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Morlock Ambrosius #2
This Crooked Way
Travelling alone in the depths of winter, Morlock Ambrosius (bitterly dry drunk, master of all magical makers, wandering swordsman, and son of Merlin Ambrosius and Nimue Viviana) is attacked by an unknown enemy. To unmask his enemy and end the attacks he must travel a long crooked way through the past the soul-eating Boneless One, past a subtle and treacherous master of golems, past the dragon-taming Khroi, past the predatory cities of Sarkunden and Aflraun, past the demons and dark gnomes of the northern woods. Soon he will find that his enemy wears a familiar face, and that the duel he has stumbled into will threaten more lives than his own, leaving nations shattered in its chaotic wake. And at the end of his long road waits the death of a legend.
453 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2009
4 people are currently reading
319 people want to read
About the author
James Enge
48 books158 followersJames Enge lives in northwest Ohio with his wife and a philosophic dog-detective. He teaches Latin and mythology at a medium-sized public university. His stories (frequently featuring Morlock Ambrosius) have appeared in
Black Gate
, in the Stabby-Award-winning
Blackguards
, in
Tales from the Magicians's Skull
, in
F&SF
, and elsewhere. His first novel,
Blood of Ambrose
was nominated for the World Fantasy Award in 2010 and its French translation was shortlisted for the Prix Imaginales in 2011.
Look for more Morlock stories this year in Tales from the Magician's Skull and Old Moon Quarterly .
You can reach James Enge on Twitter (as jamesenge) or, if all else fails, via (jamesenge.com).
Look for more Morlock stories this year in Tales from the Magician's Skull and Old Moon Quarterly .
You can reach James Enge on Twitter (as jamesenge) or, if all else fails, via (jamesenge.com).
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
December 3, 2013
This one is at least partially a fix-up of short stories that had appeared previously, primarily in Black Gate magazine, wrapped in a bit of a framing device. Necessarily, that makes it a bit choppy, but I didn't regard that as a bad thing. Much of it is an interesting sequence following Morlock and the same set of characters on various stages of a perilous journey, but each stage is told from a different character's point of view and gives a different interpretation to Morlock. (Although he's always a fairly crotchety but largely honorable fellow.)
Highly enjoyable stuff. And the scholarly afterword about sources used for Morlock's adventures, reminding me of nothing so much as some of the "translator's notes" in Samuel Delany's Neveryon books, was the icing on the cake.
Highly enjoyable stuff. And the scholarly afterword about sources used for Morlock's adventures, reminding me of nothing so much as some of the "translator's notes" in Samuel Delany's Neveryon books, was the icing on the cake.
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February 19, 2012Personally, I blame Star Wars, but the Lord of the Rings movies are doubtlessly at fault, too, and I suppose people were just fed up a bit with all those sword-swinging barbarians… whatever the reason, the Sword & Sorcery had a bit of a hard time, even to seeming extinct for a while superseded, by Epic Fantasy and its huge doorstepper novels that had lost even the last bit of decency by extending themselves beyond the trilogy format. While the situation has not exactly been reversed, Sword & Sorcery has made a bit of a comeback in recent years, and one of the pioneers of that revival is James Enge with his stories about Morlock Ambrosius, master of all makers.[return][return]In one sense, Enge is very much a traditionalist; not only does he not hide the debts he owes to his influences, he positively flaunts them in the reader’s face. Leiber’s Fafhrd and Grey Mouser and Vance’s Cugel the Clever come to mind most strongly – for the frequent and devious plotting and counter-plotting that is going on in Enge’s stories, for the often odd and bizarre turns his imagination takes (just check out his fantasy version of the internet in “Whisper Street”) and for wit and writing that are elegant, sharp and swift like a rapier. For all this, he is very much his own man, and Morlock a Sword & Sorcery protagonist not quite like any other. He compensates for his physical disability (he is a hunchback) with a keen intelligence and a formidable talent for magic (or at least one branch in what seems like a very thoroughly thought-out magical system – Enge in general does pseudo-erudition really, really well, just have a look at the appendices to this volume). Unusually for a Fantasy hero (even supposed barbarians who are often quite grandiloquent), he is very monosyllabic most of the time; his favourite utterance is a simple “Eh” that Enge often uses to great effect – it is quite astonishing to see the shades and variety it is able to take if placed deftly in context.[return][return]Morlock is also a hero with a past and a man with a family, and the latter in particular plays an important part in This Crooked Way (as it actually did in Blood of Ambrose, the first book featuring Morlock – but those were different members), an attempt Morlock’s to help his mother against his father in fact constitues the main drive for the plot, such as it is. The Sword & Sorcery genre tends to favour the short form over the novel, and having a novel made up of stories, as Enge does here, might therefore seem almost natural. Or as an attempt to keep your cake and it eat it, too – and while those attempts are of course invariably doomed to failure, This Crooked Way comes close enough to suceeding to make the reader not care about the difference, because it is all so very enjoyable.[return][return]In their best moments, these stories have a certain exuberance to them, a joy in their writing, that at times rises to the level of sheer glee and can’t help but infect the reader, in spite of the sometimes dark and grisly nature of what they tell of. Possibly connected to that, it has to be said that James Enge is probably unparalled in Fantasy literature when it comes to writing unpleasant characters. Which might not sound like much in the way of praise, but you likely won’t be saying that once you have encountered some of his villains. The main villain of This Crooked Way is a wonderfully repellent example of that, but probably even worse is Nurgnatz the gnome who in my estimate has a very good chance to go down into Fantasy history as the most disgusting villain ever - completely ridiculous, of boundless arrogance and narcissm, and utterly horrifying.[return][return]There is a basic plot in This Crooked Way, but it makes its presence felt only sporadically, and for the most part deals with events and encounters along the way that are only marginally connected to the main storyline which almost happens an aside. On the other hand, this is not a random travelogue either – the arrangement of the stories (four long ones in the centre of the volume, all told by or from the perspective of a single family) bracketed by shorter narratives, and those interspersed with bits of interlude (although I have to admit that I did not quite see the point of those – but that might have been my own fault rather than the novel’s) shows an intention towards symmetry and an awareness of form and balance. Enge has obviously given some thought to the overall structure of his work, but even so it still is very much a case of the journey being the reward – something that is emphasised by the final showdown between Morlock and the villain which is delightfully anticlimactic and pretty much guaranteed to frustrate any expectations the reader might have had for it.
February 11, 2025
The three Morlock Ambrosius books aren’t a trilogy – in the epic fantasy sense; you can read them independently of each other. This one is a series of novelettes, novellas and interludes, although they do follow a journey to its goal. A Morlock tale is likely to zigzag from humour to pathos to a kick in the guts, and this collection ranges across moods. Because of this, as also because of Morlock’s Merlin-like traits (although our actual Merlin is Morlock’s awful father) it reminds me much of T.H. White’s The Once and Future King, which happens to be my favourite book.
The other person Morlock reminds me of, persistently, is the Doctor from Doctor Who: infinite pockets, brain the size of a planet, fixes any situation with a wondrous splatter of fantasy science. Except Morlock isn’t a fraction as loquacious. His taciturn ‘Eh’ becomes a language in itself, though.
I find there is real wonder, and the real horrible. If a story feels too light, there’ll be a plunge, or a wrench, and I always care. I think I liked most the intelligent flames Morlock keeps as a pet, whose endangerment is as affecting as a sentient slime alien you just met in Doctor Who; and the tale ‘Traveller’s Dream’ which seems to flirt with themes of self-destruction and mental illness, how hard it is to help another person on a dark road.
At the moment Morlock Ambrosius is tied with Doctor Adoulla Makhslood* (whose novel I haven't even read yet) for my most likeable contemporary S&S character. The tales make a big thing of him not being likeable, but that’s elvish trickery by Enge. On the other hand, the plots support his father’s point: ‘You may overestimate the number of women who have looked on him without some mixture of fear and disgust.’ If Enge is even a quarter convinced by this, he is wrong. It’s a necessary fiction: in fact women would flock to Morlock more or less as to Strider the Ranger (in the books, without help from Viggo).
* a character of Saladin Ahmed
I admit it: I liked him at first. That's partly due to the kind of men I'd been buried in for more than a dozen years: half-witted townies who thought a youngish widow was anybody's meat; needle-toothed Bargainers who thought of anybody as meat for their God in the Ground. Morlock wasn't much to look at, maybe, but he wasn't like that. Plus he had very impressive hands: strong and many-skilled. I remember the first time I saw him lacing up both his shoes simultaneously, one hand per shoe, while keeping up his side of a conversation (as much as he ever did, anyway). Or the time my fifteen-year-old Thend bent his knife, using it as a prybar. Morlock took the blade, a steel blade mind you, in his hands and bent it back. It wasn't quite straight, but at least it would fit into the scabbard. Then that night, when we made camp, he set up a kind of portable forge full of flames that talked back to him, and he remade the blade better than before—all without a word of recrimination. And anytime a crow came by he would have a conversation with it, tossing it grain from his pocket for bits of semi-useless information. And he did this stuff like someone buying a pound of cheese: it was perfectly ordinary. How can you not like a man like that?
Well: I learned.
Huh. Morlock gets a low-key stalled romance in this book, but mostly, as I say, we’re meant to believe people are offput by him. Three of these novelettes (?) are told in the point of view of ordinary folk who get caught up with him; this set up a resistance, as I don’t get sick of Morlock, but they did win me round. I was glad to return to Morlock pov, though, and look forward to the next book.
The other person Morlock reminds me of, persistently, is the Doctor from Doctor Who: infinite pockets, brain the size of a planet, fixes any situation with a wondrous splatter of fantasy science. Except Morlock isn’t a fraction as loquacious. His taciturn ‘Eh’ becomes a language in itself, though.
I find there is real wonder, and the real horrible. If a story feels too light, there’ll be a plunge, or a wrench, and I always care. I think I liked most the intelligent flames Morlock keeps as a pet, whose endangerment is as affecting as a sentient slime alien you just met in Doctor Who; and the tale ‘Traveller’s Dream’ which seems to flirt with themes of self-destruction and mental illness, how hard it is to help another person on a dark road.
At the moment Morlock Ambrosius is tied with Doctor Adoulla Makhslood* (whose novel I haven't even read yet) for my most likeable contemporary S&S character. The tales make a big thing of him not being likeable, but that’s elvish trickery by Enge. On the other hand, the plots support his father’s point: ‘You may overestimate the number of women who have looked on him without some mixture of fear and disgust.’ If Enge is even a quarter convinced by this, he is wrong. It’s a necessary fiction: in fact women would flock to Morlock more or less as to Strider the Ranger (in the books, without help from Viggo).
* a character of Saladin Ahmed
I admit it: I liked him at first. That's partly due to the kind of men I'd been buried in for more than a dozen years: half-witted townies who thought a youngish widow was anybody's meat; needle-toothed Bargainers who thought of anybody as meat for their God in the Ground. Morlock wasn't much to look at, maybe, but he wasn't like that. Plus he had very impressive hands: strong and many-skilled. I remember the first time I saw him lacing up both his shoes simultaneously, one hand per shoe, while keeping up his side of a conversation (as much as he ever did, anyway). Or the time my fifteen-year-old Thend bent his knife, using it as a prybar. Morlock took the blade, a steel blade mind you, in his hands and bent it back. It wasn't quite straight, but at least it would fit into the scabbard. Then that night, when we made camp, he set up a kind of portable forge full of flames that talked back to him, and he remade the blade better than before—all without a word of recrimination. And anytime a crow came by he would have a conversation with it, tossing it grain from his pocket for bits of semi-useless information. And he did this stuff like someone buying a pound of cheese: it was perfectly ordinary. How can you not like a man like that?
Well: I learned.
Huh. Morlock gets a low-key stalled romance in this book, but mostly, as I say, we’re meant to believe people are offput by him. Three of these novelettes (?) are told in the point of view of ordinary folk who get caught up with him; this set up a resistance, as I don’t get sick of Morlock, but they did win me round. I was glad to return to Morlock pov, though, and look forward to the next book.
January 22, 2010
Recipe: Start with a base of Leiber, add a pinch of Arthurian mythos, a couple of tablespoons of Pratchett, and a double handful of Lovecraft, and you'll get something like James Enge's Morlock Abrosius books, starring the Ambrosii, the most dysfunctional family in fantasy. Morlock has some unresolved daddy issues, and his mother is almost completely crazy. That's without discussing his sisters, or the lesser relations...
This is the second book in the series. The first book, Blood of Ambrose, was a slow burn, but the climax was engrossing. 'This Crooked Way' is a series of previously published, interconnected short stories, with additional material for the book. By that nature, the story telling is somewhat fractured - 'A series of Interesting Things happened whilst looking for my horse' - but by the middle of the book things flow more smoothly. The tone of the book varies between the weirdly funny (Morlock's conversations with his mother, the bureaucratic nightmare of Narkunden) to awfully hideous (the Lovecraftian Khroi, Nurgnatz's eating habits).
Overall I liked it, and would recommend it to fans of fantasy with a taste for the darkly humorous.
This is the second book in the series. The first book, Blood of Ambrose, was a slow burn, but the climax was engrossing. 'This Crooked Way' is a series of previously published, interconnected short stories, with additional material for the book. By that nature, the story telling is somewhat fractured - 'A series of Interesting Things happened whilst looking for my horse' - but by the middle of the book things flow more smoothly. The tone of the book varies between the weirdly funny (Morlock's conversations with his mother, the bureaucratic nightmare of Narkunden) to awfully hideous (the Lovecraftian Khroi, Nurgnatz's eating habits).
Overall I liked it, and would recommend it to fans of fantasy with a taste for the darkly humorous.
May 1, 2010
The second installment of James Enge’s projected trilogy about Morlock Ambrosius, son of Merlin and Nimue and a very powerful magician, is less successful than the wonderful “Blood of Ambrose,” but “This Crooked Way” is still a pleasure. It’s more a collection of stories, episodes as Enge calls them, rather than a connected narrative, and the book suffers for it.
Also, several of the episodes were published as standalone stories, some before the first book, “Blood of Ambrose”, was written, so Enge has to do some spadework to make it all fit together – and sometimes the pieces still have some jagged edges. For example, the chapter entitled “Fire and Water” was the first-ever Morlock story (as “Turn Up This Crooked Way”) and has absolutely nothing to do with anything else in the book, which otherwise circles around a battle between Morlock and his father over his mother’s fate.
Still, Enge is an engaging writer, Morlock is an unusual yet appealing protagonist, and the stories have plenty of mythic and legendary echoes (enhanced by a neatly done afterword). Book three will be coming out soon, but sadly the word is that it will not return to any of the other characters from “Blood of Ambrose,” who were as fascinating in their way as Morlock.
Also, several of the episodes were published as standalone stories, some before the first book, “Blood of Ambrose”, was written, so Enge has to do some spadework to make it all fit together – and sometimes the pieces still have some jagged edges. For example, the chapter entitled “Fire and Water” was the first-ever Morlock story (as “Turn Up This Crooked Way”) and has absolutely nothing to do with anything else in the book, which otherwise circles around a battle between Morlock and his father over his mother’s fate.
Still, Enge is an engaging writer, Morlock is an unusual yet appealing protagonist, and the stories have plenty of mythic and legendary echoes (enhanced by a neatly done afterword). Book three will be coming out soon, but sadly the word is that it will not return to any of the other characters from “Blood of Ambrose,” who were as fascinating in their way as Morlock.
January 11, 2012
Further adventures of Merlin's hunchbacked alcoholic son, if Merlin had lived in a world with no Britain. I say "adventures" because this is a series of semi-linked short stories, much in the line of (and with stylistic references to) Zelazny, Vance, and Leiber. Haven't seen that in a while, have you? The semi-linking is how Morlock keeps running into his (interestingly insane) parents while on a quest to rescue his horse. We get Morlock through viewpoints human (interestingly varied) and nonhuman (not-so-interestingly insectile).
At this point I'm not sure what the series is *about* -- Morlock is completely reactive, in the long view, and his involvement with his parents comes off as two cases of "Eh, dealing with that sure did suck." I think the first book benefited from bouncing him off his sister, but she doesn't appear in this volume. His involvement with the rest of the human race (and etc) is the point, I guess, which makes these a curiously mainstream set of epic fantasy. But the third book may be yet another change in form, so I shouldn't draw conclusions yet.
Footnote: the sun rising in the west is a definitional mistake, not a geographical alteration.
At this point I'm not sure what the series is *about* -- Morlock is completely reactive, in the long view, and his involvement with his parents comes off as two cases of "Eh, dealing with that sure did suck." I think the first book benefited from bouncing him off his sister, but she doesn't appear in this volume. His involvement with the rest of the human race (and etc) is the point, I guess, which makes these a curiously mainstream set of epic fantasy. But the third book may be yet another change in form, so I shouldn't draw conclusions yet.
Footnote: the sun rising in the west is a definitional mistake, not a geographical alteration.
June 19, 2010
I found Blood of Ambrose a bit of a tough read. It was quick but it didn't seem to read very quick (if that makes sense). The language was hard to follow.
This Crooked Way is a lot easier to read. The writing flows a lot better. With that said this book is filled with little episodes that sorta connect together but don't really. I personally enjoyed the parts that were just Morlock a lot better before he hooked up with that family. I found the parts where the family told stories a bit dull and I didn't really care for those.
Since this book is filled with little episodes it doesn't flow as smoothly as book should. In fact it felt a bit off as if someone is telling me stories and they should go together and I know they should but I can't figure out why they don't.
I enjoyed it and just wish there was more of just Morlock. Overall a better smoother read however the stories don't line up as well as I would have liked.
This Crooked Way is a lot easier to read. The writing flows a lot better. With that said this book is filled with little episodes that sorta connect together but don't really. I personally enjoyed the parts that were just Morlock a lot better before he hooked up with that family. I found the parts where the family told stories a bit dull and I didn't really care for those.
Since this book is filled with little episodes it doesn't flow as smoothly as book should. In fact it felt a bit off as if someone is telling me stories and they should go together and I know they should but I can't figure out why they don't.
I enjoyed it and just wish there was more of just Morlock. Overall a better smoother read however the stories don't line up as well as I would have liked.
December 6, 2013
_This_ is how wizards should battle: not just blood and thunder and lightning but subtle trickery and planning and collections of odd objects which are the things you need to build the things you need. Enge even makes the discussions of magic interesting.
Curiously, in the appendix there's a mention of one "C. Linwood", whose 25-volume legendarium was incomplete at his death. It's a reference to Lin(wood) Carter and his unfinished "Khymyrium" project.
Curiously, in the appendix there's a mention of one "C. Linwood", whose 25-volume legendarium was incomplete at his death. It's a reference to Lin(wood) Carter and his unfinished "Khymyrium" project.
June 24, 2020
Another great Morlock Ambrosius novel!
Unlike the first installment, which was basically one long narrative structure, this second volume of fantasy/sword-and-sorcery fiction featuring Morlock Ambrosius is more episodic, divided into a number of interconnected smaller storylines told from different perspectives. It really is some fine writing, and I highly recommend it, along with any other fiction by James Enge!
Unlike the first installment, which was basically one long narrative structure, this second volume of fantasy/sword-and-sorcery fiction featuring Morlock Ambrosius is more episodic, divided into a number of interconnected smaller storylines told from different perspectives. It really is some fine writing, and I highly recommend it, along with any other fiction by James Enge!
March 23, 2019
Mortlock Ambrosius is like one of your favourite uncles, just a little bit eccentric. You can’t help but be intrigued by his weird and wonderful adventures. Great escapism.
October 29, 2012
This might be the most uneven book I've ever read.
Part of it is obviously due to it's structure. The novel is made up of a sequence of short stories. Some of them were probably going to be duds.
Don't get me wrong. Some of them are awesome. "Where Nurgnantz Dwells" is amazing, for one thing. For another, despite his general weakness in characterization*, James Enge does a surprisingly impressive job with his female characters, and the two stories with female narrators are certainly the best of the middle sequence.
On the other hand, Morlock is something of a Mary Sue. He's _always
_ one step ahead, always has the magic to win the day, or just happened to have built the bridge your standing on and knows how to knock it over. This isn't bad in and of itself, but the book gets a little tiresome, when for the 15th time, Morlock concentrates, does something impressive with Tal**, summons his magic sword and.... Yup, Morlock wins again.
I liked Blood of Ambrose because it gently and subtly rose the stakes from "oh, political intrigue." to "is Morlock and Friend or a Foe?" to "holy shit zombies!" But this book had none of that escalation. I will give some consideration to reading the next Morlock book, since I already own it,*** but probably not for a good long while.
* Part of this is a problem of the medium. It's hard to introduce good characters in a short story...
** The magic systems sucks. There, I said it.
*** Bought on the strength of Blood of Ambrose alone. Oops.
Part of it is obviously due to it's structure. The novel is made up of a sequence of short stories. Some of them were probably going to be duds.
Don't get me wrong. Some of them are awesome. "Where Nurgnantz Dwells" is amazing, for one thing. For another, despite his general weakness in characterization*, James Enge does a surprisingly impressive job with his female characters, and the two stories with female narrators are certainly the best of the middle sequence.
On the other hand, Morlock is something of a Mary Sue. He's _always
_ one step ahead, always has the magic to win the day, or just happened to have built the bridge your standing on and knows how to knock it over. This isn't bad in and of itself, but the book gets a little tiresome, when for the 15th time, Morlock concentrates, does something impressive with Tal**, summons his magic sword and.... Yup, Morlock wins again.
I liked Blood of Ambrose because it gently and subtly rose the stakes from "oh, political intrigue." to "is Morlock and Friend or a Foe?" to "holy shit zombies!" But this book had none of that escalation. I will give some consideration to reading the next Morlock book, since I already own it,*** but probably not for a good long while.
* Part of this is a problem of the medium. It's hard to introduce good characters in a short story...
** The magic systems sucks. There, I said it.
*** Bought on the strength of Blood of Ambrose alone. Oops.
April 24, 2012
This was an around the corner surprise. I picked this book up, started and stopped 3 times. Only when I had run out of anything to read did I come back to it and now I am terrifically glad I did. This author's writing style is a bit tangled for me...the reason I kept laying it down. He does not really describe things in detail and he talks is very lose concept riddles sometimes...both things I learned to love love love about his writing style by the end of the book. If you like things magikal, read this...it is different, clever, a crooked approach. I like Ambrose very much...and the notion of his 3 part mother indeed. Lots of savory characters along the path. A curious, powerful, relentless magician...and a jar.
March 24, 2011
Picks up the story from The Blood of Ambrose, where the Emperor has banished Morlock from the empire--so naturally Morlock is still skulking around in it. While the overall plot of the book is to find Velox and "save" his mother Nimue, each piece is told by a different character that Morlock runs into along the way. We begin to see the love/hate relationship mere mortals have with him: although he strives to help, his mere existence in the end is a danger to all who know him.
The Wolf Age picks up after shortly after this book ends, as he is fleeing the wrath of Merlin (although I do not remember mention of how Merlin escapes Morlock's prison).
The Wolf Age picks up after shortly after this book ends, as he is fleeing the wrath of Merlin (although I do not remember mention of how Merlin escapes Morlock's prison).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 22, 2013
Finally!! Done with this one. I give it 2 1/2 stars. I liked parts of it but overall no. I feel like James loves Morlock too much. The first book was fine because he didn't mind putting Morlock in a tough spot that could have ended with Morlock dying if it weren't for the help of other characters. This book not so much.
James also kept putting Morlock into situations that had nothing to do with the main plot. It felt more like he just wanted to show off how badass of a character Morlock was.
I do plan on reading the last book. I hope it's better than this one.
James also kept putting Morlock into situations that had nothing to do with the main plot. It felt more like he just wanted to show off how badass of a character Morlock was.
I do plan on reading the last book. I hope it's better than this one.
June 20, 2016
I very much enjoyed this. It's a series of short stories, but I felt that this didn't leave the book disconnected. Instead, it gave a sense of time passing between "the good parts", with characters having lived and known each other, building relationships, in between.
I especially liked the chapters told from the supporting characters' perspectives. I felt like these chapters had some excellent characterization. I was somewhat annoyed during Thend's chapter, but it was in a way I would wholly except to be annoyed by a teenage boy, so that's fine ;-)
I especially liked the chapters told from the supporting characters' perspectives. I felt like these chapters had some excellent characterization. I was somewhat annoyed during Thend's chapter, but it was in a way I would wholly except to be annoyed by a teenage boy, so that's fine ;-)
December 12, 2010
Clever and entertaining, certainly a bit dark and episodic, it was a interesting and original book. Now I just wish that I had read the first book in the series before this one. Fortunately in reading genre fiction it is often easy to get a story without all of the background info. The previous book is now on my to read list, though I wonder why the library doesn't have it but does have this one.
October 21, 2013
After I was half-way through this book I realized it was book two in the series of Morlock Ambrosius. However, you do not need to read the first one to thoroughly enjoy the second. James Enge handled the writing of the story from the point of view of each character per chapter. I was impressed. I started out reading the book to find out what happened to his horse. I won't spoil the ending, but you do find out at the end.
March 23, 2010
This book is written in an interesting episodic format, primarily because it is comprised of previously published short stories woven into a longer narrative. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, especially the stories told from the perspective of those people who traveled with the legendary figure Morlock Ambrosius.
September 22, 2013
Enjoyable young adult sword and sorcery. Not a really strong narrative. The quest of Morlock (the "hero") is a flimsy framework to hang a series of adventures/encounters on. But the encounters are imaginative and enjoyable. Would read further books in the series.
August 21, 2011
Cleverly written and while there is a cast of character, it is much more focused on Morlock Ambrosious (Merlin and Nimue's only surviving son) than the previous book.
Want to read
March 26, 2011Gave up after the third chapter. I wasn't in the mood. I'll get back to it another time.
January 25, 2012
Engaging but sadly disappointing in its first person portrayal of women solely as slaves to their periods and fear of rape.
August 20, 2012
I only made it to page 212 of this one. It's more like a collection of short stories. The writing is okay, and it's quite imaginative, but for some reason I just couldn't get through it.
October 19, 2012
Fun, periodical style fantasy
August 9, 2014
as I stated in the first book's review, this series rocks. up too late reading to leave a more comprehensive review
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews