The Road to Ehvenor

Guardians of the Flame #6

by Joel Rosenberg

Something is not all right with This Side, the alternate world where the guardians find themselves. Magic - or at least the rumor of it - is creeping out of Faerie at the border town of Ehvenor. And even though Jason Cullinane, son of the legengdary Karl, has not yet settled into his new role as baron, he and his companions cannot ignore the pleas of those they were sworn to protect. So when great sea serpents rise from the ocean depths, when livestock is swallowed whole by an unseen menace, and when wolfpacks suddenly have more in common with shapechangers than canines, Jason has no choice but to rise to the rescue with his inner circle of warriors - and challenge the forces of chaos before they gain a foothold in the human lands.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy, Science Fiction, Ebooks, Speculative Fiction, Dragons

312 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Note: This is a different person than the political/thriller author, Joel C. Rosenberg

Joel Rosenberg was the author of the bestselling Guardians of the Flame books as well as the D'Shai and Keepers of the Hidden Ways series. He made his home in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Reviews

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

2 1/2 stars, my least favorite character in the series becomes the narrator and main character of this novel, I'm looking forward to the final book in the main arc of the series. Really want to see how the author wraps this up.

[Steve Cole]

Surprisingly, this is perhaps my favorite of the whole series. Walters subtextual commentary about friendship, love, parenting, and loyalty, as well as growing old(er)..all spoke to me when I first read it, and even more so now.

[Pete · Rating 3 out of 5]

It seemed like this series was moving towards Jason Cullinane as the main protagonist. However, this is Walter's book, and I do not care for him as a main character. In addition, fantasy adventure has again shifted to more adult and mundane concerns. For example, Walter's wife can no longer tolerate a physical relationship with him. Given that he is an enthusiastic womanizer, it is hard to feel any sympathy about this. The center of the fantasy plot focuses on events centered on the Faerie outpost of Ehvenor. Creatures from Faerie are streaming into This Side, and the crew must investigate. The problem for me is it takes far too long for the book to focus on this plot. When it does, the book is quite engaging, but there are too many side plots.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was very startled to discover that Rosenberg got his mojo back in this book, after several declining books in a row.

He picks a new leading character in Walter and gives up a deep and interesting look at the character. Besides that, the plotline is interesting and the ending startling — with some wackiness that goes beyond what most fantasies are willing to offer up.

It does meander a bit too much and there's overall too much navel-gazing, but it was still an enjoyable and very readable book.

[Shawn · Rating 1 out of 5]

I started this series as a teen in the 80’s and I believe I got to book four before life got to busy. This year I decided to go back and listen to this story. Oh my god it’s been painful. The last couple books are just not great and this one is terrible. I didn’t need details of conversations and meals that wasted the first 1/3 of the book. Also the “quest” aka storyline is so lacking I am not even sure it had a point. I would love to see the end of this story but not sure I have it in me to listen to another horrible disjointed mash.

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Average 5/10*
Also read 10/95, 2/92

[Acidrazzor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want to love this second half of the series as much as the first but without Carl it is hard. Don't get me wrong it is a good book but there was something there with Carl and the gang that is missing with his kid. I'd say this is 4-4.5 stars because it's so hard loosing Carl and gaining his son as the hero. Again would have been better in Audiobook format.

[Ronnie Cross · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best of the series so far! I loved the bad guy in this one!

[Chris Page · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, could do with a continuation but unfortunately that isn't going to happen.

[James]

As magic from Faerie begins to creep into This Side, the border town of Ehvenor becomes the site of a battle between Jason Cullinane's warriors and the invading forces of sorcery.

[John Teske · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yes, well, this did not age well either.

Too much, in directions I no longer care for.

Alas, another goodbye to a book series much loved in my youth.

[Todd · Rating 2 out of 5]

And here the author doesn't know well enough to know to let a world and characters go. This book continues where the last REAL Guardians of the Flame left off. Now the author takes the viewpoint of another popular character and you get to see things thru his eyes. But this book seems to be mired in the muck. Never really moving or developing a concise storyline till the last few chapters, then finally it gets tolarable. Yet at that time I just wanted this book to end. To say I was disappointed would be an understatement, and I also think I will let this series go and not continue to look for the many follow ups he has written.

[Taddow · Rating 3 out of 5]

I originally read this book in the nineties and this time I still enjoyed it but now I've taken a more critical evaluation of the changeover in the series with the death of Carl and the transition to more emphasis on the other characters. This story is told from Walter's perspective, and I still like that the story involves the remaining main original characters, but the story seemed a little rushed to me. They happened to go to the right places at the right time to learn, see,what they need to solve the problem. I would have liked to see more build-up or elaboration on what was going on in Faerie but maybe this limited information was the author's intent.

[Keil Hunsaker · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was not that impressed with the previous book in this series "The Warrior Lives" and I thought I might have to just trudge through the rest of the series just because I am stubborn and had not read the later books in the series when I first found it years ago. This book regained my interest. It started of kind of slow but ended well. Overall I really enjoyed it.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was better than his "the Warrior lives" book. I was not wild about the first person perspective, but it worked fairly well.

The author has killed off several of his main characters, although even dead Karl seems to make his presents felt throughout this book.

I really liked the way Joel dealt with the character attacking Walter.

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Road to Ehvenor (Guardians of the Flame, #6)
by Joel Rosenberg
this book is a great tale from the d and d era. The struggle of your responsibility to the things you build and the need to find rest.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Guardians of the Flame series really heats up with book 6 - The Road to Ehvenor. The focus switches to Walter - a cunning stealthy character that lives by wits rather than brute force and the book is better by that decision.

Interesting, page-turner and fun, this book really delivers.

[Fatbaldguy60 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not quite as good as the first trilogy.

[Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably my favorite of the series. Certainly unique, with Walter Slovotsky as the narrator.

[Tucker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rosenberg does much better this time. With a wolf fight and a bunch of crazy locations (such as the place where trees bleed) it's AWESOME!!

[Just Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is by far one of the best fantasy books I've ever read. Amazing.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

This started off slow, but once the action starts it pulls you in. This ended up being my favorite of the series so far.