Die Zwerge

Die Zwerge #1

by Markus Heitz

Sie sind die schlagkräftigsten Helden aus J. R. R. Tolkiens »Herr der Ringe«: Zwerge sind klein, bärtig, und das Axtschwingen scheint ihnen in die Wiege gelegt. Doch wie lebt, denkt und kämpft ein Zwerg wirklich? Dies ist die rasante Geschichte des tapferen Tungdil, der im Kampf gegen Orks, Oger und dunkle Elfen beweist, dass auch die Kleinen Großes leisten können … Nach Stan Nicholls »Die Orks« ist dies der sensationelle Bestseller über ihre ärgsten Feinde – diese Raufbolde sollte man nie zum Spaß reizen!

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, High Fantasy, Audiobook, Epic Fantasy, German Literature, Adventure

Audiobook

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Markus Heitz is a German fantasy, horror and science fiction author, most famous for his five-book Dwarves saga.

Markus Heitz was born in Homburg in 1971. He studied history, literature, and the German language. He now lives in the town of Zweibrücken.

Reviews

[Weylin · Rating 1 out of 5]

I could not take it any more. I am taking some advice and I am not going to finish this book even though I REALLY tried. I started this book in August and have taken breaks from it 4 or 5 times. I wanted this book to be good, but its way too simple. The plot is very simple and predictable. The characters are Tolken templates and are not very interesting. At times it seemed the dialogue between the dwarven characters in this book came straight from 6yr old boys who were having a make a believe battle in their fort with pretend orcs. This book maybe an "International Bestseller" but it feels like it was written by a high-schooler.

[Dirk Grobbelaar · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book reminded me of a role playing game. Character gets assigned quest and sets off --> when character arrives at destination he finds out that the quest completion parameters have been amended and that he has to continue to new destination, where more or less the same thing happens. Along the way the character collects items and learns skills, he also meets other characters with different skills and some of these join up with him, creating a "party". In the end, the items and characters come together neatly to tie up the main story arc. Developer credits roll.

Now, this isn't a criticism. I happen to enjoy role playing games. I also happen to, at times, indulge in some Warhammer, Forgotten Realms or Dragonlance fiction, which is just as well, otherwise I probably wouldn't have finished The Dwarves. It's pretty much the same thing, really. This is one of those Fantasy books with highly improbably scenarios and bizarrely fortunate (read untouchable) protagonists, for the most part. I also can't help but feel that some of the nuances have been lost in the translation (the original is in German). Some of the sentences just read a bit nonsensical and seemed slightly out of context.

Okay, now that I've got all that off my chest. This isn't a bad novel, and I will certainly be checking out the rest of the series. BUT, despite the author's best intentions, it doesn't break a whole of a lot of new ground. There are some nice twists, but it isn't enough to make the story great. It's entertaining enough, and I was reminded quite a lot of a Dragonlance novel I once read called Stormblade. Fun.

[Beth_Adele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once I managed to trudge through the first 100 or so pages, (which are a bit of a massive yawn)
things really started to pick up and I began to really enjoy the book.
The writing isn't particularly stellar, but it flows nicely and it's the characters that spurred me on to continue reading.

The core characters I really fell in love with. It would be interesting to read it in it's original german. I am one of those people who can't help but think anything that is translated might lose a bit of it's essence.

At times, I find it difficult to keep characters names in order, (but I find that with most epic fantasy series) however, the world of the dwarves is constructed quite well. There's a lot of humour and warmth to these groundlings. I find myself giggling manically especially when Boindil is fighting orcs. (He's on sociopathic little comedic dwarf that one) It's the characters that really hold this tale together.

[Semjon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ich hatte die Reihe vor Jahren angefangen mit meinem Sohn zu lesen. Er war damals 11 Jahre, wir lasen uns gegenseitig vor und irgendwie schien das Buch genau richtig für den Zweck. Die Gewalt- und Kriegsszenen ließen sicher die Frage aufkommen, ob dies altersgerechte Lektüre war. Nun ist mein Sohn bei der Bundeswehr gelandet und es bleibt jeden selbst überlassen, Korrelationen zu finden.

Nachdem ich nun den fünften Band alleine zu lesen begann, war der Zauber der Zwerge nicht mehr zu greifen. War es Nostalgie, dass ich ihm damals bei der Erfassung der Bücher auf Goodreads 4 Sterne gab? Ich las nun nochmal in diesen Anfangsband hinein, um wieder in die Welt einzutauchen. Daher muss ich meine Bewertung korrigieren, denn das Buch hat wirklich nach meinem Geschmack nicht mehr als 3 Sterne verdient.

Das schriftstellerische Können von Markus Heitz ist leider sehr begrenzt. Ich habe seine Sci-Fi-orientierten Bücher allesamt abbrechen müssen, weil sie so bodenlos schlecht geschrieben waren (Oneiros, Shadowrun). Irgendwie hatte ich das Gefühl, dass seine Fantasybücher besser waren, aber so richtig bestätigen lässt sich das durch das auszugsweise Wiederlesen nicht. Das Buch ist sehr klischeehaft. Die Zwerge sind die Superhelden, ständig einen lockeren Spruch auf den Lippen beschimpfen sie ihre Gegner auf das Übelste bevor sie ihnen mit der Doppelaxt die Schädel spalten. Allen voran Boïndil und Boëndal, die Zwillingsbrüder, sind dermaßen eindimensional, dass sie zu Beginn zwar originell wirken, aber auf Dauer keine Entwicklung zu erkennen ist. Und ist die Entwicklung zu Helden nicht der eigentliche Kern von Fantasybüchern.

Und gerade daran hapert es. Tungdil heißt hier der Held, aufgewachsen bei den Menschen, weiß er zwar, dass er ein Zwerg ist, aber er hat nie mit welchen zusammengelebt. Was ergeben sich aus dieser Konstellation für Möglichkeiten der Beschreibung, doch Heitz lässt die Entwicklung völlig verpuffen. Innerhalb weniger Seiten hat sich Tungdil die Eigenheiten seines Volks einverleibt, nachdem er erstmals Kontakt mit ihnen bekam. Selbstredend steckt ein Kämpfer in ihm und obwohl er als Gelehrter und Bücherwurm eher schwächlich sein sollte, kämpft er bravourös. Es gibt einige Unplausbilitäten, die für ein YA Fantasy tolerierbar wären, aber für eine Bestseller-Reihe im High Fantasy-Bereich ist das bedauerlich. Da die Welt mir und meinem Sohn damals gefiel und wir eine schöne Zeit mit dem Buch hatten, gebe ich noch wohlwollende drei Sterne.

[Lyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF at 50%

I know, I know – “Fifty percent and you don’t want to finish?”

Yeah but this is 700 plus pages! 300 pages, maybe even 400 and I’d stick it out but just too much pulp for not enough up side.

So Heitz has created a fantasy world where a dwarf is orphaned and raised by a human wizard and then there is a whole society of dwarves and he might be the king and they kill lots of orcs, … oh, and there is a bad realm of zombies and villains.

I’ve read other reviewers say this was like an RPG and it was and that’s one reason why I was drawn to it.

And I liked his world building for the most part but the writing was flat, maybe something lost in the translation (originally in German) but took a couple of breaks to read something else and I just don’t care to go back.

[Michael O'Brien · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I read fantasy literature, I expect it to be entertaining, and "The Dwarves" met that expectation. The challenge for doing this genre is, while building a fictional world, to do so while telling a good story without either getting lost in detail or the other way, leaving too many blank spaces, such that the reader gets lost. "The Dwarves" met this balance nicely.

Similar to the Lord of the Rings franchise, "The Dwarves" has similar races except less the hobbits and the addition of the "alfar" --- which might be best characterized as anti-elves ---- having all the skills, intelligence, and agility of elves, yet, instead, driven by malice, darkness, and hatred. Instead of Middle Earth, this universe has as its setting, the continent, Girdlegard, which is gradually being consumed by an overwhelming, relentless dark power that's overcoming by degrees one domain after another. Instead of a hobbit, Frodo, this universe has as its protagonist, the dwarf, Tungdil, abandoned by his parents, raised by a human wizard who, as the plot unfolds unwittingly finds himself as an ordinary person caught up in extraordinary circumstances needing to accomplish extraordinary things.

I will not give away anymore --- it was a fun, enjoyable read for me, and, despite its length, I think most fantasy genre fans will also enjoy it as well. I look forward to reading the sequel.

[David Wismer · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best review I can give is that my 17 year old son spent his own money to buy the first three books (in hard cover), read them and encouraged his friends to read them. I just had to read them myself and found myself enjoying them. Let the author speak for himself.

"Death came for the dwarf and tried to take him, whereupon the warrior squared his shoulders, dug his heels against the granite floor, and told him to go. Death turned around and left.”
- Apologue from the southern provinces of Sangpür.

“Dwarves and mountains have one thing in common: It takes an almighty hammer and a tremendous amount of persistence to overcome them.”
-Traditional saying from the Murk region, northeast, Idoslane.

“At the battle of the Blacksaddle, trolls were wailing, orcs whimpering, and our battle-hardened warriors were close to despair, but I never saw a dwarf lose heart.”
- PaldurIl, personal guard to Liütasil of Alandur, Lord of the Elves.

Even the elves have taken notice.

The Dwarves is now more than just a book. A successful Kickstarter campaign means it will be a RPG game this summer. Play the book. (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...)

[A. Dawes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Why the Read: I've always enjoyed Tolkienesque (or D&D) dwarves. After reading excellent contemporary fantasy by McKillip, Bujold, Martin, Abercrombie and Rothfuss, I thought I'd give it a go.

Plot: the clichéd D&D role play world. Also the clichéd little guy becomes a big guy through an adventure. Escapist fun. Nothing new and completely formulaic.

Thoughts: easy to condemn or judge this work and its derivative D& D world, but on reflection, this type of formulaic approach has a place for readers. I wasn't after deep and meaningful, just an escape, and as such, it delivered what I sought. If you have the right frame of mind it's enjoyable. Just don't take it too seriously. I suppose for me it's a version of escape that the romance genre is for some readers.

Overview: Dwarves are tough, stout, durable people who work wonders with stone (the kind of dwarves we now expect from the genre) but their great kingdom is under threat.... One dwarf, Tungdil, is a blacksmith, who lives among humans. When sent out to deliver a message to his people, he has an adventure. Tungdil finds that his ancetsry is vital to the survival of not only his kind, but much of the known world. A rogue magus is wielding dark magic, and the evil races are growing in power and only a united courageous dwarven kingdom will save them. Tungdil will need to save the dwarves from perilous danger from both without, but also within, a now troubled dwarven kingdom.

Verdict: may read the sequels if I need another light escape, but it's not going to be high up on the reading list.

[Anirudh · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book can be described as a badly written spin off of LOTR where the attention has been shifted from elves and humans to dwarves. Being a fan of fantasy it is rare for me to rate a book 1 star but I didn't find anything here that made me think of giving it anything more.

Writing is one of the main flaws of this book (among others) I don’t know if it’s the translator’s fault or the original authors but the writing is too simple and unappealing. It’s like a kid wrote this for his high school project. There is almost no humour in this book or any other strong emotions for that matter. Even when a party of orcs destroy an entire village you don’t feel anything. It is filled with clichés and predictable twists. And a lot of times the narration makes no sense at all. Here is an example

“I can’t explain now . I’ll tell you later,” Turgur promised. “You’ll second me, won’t you?”
“Second you?” The white-bearded magus had spent his life studying spells and conjurations and was baffled by Turgur’s hush-hush tone.”

Now, what does studying spells and conjurations have to do with being baffled by a hush hush tone? This is one of many examples where the lines just don’t add.

The world building is equally predictable. To start with the story takes place in an ‘enchanted land’ (You don’t say? It’s enchanted? Wow!) Characters are the same in so many fantasy books and are full of clichés. There are stubborn dwarves who are great ax warriors and smiths. And then elves who live in woods and consider themselves superior to other races. There are human mages who have enough strength to topple mountains, Orcs who say Oink Oink when they die, (are they orcs or pigs? I’m confused.) Their main goal is to eat all the other creatures. There is the perished land (Blight from WoT) which is slowly spreading everywhere and it kills all life as it goes along.

None of the characters are believable(Being this novel written in 2000s and not 1950s) There is a good mage and a bad mage(So original!) Magic system has no logic of any kind. There are hundreds of enchantments, even one to increase your horse’s speed, but you have no idea how it works. It just does.

This is not a novel. It’s a role playing game. Where you venture forth to complete quests and midway people will just come to your aid for no specific reason and go ‘don’t worry friend, I’ll tell you everything you need to know to complete your mission’ The hero takes a journey to find something, meets his dwarven kin for the first time and they say, “Hey you know what? You’re actually a candidate for high king but we kept you hidden till now.” So he says, “Really? Cool lets go.” That’s it. There doesn’t seem to be a concept of shock or disbelief.

I think the author’s goal was to write an LOTR in German. It would have been easier if they had translated the original. At least it was graceful.
This would be a good book only if the reader is very young, and hasn’t read LOTR.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Još jedna od knjiga koja ima interesantnu postavku, kompetentno je napisana i na kraju bude samo meh.

Ono što imamo ovde je u suštini klasična fantazi priča o borbi dobra i zla alu upakovana u ruho patuljaka. E sada to ne bi tolko smetalo da je pisac to iskoristio da ponudi nešto drugačije ali činmjenica da je sve smešteno u društvo patuljaka skoro uopšte ne igra ulogu. Sve je standardni i već viđeno, od organizacije društva, njihovog mesta u svetu kao i odnosa sa drugim rasama. Ako ste čitali D&D ili Tolkina to je to. Ništa originalno.

Sami likovi su isto suviše jednostavni, fali im dubine. Fino su zaokruženi i svaki je unikatan ali generalno uopšte nema promene ili rasta likova. Od početka do kraja su isti, po motivaciji, ponašanju ili nečem drugom.

Sem toga nemam neke prevelike zamerke. Radnja ide finim (predvidivim) tempom, svet i događaji su fino opisani i pisac se ne libi da ukloni čak i fino razrađene likove. I priča je fino zaokružena sa naravno naznakom da radnja ipak ide dalje.

Sve u svemu sam ipak razočaran i videću dal ću nastaviti serijal.

[Starlight Kid · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really didn't enjoy this nearly got too 100 pages and the dialogue is just awful in places and sounds more like a Disney film at times then a proper fantasy book.

Characters are dull and plot is full of so many holes and inconstant.

Not for me, I'm really having a bad year with fantasy books :(

[Tonja · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read a fair bit of fantasy in my years and some I have liked better than others. This series jumps to the top of my list. I love the DragonLance novels, but I think that this actually topped them, just a bit.

I love the fact that the main character is a Dwarf raised around Humans; it gave him a great sense of humor and an academic view of his people. His 'innocence' in the realm of Dwarven women cracked me up and I think that he was a good mix between the dwarven raised characters.

It's a typical campaign fantasy novel, but the characters are what make it unique. I think that they were richer even than some of Tolkein's characters, not to belittle LOTR.

I found myself sitting at the campfire with the characters and actually holding my breath while one of them tried to catch up to a joke or insult, then guffawing with them as realization dawned LOL. I haven't read the second and third book, yet, but if they are as rich in detail and characters as this one, then I look forward to them immensely.

If you are looking for a good Epic campaign, I highly recommend the Dwarves.

[Kitty G Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was so much better than I anticipated that it would be. I had never really heard much about 'The Dwarves' as a series and so I picked this up on a whim and just hoped that it would be good, and I was not disappointed. I would give this a 4.5* rating because the beginning was a little slow and there were a few moments of confusion between characters which lost my immersion a little, but other than that it's a brilliantly composed story in a classically fantastical world.

The Dwarves is a story set in a world which is very similar to Tolkien's Middle-Earth, called Girdlegard, and it consists of a variety of races and divisions within those races. There are the men, wizards, dwarves and elves who are 'the good' and then there are the orcs, älf, and other evil creatures taken over by 'The Perished Land' who are 'the bad ones'. In this story all sides and races are tested against one another in the largest war known to Girdlegard.

The Dwarves are divided into five parties, the firstlings, secondlings, thirdlings (who are considered evil), fourthlings, and the fifthlings (who were all wiped out many years before the setting of this tale). There is a succession war happening between them as the ruler of the Dwarves as a whole is elderly, frail and close to death so a new leader must be chosen, however, powerful and evil forces are at work within the Dwarven home whether they know it or not and this leads to confusion and disarray on all sides.

Into this mess walks our hero, Tungdil. Tungdil is a dwarf who doesn't know his heritage. He was brought up by a wizard named Lot-Ionan and he was raised to know about diplomacy, scholarship and many other qualities unbeknown to most of Dwarven-kind. These skills make him into the charismatic and relatable young dwarf that he is and we really see that these qualities lead him on his adventure.

Early in the book Tungdil is sent on a mission by Lot-Ionan to deliver something important and then to potentially reunite him with his family. This journey happens to take him across a variety of the landscape and the dwarf gets his first tastes of battle early on. He meets a whole hosts of characters and becomes entwined in the succession war, despite knowing nothing of his lineage or of his particular Dwarven qualities. He is then charged with a far bigger task when evil begins to sweep the land and a new enemy threatens to destroy everything good across the Kingdoms.

Some of the characters we meet along the way and who are worthy of note include Böendal and Boïndil (the fearsome warrior twins who are firm friends and eccentric, yet loveable little characters. They defend one another and their friends without fail and they balance one another nicely) Bavragor (a master mason who is old and who has turned to alcoholism with his depression and age, however, he still know how to poke fun and have a laugh with the other dwarves), Balendilín (the High King's advisor who works tirelessly to ensure that the Dwarves should stand united and not fight one another), Goïmgar (a shallow Dwarf who is an expert diamond-cutter, and who grows as a character whilst the story goes on), Gandogar (the King of the fourthlings who is competing to become the High King, he's a good soul but he is easily deceived and too trusting), Bislipar (a nasty dwarven character who has his heart set on going to war and convincing Gandogar to do so), Nôd'onn (the driving force of the evil in the world and the ultimate enemy of the book), Narmora (a young woman who is suspiciously elven in looks), Furgas (Narmora's lover and an expert with pulley systems and problem solving), Rodario (a grand actor and playwright), Andôkai (a mage who is unsure at first about where her loyalties lie), Gisleburt (a character whom many believed we'd never see again) and there are still many more who I cannot cover.

This tale is so richly woven and well-crafted that each of these characters I have mentioned above made an impression which stuck with me and I could tell them apart (despite the close spelling for many of their names) and they all had their own personalities and agendas.

The story is told following two major story lines, Tungdil's adventure is the main one, but the situation in the Secondling's Dwarven Kingdom with the uncertainty over the succession of the King is the other. There are also a few extra chapters which give insight into a few areas which are in different parts of the world and this all comes together and links up nicely at the end.

What I really liked about this story was that it grows and it gets better as it grows with new people being introduced, new roles being fulfilled and a more awesome adventure happening before our very eyes. The story which starts with a small Dwarf knowing little about his race ends with a bang and a cliffhanger for the next book too. I would certainly recommend this series and I do intend to continue along with it because the loveable little characters have charmed a way into my heart now and I need to find out what happens next :)

[Firyar · Rating 1 out of 5]

Eigentlich möchte ich Bücher nicht so zerreißen, aber hier muss es doch getan werden: Wieso?! Wieso ist dieses Buch ein Bestseller und vor allem, wieso wird es so in den Himmel gelobt? Ich hab nichts gegen Mainstream-Literatur und schlichte Fantasy....aber das, was man hier zu lesen bekommt, hat mich doch sehr geschockt.

- Markus Heitz studierte Germanistik und Geschichte, war auch als Journalist tätigt. Hier bemerkt man nichts von schriftstellerischen Künsten. Es liest sich, als ob es ein 15-jähriger geschrieben hätte.

- Sehr viele Logikfehler. Ein Absatz widerspricht sich mit dem davor. Die Umgebung ist plötzlich ganz anders als vorher beschrieben. Liegt wahrscheinlich alles daran, dass niemand dieses Buch Korrektur gelesen hat. Dann wäre auch aufgefallen, dass Heitz ab und zu "Tage" und "Wochen" schreibt, obwohl er sich doch eigene Begriffe dafür ausgedacht hat (das macht die Welt auch nicht echter...)

- Plump! Richtig plump. Der Autor hat anscheinend noch nie etwas von erlebter Rede gehört, was dem Buch mehr als gut getan hätte. Wie oft erwähnt er eigentlich, dass die Zwerge stur und eigensinnig sind? Wie oft liest man: "Denn das war die zwergische Eigenschaft, hast du, dümmster aller dümmsten Leser das kapiert, nochmal, Zwerge sind stur und eigensinnig!". (Nein, das ist kein direktes Zitat, sondern meine Wahrnehmung während des Lesens). Schon mal etwas davon gehört, dass man Charakterisierungen auch über die Handlung vornehmen kann? Wohl nicht.

- keine Tiefe. Und nein, eine Erzählung kriegt nicht automatisch Tiefe, wenn man die Götter aufzählt, und sagt, dass jedes Land eine andere Flora und Fauna hat. Auch ein Charakter kriegt keine Tiefe, nur weil man seine Gedanken in direkter Rede notiert. Achso, und wieso hassen sich Zwerge und Elben? Weil die Götter es so beschlossen haben, ui.

- die Geschichte ist vorhersehbar. Und wenn selbst ich die Geschichte vorhersehen kann, dann heißt das was.

- Gut vs. Böse. Gähn. Und dann bezeichnen sich die Guten auch noch ständig als die Guten. Ideal für Kinder, allerdings kommt dann doch zu viel unnötiges Gemetzel hinzu (Gemetzel ist okay, aber das sollte dann schon auch die Geschichte tragen)

- zu viel. Viel zu viel. Wozu die Zwischenepisoden mit den Menschenkönigen, wenn am Ende überhaupt nicht mehr auf sie eingegangen wird?

- klischeehafte Darstellung von Zwergen. Hab ich schon erwähnt, dass die Tiefe fehlt?

- stellenweise kommt es mir so vor, als ob es ein Filmdrehbuch wäre

Positives:

- Zwerge als Hautpcharaktere, da hat der Autor nicht zu viel versprochen

- bis auf einiges Passagen liest es sich flüssig und unterhaltsam, wenn man großzügig über die Logikfehler und die plumpe Sprache hinweg sieht

- es ist sehr einfach geschrieben und wohl selbst für den lesefaulsten Menschen lesenswert

- nette Idee mit dem Zwischenspiel

Fazit:

Ich hab schon viel Fantasy gelesen, schlecht geschrieben Fantasy mit netter Geschichte, gut geschriebene Fantasy mit langatmiger Geschichte. Aber hier bin ich doch sehr schockiert, dass das Buch so in den Himmel gelobt wird. Selbst mit Blick darauf, dass es Mainstream ist, finde ich das Buch sehr schlecht. Was eigentlich schade ist, da ein paar Grundideen interessant sind und von einem guten Schreiberling (oder gar einem mittelmäßigem Schreiberling) sicherlich besser umgesetzt worden wären. Ich hab kein Problem, wenn das Buch manchen Leuten gefällt, darf ja jeder lesen, was er will. Aber dass die Zwerge dann als DIE Fantasysensation angeprangert wird....unverständlich.

Bin ich froh, das Buch durch zu haben.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good solid quest fantasy. Very well translated.
Generally nothing new about the book but still an easy read with decent characters.
I found the whole book a very enjoyable read. It won't stick with me the way some fantasy books would but sometimes a softer read is a nice break and this fits that bill nicely.
Simplistic in some ways and definitely borrows from other works but I went in expecting this so it didnt bother me too much.

[Aleshanee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Abwechslungsreich, spannend, komplex und sehr unterhaltsam! Großartiger Auftakt der Zwergen Reihe und ein Muss für High Fantasy Fans, denn Markus Heitz hat hier einen grandiosen Auftakt über das Volk der Zwerge geschrieben, die ja bisher meistens eher eine nur für eine unterhaltsame Nebenrolle gut waren.
Er hat es perfekt geschafft, die typischen Merkmale, die man aus Herr der Ringe und dergleichen kennt, mit neuen und interessanten Details auszuschmücken und damit einen besonders intensiven Blick auf dieses kriegerische Volk zu gewähren.

Wir befinden uns hier im Geborgenen Land, in dem, umschlossen von einem riesigen Gebirgszug, Menschen, Elben und Zwerge relativ friedlich miteinander leben. Geschützt werden sie durch riesigie Portale in den Bergen, die die vier Zwergenstämme gegen Orks, Oger und andere dunkle Mächte verteidigen. Der Durchbruch hat jedoch alles verändert, denn mit den mysteriösen und magiebegabten Albae kam das Böse in das Geborgene Land und breitet sich sich seither immer weiter aus.

Natürlich gibt es auch einen besonderen Bösewicht, den es aufzuhalten gilt und eine wichtige Rolle spielt dabei Tungdil, ein Zwerg, der unter Menschen aufwuchs, bei einem der sechs Meistermagier und der ihm einiges beigebracht hat, was für seine Rasse eher untypisch ist. Tungdil wird von ihm auf eine Reise geschickt, die eigentlich keine großen Schwierigkeiten bereit halten sollte, doch natürlich kommt alles anders als geplant. Die Figuren, auf die er trifft bzw. die sich ihm auch anschließen, sind anschaulich, originell und haben alle einen besonderen Kern, der sie auf seine eigene Art besonders hervorhebt. Dadurch prägt man sich jeden von ihnen auch gut ein, auch wenn die Namen etwas gewöhnungsbedürftig sind, aber dafür gibt es auch vorne im Buch ein Namensregister zum Nachschlagen, was ich allerdings nicht benötigt habe.

Ebenso ist eine Landkarte vorhanden, auf der man dem Weg der Gefährten sehr gut folgen kann. Der Aufbau ist gut gelungen, einmal von der Welt an sich mit all ihren Entwicklungen, Kulturen und auch einer eigenen Zeitrechnung; aber auch vom Verlauf der Handlung. Zuerst geht es noch eher in ruhigerem Tempo voran, wobei es aber ständige Überraschungen und Wendungen gibt, die die Spannung immer mehr aufbauen. Der Stil ist genau im richtigen Maße an das Genre angepasst, relativ einfach und flüssig zu lesen, aber trotzdem die typische Atmosphäre transportiert, die einen als Leser in diese phantastische Welt versetzt. Vor allem die Wortgeplänkel haben mir auch gut gefallen, überhaupt die vielen kleinen Spannungen zwischen den Charakteren und der zwergische Humor, der natürlich nicht fehlen darf.

Die Zwerge an sich hab ich immer mehr ins Herz geschlossen - denn auch wenn man sich vielleicht erst an ihr kampflustiges und draufgängerisches Wesen gewöhnen muss, sind sie in ihrem Stolz und ihrem Zusammenhalt gegen das Böse ein gutherziges und aufrichtiges Volk, an dessen Seite man sich keine Sorgen zu machen braucht, denn mit ihrer Axt und ihrem Kampfeswillen sind sie so gut wie unschlagbar! Aber auch sie sind nicht vor Verrätern und Intrigen gefeit und so ergeben sich viele widrige Umstände, die sie im Kampf gegen das Böse herausfordern.

Einen kleinen Kritikpunkt habe ich, denn es gab immer wieder zwangsläufige Zufälle, die für die Handlung zwar wichtig waren, die man aber vielleicht noch etwas geschickter und unauffälliger hätte einbauen können. Aber im ganzen hat das nichts an meiner abschließenden Meinung geändert, denn die vielen ausgefallenen Ideen und die verflochtene Weise, in der sich alles zum großen Finale aufbaut, ist super gelungen und hat mich wunderbar unterhalten.
Das Ende schließt die Handlung ab, aber es gibt schon einen Hinweis auf die nächste Herausforderung und ich freu mich schon sehr auf die Fortsetzung!

© Aleshanee
Weltenwanderer

[David Putnam · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one is a solid five stars, it is reminiscent of The Lord of The Rings. Its an odyssey story with a world at put at risk by an evil impossible to beat. I highly recommend this one.
I did find the over use of adverbs a little jarring, though I believe this written in German and translated. Sometimes things are lost in translation.
d.

[[Name Redacted]]

Brothers of the mine, rejoice!
(Swing, swing, swing with me)
Raise your pick and raise your voice!
(Sing, sing, sing with me)
Down and down into the deep,
Who knows what we'll find beneath?
Diamonds, rubies, gold and more
Hidden in the mountain store...

Born underground, suckled from a teat of stone
Raised in the dark, the safety of our mountain home
Skin made of iron, steel in our bones
To dig and dig makes us free!
Come on brothers, sing with me!

I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole
Diggy diggy hole, diggy diggy hole
I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole
Diggy diggy hole, digging a hole!

The sunlight will not reach this low
Deep, deep in the mine
Never seen the blue moon glow
Dwarves won't fly so high
Fill a glass and down some mead!
Stuff your bellies at the feast!
Stumble home and fall asleep
Dreaming in our mountain keep...

Born underground, grown inside a rocky womb
The earth is our cradle, the mountain shall become our tomb
Face us on the battlefield, you will meet your doom
We do not fear what lies beneath!
We can never dig too deep!

I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole
Diggy diggy hole, diggy diggy hole
I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole
Diggy diggy hole, digging a hole!

[Dimikris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Once I read an article about classic fantasy cliches. Classic fantasy books have adjectives ending in ling, like halfling. This is a book fool of lings, it fits all fantasy cliches. But after reading so many realistic and political intriguing fantasy books, this book has its charms in simplicity.

First chapters i was wondering whether i stop it or not. A simple story with AD&D dwarves complete with character creation chapters and skill advancement pages. I thought i was 15 all over.

As the plot thickens so does the speed. Slowly the characters become more real and intriguing. A lot of battles take place. The dwarves depicted gain depth but then again they are dwarves, they have their funny moments. As the author explains in acknowledgments section he never ventures far from the normal dwarfloving-readers expectations.

The climax is somewhat expected but enjoyable.I dont know if i'll read the second part The War of the Dwarves but it was a trouble free book that I read at ease.

[Miriam Cihodariu · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first installment in the series amazed me with how much it managed to achieve exactly what the author said he was aiming for. That is to bring more detail and flesh to the world of the classic, Tolkienian dwarves, the ones we encounter in so many fantasy stories and tend to take for granted as a homogenous mass. In a way, dwarves were the last great mystery, the final frontier of fantasy, and Markus Heitz really managed to breach it in a fantastic way.

As a bonus, the book also abounds in fairytalish, nightmarish images of a powerful beauty and poetry, a credible and realistic history and politics system, plenty of humor and diversity among its cast of characters. Humans and elves are also very well represented, and the whole mix just goes together really well. It's meant for adults, but it's an appropriate read for teens and even pre-teens, in case you're wondering.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ich gebe zu, ich bin nicht der größte Fan von High Fantasy.
Und als ich Die Zwerge 1 das erste Mal gelesen habe, habe ich mich auch öfter durchquälen müssen.
Nun habe ich es aber als Hörbuch gehört, damit ich noch mit den anderen Bänden der Reihe weitermachen kann. Das hat mir so viel besser gefallen!
Der Sprecher vom Hörbuch war super angenehm und sehr talentiert, er konnte jedem Charakter eine eigene Stimme geben und die Stimmungen perfekt rüberbringen.
Wo die Reise der Zwerge und ihrer Gefährten sich beim Lesen sehr gezogen hat, war es beim Hören durchweg spannend und interessant und ich bin sehr gerne in diese Welt eingetaucht.
Deswegen freue ich mich wider Erwarten jetzt sehr darauf, die anderen Teile zu hören und bin sehr gespannt, was da noch auf mich zukommt, da die Story von diesem Reihenauftakt schon komplett episch war.

[Thibault Busschots · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s a bit like Lord of the Rings but with a dwarf as the protagonist. The plot is pretty much a simple quest which sees our hero explore the world and then it shifts into a quest about good Vs evil basically. It’s a story that does take its time but it’s an enjoyable read.

[Sam · Rating 1 out of 5]

It is rare that I do not finish reading a book. This was one of the exceptions. The world was flat, the characters uninspired, and everything was so incredibly predictable. It was like reading watered-down Tolkein with the addition of dark elves and revenants.

What finally annoyed me enough to put the book down halfway through was the simple fact that some measure of time (presumably days) was constantly referred to as 'orbits'. At one point the main character is delirious with fever, and another character explains that he had been so for 'five orbits'. Seeing as the main character was just running off from orcs intending to kill all the human settlements, knowing whether 'five orbits' is five hours or five years is rather important to the reader. But no, no explanation. If something can already be readily described using an English word, there's no need to create a new one.

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great epic adventure with dwarven protagonists. The world, the sights, the various peoples are well described and believable is this fantasy. I'm sure everyone will compare this to The Hobbit with a diminutive hero sent on a mission to save their world. But this story stands on its own and was a delight to read without twisting the tongue around unpronounceable names.

[Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved the cover though!

[Synek Neris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I kind of like dwarves, I think they're neat.

I've picked this up from my local library without knowing anything about it other than it was from a dwarf's perspective or about dwarves.
Well... it kind of disappointed me in that regard. The main character might have been from any other race and the events in this book would have played out the same.
It is what you expect it to be, a standard fantasy book where a young man/dwarf was raised in a far away kingdom and the wizard of that kingdom gives him a quest and that quest turns out to be more complicated than first assumed. Throw in the gathering of materials and the forging of a legendary weapon with which to defeat an ancient evil and you've got your plot...

Characters were a bit cringe, not gonna lie, but all in all it is a good read for someone who is a teenager or younger.

[Katzenkindliest · Rating 4 out of 5]

Großartig!.4,5 Sterne

[Elisabeth Schell · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Dwarves by Markus Heitz is a story about a dwarf by the name of Tungdil who was raised among humans in Grindlegard by a magus, Lot Ionan. Lot Ionan sends Tungdil on a journey to run some long distance errands for him and over the course of his journey everything changes. He meets fellow dwarves for the first time in his life and soon finds out that he was nominated to be a candidate for High King, his foster-father Lot Ionan is killed and Grindlegard is being taken over by the perished land and Nudin, a magus that turned to the darkside in the search of knowledge. It is up to Tungdil to set out on a quest to forge the only weapon that is capable of defeating Nudin: Keenfire. On his journey he encounters orcs, älfs, and traitor dwarves who all stand in the way of the mission succeeding.
The story took a while to develop but after it picked up pace I couldn’t set the book down. The author introduces you into the elaborate society of the dwarves: their cuisine, hobbies and occupations, the set up of their families.
I would recommend this book to any fantasy fiction fans who are looking for another series to get into. If you liked the Lord of the Rings, The Dwarves might interest you. Also, the reading is less difficult then Lord of the Rings.

[Janice · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book seemed to go on forever. It took me over 2 months to read it because I kept setting it aside. Other than that, I enjoyed a fantasy read from the dwarves point of view. The quest was long and arduous. The battles were fierce. And Tungdil was an endearing character. There were a couple of inconsistencies that gave me pause. The main inconsistency was that The Perished Land turned people who died into "undead". They became evil. Except, some didn't turn evil. They apparently kept their sense of who they were and who they were allied with.

I may read more in the series. My grandson is eager to lend me the remainder. If I do read more, I will need to space them out.

[RG · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was such an easy read. Its your standard fantasy fair, very Tolkienesk, but the focus is on dwarves. The main character is your typical fantasy young man, kinda like your farmboy, however in this case hes a dwarve. The action is old school fantasy light, reminds me of a middld of the range D&D novel. The plotting is fun but predictable and the world buidling is a bit simple but has a german European twist to it. Probably reccomend for people eho arent big fans of fantasy as its very simple in structure. However big readers of fantasy could skip it as it doesnt bring much thats current in the genre.