A Spell of Empire

by Michael Scott Rohan

In an alternate Europe, the power is split between the Nibelung Empire of the north and the Tyrhennian Empire, based in Sicily. Volker, a half-elven musician and sorceror's apprentice, is hired to find three companions to guard a convoy to the south. His path leads to magic, swordplay and death.

Genres: Fantasy

462 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

Michael Scott Rohan (born 1951 in Edinburgh) was a Scottish fantasy and science fiction author and writer on opera.

He had a number of short stories published before his first books, the science fiction novel Run to the Stars and the non-fiction First Byte. He then collaborated with Allan J. Scott on the nonfiction The Hammer and The Cross (an account of Christianity arriving in Viking lands, not to be confused with Harry Harrison's similarly themed novel trilogy of the same name) and the fantasy novels The Ice King and A Spell of Empire.

Rohan is best known for the Ice Age-set trilogy The Winter of the World. He also wrote the Spiral novels, in which our world is the Hub, or Core, of a spiral of mythic and legendary versions of familiar cities, countries and continents.

In the "Author's Note" to The Lord of Middle Air, Rohan asserts that he and Walter Scott have a common ancestor in Michael Scot, who is a character in the novel.

[copied and adapted from en.wikipedia.org]

Reviews

[2Due · Rating 3 out of 5]

Adventurous, magic, funny and with very likable characters, it's been a pretty good entertainment following their journey, full of dangers and weird characters. The only thing that bothered me a bit it's that the first part of it has been relatively slow compared to the second, which I think it's been slightly compressed, but this last had much more action, mystery and funny parts. I loved the Armonican and the Northman's bickering, those two were hilarious!

[R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my all time favorites! Different in a good way. A standalone novel with a refreshing take on fantasy themes. That the writer had fun writing it is noticeable but does not detract. You will become immersed in the dark forested pre-medieval forests of Europe, the dying remnants of the roman empire and the good and evil creatures of myth roaming the vistas. The protagonists have borrowed traits freely from the three musketeers. The main protagonist is a poor young man with no prospects but with a head for leadership, against his will dragged into a deadly game where he must travel through a Europe beleaguered by dangers.

[Jan Van · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun, lofty and very entertaining. A little rough on the transitions and events between scenes, making it hard to follow who did what. And the characters had little arc. But very refreshing and inspiring for my own storytelling

[Rob Markley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Regrettably can't remember this one.... been a while

[Wolf · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slightly odd picaresque fantasy story. It has been sometime since I read it.

Occasionally it hit on something refreshingly different or striking - a scene with pleasure boat revelers dressed as monstrous creatures sticks in the memory. At its best there is plenty of undemanding fantasy fun - more in the mold of Sword and Sorcery than heroic epic. It is inconsistent, however, and distinctly uneven. Sadly, the beginning seemed rather better than the ending.

The book started life, I understand, as a Warhammer tie-in novel in the late-80s. Those familiar with the gameworld, from a misspent youth, will recognise the similarities between the book's alternate medieval Germany and the game's Old World Empire. Some fun can be had trying to spot occasional editing slips that appear to reflect an earlier draft of the novel.

[Karl Stark di Grande Inverno · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pensate ad una rivisitazione de "I tre moschettieri" di Dumas, condite con incantesimi magici e imperi favolosi, ed otterrete questo romanzo.
Qui c'è solo Avventura con la "A" maiuscola.
I problemi stanno a zero, non ci sono livelli diversi di lettura, metafore del nostro mondo, riflessioni tra le righe: c'è solamente una storia mozzafiato, divertente, incalzante e terribilmente coinvolgente.
La parte iniziale, con il "reclutamento" dei compagni di viaggio da parte del protagonista, è eccezionale e spicca per visionarietà e scorrevolezza dello stile.
Ci sono invero, nel corso delle avventure dei nostri prodi, un pò di alti e bassi, ma sono cosa di poco conto.
Consigliato a chi vuole un romanzo "d'evasione".

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

A playful and thoroughly enjoyable fantasy romp set in a fairytale medieval Europe. The characters are very colourful, and much of the books strengths stem from the character interaction and their clashing personalities. The keyword for this book is indeed "playful". According to the authors, they wrote each other into the story as the main side characters and spent every other chapter writing the other one's character into a sticky situation.
A lighthearted and funny story full of music, magic and mystery.