitude, a short temper, and an odd habit of fainting.
Conveniently, if not happily, Olba's quest and Agnis' mission coincide. The strange group set out to find the witches' castle, in the enchanted forest which is designed to get them lost. Before they can get to the witches, though, they have to get past some crazy obstacles. Not the least of which are themselves.
This is a great fantasy adventure that is fun, exciting, and laugh out loud funny. It's written in a way that you can almost see it happening in front of you, like a movie. The characters are real and entertaining, even the small ones. There's even a Mini-Pocket Monster Encyclopedia at the end, complete with pictures. A great book all around, and perfect for transitioning from Manga to novels.
January 21, 2008
This novel is pretty interesting it captures the reader in to the story using imagery. It also funny to read because there is character profile and maps popping up though out the book to clear up any confusion that the reader have on a character or a particular setting. The novel follows 16 year old Duan Surk, a level 2 fighter, Princess Agnis and a level 16 fighter, Olba as they embark on a quest to save Agnis’s mother from a curse placed on her by the twin witches Ogma and Samra. Throughout their quest, the group encounters many mythical creatures such as the Cyclops, the Minotaur, the griffin and the hydra. The quest they are in reminds me of the Odyssey. Its nonstop action captivates the readers. Some of the themes in the novel include friendship, heroism, revenge, and love.
September 16, 2012
RPG!!! I love playing RPG games.. This book is actually amazing.. Its like playing a game on your PS, reading a manga and reading a book all at the same time.. I like the part where they can level up which really adds that RPG theme to it.. Duan Surk may not be the strongest hero out there. He may be someone that you might underestimate due to his lack of physical strength. One thing is for certain, these things that make him different from other heroes actually adds to the fun in reading it..:)
June 1, 2012
Sigh. I kinda wish I'd finished it, even though it was just awful writing, but the book was overdue and my mom was rushing me and I didn't feel like renewing it and I have a million other things to read.
Only had about 50 pages to go though, it's just a shame... I thought I could wiki the rest, but it seems that there is no wiki.
This is a good review:
http://www.mania.com/witches-forest-n...
Only had about 50 pages to go though, it's just a shame... I thought I could wiki the rest, but it seems that there is no wiki.
This is a good review:
http://www.mania.com/witches-forest-n...
February 15, 2016
It was... bad. Sorry, but it was. Reading this was like reading the novelization of a really cliche 90's shounen anime. It even included a tsundere princess with unnaturally colored hair who called people perverts. Wow.
Would not recommend. Ever.
Would not recommend. Ever.
October 19, 2014
This book was just a chore to get though. I went on for far too long and the plot overstayed it's welcome. The characters weren't likeable at all and it seemed to want to be like Slayers, but never quite lived up to it.
December 25, 2014
I'm not much for these young boy adventure type books. But when my nephew asked me to read it with him I couldn't say no. I'm not disappointed. The characters wee real, the adventures and struggles were quite real I liked it okay.
March 10, 2013
Agnis is a little hot-tempered.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews