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The Guardian
Angus Wells has imagined a magnificent new novel of vengeance, courage, and adventure--an electrifying tale of a noble warrior willing to lay down his life in the name of honor....
Aided by the dark magic of an evil sorcerer, a merciless army seeks to conquer the peaceful province of Chaldor. After Chaldor's king meets his death in battle, his queen urges the region's fiercest warrior, Gailard the Highlander, to carry out one final mission. She asks--and Gailard consents--to protect the royal daughter, Princess Ellyn, until she is old enough to gain her hereditary powers and win back her father's kingdom. But Gailard knows the enemy is closing in. In desperation, he turns to Shara, an enigmatic sorceress--and the only one with the power to help the pair survive. Shara vows to lead Gailard and Ellyn to their destiny. But will it be one of triumph...or destruction?
Aided by the dark magic of an evil sorcerer, a merciless army seeks to conquer the peaceful province of Chaldor. After Chaldor's king meets his death in battle, his queen urges the region's fiercest warrior, Gailard the Highlander, to carry out one final mission. She asks--and Gailard consents--to protect the royal daughter, Princess Ellyn, until she is old enough to gain her hereditary powers and win back her father's kingdom. But Gailard knows the enemy is closing in. In desperation, he turns to Shara, an enigmatic sorceress--and the only one with the power to help the pair survive. Shara vows to lead Gailard and Ellyn to their destiny. But will it be one of triumph...or destruction?
472 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 6, 1998
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About the author
Angus Wells
67 books37 followersaka William S. Brady (with John Harvey), J.B. Dancer (with John Harvey), Ian Evans, Charles C Garrett (with Laurence James), Matthew Kirk, Richard Kirk (with Robert Holdstock), James A Muir, Charles R Pike (with Kenneth Bulmer and Terry Harknett), Andrew Quiller (with Kenneth Bulmer and Laurence James), J.D. Sandon (with John Harvey)
Angus Wells (1943 - 2006) was a British writer of genre fiction, including fantasy and westerns.
Angus Wells (1943 - 2006) was a British writer of genre fiction, including fantasy and westerns.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 21, 2020
I’m a ‘sort-of’ fan of Angus Wells – I love some of his other work (The Book of the Kingdoms trilogy, and the Godwars trilogy), but I recall not being too impressed by Exile’s Children years ago. This one – I knew I’d read it, but couldn’t remember much about it. So time for a re-read.
The basic plot is indeed basic: Gailard, our hero, is a former highlander who left his clan to serve in the army of the king of Chaldor. Alas, the peaceful land of Chaldor is conquered by the king of Danant and his evil sorcerous advisor. Gailard is forced to swear an oath that he will flee with the king’s daughter and protect her until she has grown into her own magical power. Cue desperate escapes and encounters with highlanders and enigmatic sorceresses.
This book is okay. It’s not brilliant, but it’s not horrendously bad either. My real frustration with it is really the fact that it’s a stand-alone novel and the author has tried to cram too much into it – with highlanders, magic, battles and river pirates, it feel almost like the outline of a novel rather than a finished story. I can’t help feeling that making this book longer, or a duology, would have improved it. Part of me almost hopes that in the future another writer buys the rights to the story from Mr Well’s estate and re-writes it with more depth.
If you’re curious about this writer’s work, my advice would be to start with the Kingdoms or the Godwars books.
The basic plot is indeed basic: Gailard, our hero, is a former highlander who left his clan to serve in the army of the king of Chaldor. Alas, the peaceful land of Chaldor is conquered by the king of Danant and his evil sorcerous advisor. Gailard is forced to swear an oath that he will flee with the king’s daughter and protect her until she has grown into her own magical power. Cue desperate escapes and encounters with highlanders and enigmatic sorceresses.
This book is okay. It’s not brilliant, but it’s not horrendously bad either. My real frustration with it is really the fact that it’s a stand-alone novel and the author has tried to cram too much into it – with highlanders, magic, battles and river pirates, it feel almost like the outline of a novel rather than a finished story. I can’t help feeling that making this book longer, or a duology, would have improved it. Part of me almost hopes that in the future another writer buys the rights to the story from Mr Well’s estate and re-writes it with more depth.
If you’re curious about this writer’s work, my advice would be to start with the Kingdoms or the Godwars books.
March 6, 2023
I almost didn't finish this one. Which is sad, because I thought I remembered really enjoying this when I read it over 20 years ago. I even went out and grabbed a new copy after my puppy ate it when I was halfway through it. It was on my favorites shelf.
Like a lot of fantasy book I've been revisiting, it did not hold up. It starts off pretty decent, and had one of the better action scenes I've read lately towards the beginning. There's a use of 'do' being used in place of 'if' throughout the entire book that I guess is meant for mood or something, but it comes across as affected and unnecessary. "Do we get there in time, we'll be okay." If that was my only issue with the book I'd be over it, but it's not.
I don't know when it happens exactly, but it gets incredibly, ridiculously repetitive. Circular dialogue and reused phrases abound. Some parts really read like Wells had two possible versions of a paragraph written out, and just decided to use both. "[character] nodded, understanding." Seeing something like that in two successive paragraphs is jarring, and it happens a lot.
Every main character gets a serious case of insta-love, even a pirate queen figure who could have anyone at any time but takes an instant and exclusive liking to another main character. That's not really a spoiler, since they're off to bed together after their first conversation.
Everyone is smiling or grinning at someone, all the time, just like in Gemmel's 'Legend'. After nearly 500 pages of it, it just loses all meaning. Characters constantly go from talking about how terrible war is to laughing as they stroll off the battlefield.
I didn't care at all, by the end. There was no gravity to any of it at all, and it was repetitive. If it's annoying that I said that twice, skip this one. I hate to say it because it had a lot of sentimental value. I only hope my revisit of 'Lords of the Sky' isn't as disappointing.
Like a lot of fantasy book I've been revisiting, it did not hold up. It starts off pretty decent, and had one of the better action scenes I've read lately towards the beginning. There's a use of 'do' being used in place of 'if' throughout the entire book that I guess is meant for mood or something, but it comes across as affected and unnecessary. "Do we get there in time, we'll be okay." If that was my only issue with the book I'd be over it, but it's not.
I don't know when it happens exactly, but it gets incredibly, ridiculously repetitive. Circular dialogue and reused phrases abound. Some parts really read like Wells had two possible versions of a paragraph written out, and just decided to use both. "[character] nodded, understanding." Seeing something like that in two successive paragraphs is jarring, and it happens a lot.
Every main character gets a serious case of insta-love, even a pirate queen figure who could have anyone at any time but takes an instant and exclusive liking to another main character. That's not really a spoiler, since they're off to bed together after their first conversation.
Everyone is smiling or grinning at someone, all the time, just like in Gemmel's 'Legend'. After nearly 500 pages of it, it just loses all meaning. Characters constantly go from talking about how terrible war is to laughing as they stroll off the battlefield.
I didn't care at all, by the end. There was no gravity to any of it at all, and it was repetitive. If it's annoying that I said that twice, skip this one. I hate to say it because it had a lot of sentimental value. I only hope my revisit of 'Lords of the Sky' isn't as disappointing.
December 28, 2019
This would really be a 3.5 stars. Overall an interesting story, but another example of a rushed ending.
August 3, 2021
Probably the best Wells book I’ve read.
May 22, 2015
Eh. It was okay. Not as amazing as other books by this author. Some parts felt rather rushed. Probably won't read it again, but it was okay.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews