LE COFFRE D'AVLEN

The Reluctant King #1

by L. Sprague de Camp

King Jorian was rather attached to his head. Hence, he felt his promise to steal the Kist of Avlen, a treasure trove of ancient manuscripts containing magical lore, was a small enough price to pay for a chance to escape his own beheading. But when the quest pitted him against one peril after another - a murderous wizard and his giant squirrel, a castle full of executioners, a marauding troupe of ape men, and a voluptuous 500-year-old princess who was also a serpent - Jorian began to wonder whether he'd made such a good bargain.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy, Science Fiction, Adventure, Sword and Sorcery, Collections

224 pages, Pocket Book

First published December 1, 1968

About the author

Lyon Sprague de Camp was an American author of science fiction, fantasy and non-fiction literature. In a career spanning 60 years, he wrote over 100 books, both novels and works of non-fiction, including biographies of other fantasy authors. He was a major figure in science fiction in the 1930s and 1940s.

Reviews

[G. Salter · Rating 3 out of 5]

L. Sprague de Camp uses the Sword & Sorcery formula Robert E. Howard invented - fast action, exotic foes and locations, drastic plot changes - and refines it a little. Drastic plot changes are explained or used for humor, and the action and adventure are very exciting. There aren't any real themes or deeper symbolism, but as an adventure story this book holds together quite well.

[Iaia Barbarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Circa un anno fa ho finito “La Torre di Goblin” di Sprague de Camp. Beh, che dire, si è aggiunto sicuramente alla lista dei miei fantasy preferiti: i personaggi sono tremendamente umani con il loro essere contradditori, superficiali e consapevoli di quello che sono ma che non vorrebbero essere; personaggi capaci di sbagliare non in una qualche impresa eroica, bensì nel loro piccolo venendo magari a meno a un loro principio morale per paura. E poi c’è chi non pianifica nulla e se la cava sempre, e chi pianifica tutto e fallisce in ogni suo intento… come nella vita, no? La capacità dello scrittore di ironizzare su un genere e sui suoi personaggi, rende questo fantasy un raro gioiello ahimè sconosciuto. Ad esempio: chi è Jorian? Jorian è un ex re che non voleva essere un re, né voleva perdere la testa per esserlo. Perché a Xylar essere re significa avere vita breve. Jorian è un uomo qualunque che sa quando aguzzare l’ingegno e quando non dar peso alle cose; sa anche avere paura, cosa che solitamente gli eroi non hanno… non veramente. Jorian invece lo urla ai quattro venti e preferisce evitare di sguainare la spada, se non è proprio una questione di vita o di morte. Questo perché è una brava persona? Beh, sì, lo è, ma Jorian sono certa che risponderebbe con “Perché ho veramente fifa”. L’aver paura non lo rende meno eroico, perché lui pur sentendosela addosso, se deve salvare un’innocente da una qualche angheria, lo fa… con tutta la sua fifa al seguito. Questo dettaglio dona un nuovo valore alla parola “coraggioso” che spesso viene strausata fino a stravolgerla, fino a farla diventare una cosa qualunque, un pregio privo di sforzo.

Di questo libro, il primo di una trilogia, mi piacciono i racconti di Jorian, spesso utilizzati come distrazione per i nemici che per ricalcare un’usanza classica nel genere fantasy (o magari un po’ è anche così). Molte volte nei libri fantasy i racconti sembrano un po’ fini a loro stessi – non che la cosa mi dispiaccia, sia chiaro – ma in questo libro il protagonista ti incanta con la sua parlantina e, dopo che questi finisce il racconto, scopri di essere stato ammaliato come tutti i personaggi che nel libro lo stavano ascoltando. “Un altro racconto, Jorian! Cosa succede dopo?” vorresti chiedergli insieme a tutti gli altri. È una dote estremamente rara riuscire a coinvolgere tanto un lettore in un racconto secondario.

Cos’altro mi piace tanto di questo libro? La magia. La magia non è la chiave per risolvere i problemi: è pericolosa e imprecisa, e spesso è la prima fonte di guai e di morte… persino fra i maghi.

“Ehi, mamma, da grande voglio fare l’incantatore! Uhm… forse no, ho cambiato idea”. Effettivamente trattieni il respiro ogni volta che qualcuno lancia un incantesimo (e devi avere gli ingredienti per farlo!). Funzionerà? Probabilmente no. Ma almeno non rischieranno di farsi spuntare un altro braccio, vero? VERO?!

Concludo con la genialità dello scrittore di aprirti gli occhi su alcuni dettagli negli incantesimi che non andrebbero ignorati. Non voglio fare spoiler, voglio che spalanchiate la bocca ed esclamiate “Accidenti, perché nessuno ci ha mai pensato?! È così logico!”.

Insomma, se riuscite a trovare “La Torre di Goblin” correte a leggerlo, perché non c’è tristezza più grande di vedere tanta genialità e realismo in un fantasy che ha deciso di fare un baffo all’eccessiva serietà del suo genere, venire dimenticato nel tempo a causa di un ambiente che ha deciso di non dargli nemmeno la possibilità di presentarsi. Spero un giorno di trovare i seguiti...

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been searching for this book for YEARS!! I read it as a child, but I couldn't remember the title. I'd been looking for "King Jordan", thinking that was the name of the character and book, but "King Jorian" is what I should have been looking for. It took an obscure search of "King beheaded after 5 years" to find it - thanks Google!

I remember the book with fondness, so I hope it lives up to my memory (which is rather shady, so it will not take much).

[Nighteye · Rating 5 out of 5]

funny, nice and comical fantasy.

[Attila · Rating 2 out of 5]

A sword-and-sorcery fantasy - rather sword than sorcery - about an adventurer who must steal a magical artefact on the orders of a wizard. He gets into all kinds of random adventures, most of which are not related to the search for the artefact in any way. The plot is simple and linear, and for the most part it goes nowhere.

[Stuart · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intelligently written and cleverly composed tale of swashbuckling and adventure. I've been reading quite a bit of L. Sprague de Camp's work, and I feel like he really hits his stride in this series (not that The Fallible Fiend wasn't also delightful).

[Rebecca Stock]

DNF - it’s just not working for me right now

[Dale Mccoy · Rating 1 out of 5]

In all my years of reading, once I pass a certain point in the book (roughly 100 pages in), I finish it. Heck, once I read an entire book that I knew I wasn't going to enjoy just because it was the third in a trilogy and I wanted to finish it.

This is the first time that I put down a book well past that 100 pages mark. Even worse, I was within 20 pages of the end of the book. Reading those last 20 pages just was not worth my time. That is how awful this book is.

It starts of rather exciting. The king is about to be executed (for reasons they explain later) and he escapes. Its a great start to the book and all through the book you are waiting for it to get back to that level of excitement, but it never comes close again. It meanders. Alot! You keep thinking, "Oh here we go, we're about to get to an exciting part," and it lets you down. Again and again. Even worse, there are long stretches of text that are so mind-numbingly dull that you slog through figuring that it will get better soon. It doesn't.

The most exciting and funny parts, oddly enough, are the times the main character goes off and tells a story. Yes, you are literally reading a section of text that has nothing what so ever to do with the "plot." I put plot in quotes because this book just does not have one. Hell, we don't even get to the goblin tower until the last 30 or so pages. The entire previous part of the book is going from one random event after another (like making a D&D campaign using only the random encounter table). Once we do finally get to the tower, its ... nothing exciting. We get a multi-page speech about politics. Not even politics that could be applied to our world, but one about wizards of their world. Think that could be exciting? It is like listening to John Kerry, Mitt Romney and Jeb Bush all rolled into one at their most boring. Right where the climax should be. You know, that part of the book that we SHOULD have been building towards the entire time (but weren't), it just isn't there.

If I could give this book negative stars, I would.

[Brandon Bundy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Goblin Tower offers a curious world of magic and monsters. I found Jorian to be a bit hard to sympathize with, and his knack for going on winding tales of yore, while interesting enough for the overview into the history of the lands, nevertheless felt off-putting given their regular occurrence. I was impressed by the sexuality raised here however, as this is the first fantasy series I've read to be so bold about sexuality outside of A Game of Thrones.

One of my biggest complaints is that the danger which Jorian finds himself facing each time after the headman's axe does not feel genuinely threatening. He always has some little skill up his sleeve(or in his belt, be it the lock pick pins or his... manhood).

On the whole this is not a bad book. It just isn't the strongest I've picked up in the past year and a half, and while it does have some fun areas and some entertaining and interesting thoughts to tell, there are others which fall flat for me.

I will however seek out the sequel as time allows.

[Ashley Lambert-Maberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a terrific surprise! I expected (no longer sure why) a generic fantasy, and instead got a delightful, slightly satirical, charming little story. It's very similar to the tone of the Matthew Hughes Archonate books, if you're familiar with them. It's quite episodic, as the protagonist Jorian travels from society to society and has adventures everywhere he goes.

I suspect if it were written today there would be less emphasis on hot women throwing themselves at our hero, and of course there's no evident gay characters, etc., but diversity aside it's really an engaging book.

Technically a 4.5 but I'm rounding up because of it so exceeded my expectations!

(Note: 5 stars = rare and amazing, 4 = quite good book, 3 = a decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. There are a lot of 4s and 3s in the world!)

[Sawyer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not unreadable, but the story just doesn't lead anywhere.
It seems like the writer always finds out what to write on the next page while he's working on the previous one.
It's not completely unenjoyable, but for me this book is not enough. It lacks a real story, also lacks a real, lifelike character in the main role.

[Jordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable and witty, but not as much so as The Fallible Fiend. I think the issues is that the frequent story-within-a-story elements feel more like an intrusion into the main plot, with both ending up working against each other. I think it would've been the better tale had the number of digressions been reduced.

[Jay Allen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ultimately, not enjoyable. de Camp is clever at world creation, and his plots are spry, but the dialogue is atrocious. Weighted down by exposition, and altogether clunky and turgid. The characters felt like devices, not people. Read Terry Pratchett instead.

[Anonymous Pickman · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Goblin Tower is a lighthearted fantasy adventure story that relies less on plot and themes, and more on world building, character interaction, and humor. In my experience, this novel is unlike most of de Camp's other works, especially that of his Conan the Barbarian short stories which often feel stiff and formulaic. Instead, de Camp paints a colorful and original world, filled with memorable characters of all sorts: silly, deceiving, greedy, timid, moronic, villainous, etc. The author lets the story flow naturally and freely, not letting himself be confined to a rigid plot. The story reads less like a novel, and more like a collection of short stories with recurring characters; each chapter plunges the protagonist and his companions into a different situation that they must work their way out of.

When it comes to themes, The Goblin Tower really doesn't have any; it would seem, like most of de Camp's efforts in the Sword & Sorcery genre, that he mostly wrote the story to entertain. Oftentimes, the book feels reminiscent of Pratchett's Discworld novels, or even like a D&D campaign. Having said this, however, de Camp does use The Goblin Tower to poke fun at stereotypes in fantasy writing (such as the rags to riches trope that is often still found in many works of fantasy today), as well as real-world history and government.

Overall, I would rate The Goblin Tower highly as it was a very enjoyable read that never grew dull. I would recommend it to any fan of the Sword & Sorcery genre, as well as fantasy fans in general.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had a reading hiatus apparently but this was really good, although fundamentally flawed as a structural beast. As a thematic, rationalistic, sword and sorcery novel it really feels fresh, a little influenced by Vance but less reliant on a protagonist who thinks he's cunning, maybe splitting the difference between Cugel and Conan. The focus on storytelling is first rate and you can feel how Sprague de Camp wants to create something, but he's torn between consistency and inconsistency, not quite sure how to nail it down anymore than how he wants to get his characters from A-B. unique-feeling though, I dug it.

[Francisco Javier · Rating 3 out of 5]

Muy entretenida novela con un héroe al que no agrada la violencia aunque en ocasiones haya de recurrir a ella para escapar de las situaciones de peligro. Un narrador heredero de Scherezade que ameniza sus aventuras con decenas de historias en las que subyace un análisis de las formas de poder y su punto débil generalizado, la tentación de perpetuarse en él. Entre tanto poderoso este pícaro personaje de buen corazón, héroe a su pesar, sólo desea una vida tranquila y dos placeres: la comida y las bellas mujeres.

[Danielle Miller · Rating 2 out of 5]

I last read this back in the 80s as a teen, and remember quite enjoying it. Coming back to it now, it is all rather dated and too much purple prose. The author tried too hard to show off his vocabulary, the dialogue was turgid, and the characters basically ciphers. While there is a heavy-handed, slapstick humour running entwined through the ambling adventure, it became almost annoying. Was contemplating going through the rest of the trilogy, but have now lost interest.

[MR MICHAEL · Rating 3 out of 5]

King Jorian is to be beheaded and is rescued by a magician but the price is a gaes put on him to get a magic book and take it to a distant wizard's convention. That is the basic story but the reality is that the book is heavily padded with unwanted details and irrelevant tales, which while they have some interest are nothing to do with the main story. A reluctant three stars.

[Xabi1990 · Rating 4 out of 5]

7/10. Media de los 4 libros leídos del autor : 7,5/10

No sé por qué no he leído mas del autor, muy famoso en sus tiempos y cuyas novelas me han gustado bastante. Sobre todo "Que no desciendan las tinieblas"

[Laurence Hidalgo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Our hero (he denies being heroic) is gregarious to a fault and loves to tell stories. So while the main plot progresses by fits and starts, many other stories are told. There is lots of action, twists, and an occasional romp in the hay with a lusty wench, not to mention the Serpent Princess.

[Notger Heinz · Rating 5 out of 5]

An entertaining read with a tour through the various government forms of this world. Has a bit of a set piece feeling like a classical point-crawl adventure, but some ideas are just extremely creative and fun.

[James Rickett · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun look at an alternate universe, with an odd peek back into this one.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable. Not as much as fallible fiend. Will see where it goes. Did not know he lived in Villanova.

[Tom Griffiths · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book almost makes it. It's good, but it never reaches great.

[Eric Werner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good pulpy misogynist fun.

[Justin Greer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charmingly weird and weirdly charming. The prose was stellar. Loved the role of storytelling in the narrative. Fun book for sure.

[James]

The Goblin Tower

[Tome Addiction · Rating 1 out of 5]

I remember having this book on my list but don't recall the story. Wasn't memorable.

[Olivia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Surprising amounts of sex and racism. Not a well written story.

[Georgi Nikolaev · Rating 2 out of 5]

its just too retro