The Wicked and the Witless

Chronicles of an Age of Darkness #5

by Hugh Cook

The action of this volume of the Chronicles takes place just before that of The Wizards and the Warriors. The young Sean Kelebes Sarazin, returning to Selzirk after a long period as a hostage, expects to play a major role in the city where his mother, Farfalla, is the kingmaker. But his hopes are rudely his comfortable life as a hostage had left him ill-prepared for a life of war, intrigue and wizardry, and in the event, acquiring power proved rather more complicated than he imagined. Nevertheless, he has a he sees himself as the legendary figure of prophecy, Watashi, and sets out to make that vision come true.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Science Fiction, Novels, High Fantasy

Paperback

First published March 17, 1989

About the author

Hugh Cook was a cult author whose works blend fantasy and science fiction. He is best known for his epic series The Chronicles of an Age of Darkness.

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

Reviews

[Dan Schwent · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sean Sarazin, exiled son of a Kingmaker, returns to the Harvest Plains, the land of his birth, and sets about trying to get himself crowned king. Little does he know the vast web of conspiracy he's been ensnared in for most of his life...

The Wicked and the Witless tells the story of San Sarazin, the man known as Watashi in the first four books of the Chronicles of an Age of Darkness. In those books, we're given the impression that Watashi is a formidable warrior and strategist. This book shows us the truth.

The Wicked and the Witless takes what has become a fantasy cliche, the hero foretold in an ancient prophecy, and turns it on its ear. There is a prophecy but Sarazin has been nudged into fulfilling it by years of subtle manipulation. There are wheels within wheels in this story and endless political machinations and double-dealing. It was difficult to tell who was working with whom.

Sarazin is an unwitting pawn and as ill-equipped as most of Hugh Cook's protagonists. Thoric Jarl, the wise old mercenary, is a fountain of wisdom, gradually grooming Sarazin to become Watashi, whose name means blood and death. Sarazin's story raises questions about fate, destiny, and even history itself.

Easter eggs abound in The Wicked and the Witless. Miphon and Morgan Hearst are fairly prominent, as is that splendid bastard Drake Douay. The fall of the Confederation of Wizards and the rise of The Swarms is retold yet again, as is the war between Stokos and Hok.

Hugh Cook has woven a twisting tale sure to please any fan of political fantasy. Readers of the earlier Chronicles of an Age of Darkness won't want to miss this one.

[Doug · Rating 5 out of 5]

While shorter - and I thought slightly weaker - than books 2, 3, and 4, this was still a wildly entertaining romp from the criminally underrated fantasy author Hugh Cook. This is his most political book, and a little less picaresque than the previous 3 entries in the series. Book 1 is still the most “war” focused novel. All in all, another novel that showcases Hugh Cook’s spectacular characterization, range, and prose.

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this hard on the heels of The Walrus and the Warwolf (#4) and wrapped it pretty quickly. Perhaps it suffered from the close comparison. I rate the series so far but this has a real "middle book" feel to it. Few new ideas or big set pieces, more filling in backstory and asking the reader to rethink the situations and characters from the first 4 books (3.5 really if you see #2 as a bit of a filler demanded by the publishers).

The language is less playful and 'hero' less dynamic, with a far more event driven narrative. But that totally fits the characters and themes of this piece. It remains to be seen whether this functions as a true pivot for the series, and the casting of unreliable narrators and changing perceptions of the main players so far comes together in later books for a big payoff.

I certainly feel that the plotting is tighter, and the writing more subtle in exercising some control over the reader, than I earlier gave credit for. I felt like I should've been enjoying the ride less, and paying more attention to the details from the first volumes - and that maybe it would be worth owning the copies to dip back and recheck certain 'facts'. This series makes me think I will be re-reading and getting more out of it.

I have always been a fan of Cook's almost indecently fast wrap-ups. Looking forward to the second block of 5 books.

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is probably my least favourite book of the Cook's excellent Chronicles of an Age of Darkness. The main protagonist, Sean Kelebes Sarazin (or Sarazin Sky as he known to his mother, or Watashi as he would be known to the world at large) is a particularly weak and irritating character. Cook is great at giving us flawed characters who are far from being the traditional fantasy hero and making them real and somehow turning them into personalities who we are at the very least interested and of whom we can admire certain aspects. He did it with Togura Poulaan in The Wordsmiths and the Warguild, with Dreldragon Drake Douay in The Walrus and the Warwolf, and with the character of Guest Gulkan in The Witchlord and the Weaponmaster - The running theme being callow youths who have a rather over inflated sense of their own worth and their place within the world and their development into more mature and somewhat more likable people. The second part of this theme fails to arrive with Sarazin in The Wicked and the Witless and he remains a spoiled, selfish, delusional and unlikable character through it all. The lessons he learns along the way fail to temper his personality nor to bring about any kind of moral change. While he does learn things, they add nothing to any sense maturity and even when he reflects on his misfortunes or his mistakes, moments of clarity are instantly rejected when the next opportunity arises for his own solipsistic advancement arrive. Was this an intentional goal of Cook's? Was he striving here to generate an antihero? Given his skill elsewhere, I am inclined to think so. I do not believe that we are really supposed to like Sarazin much at all, though perhaps not to hate him either. Rather, he is an object of contempt and ridicule, and perhaps at best, from those most charitable, of pity.

Yet, despite all this, this book still rates five stars for me. Perhaps this is rather generous, and in all honesty I must admit that Cook is one of my favourite authors, his worst offering being far superior to many other authors' best in my opinion. While much of this book retreads general territory which is covered in both The Wizards and the Warriors and in The Walrus and the Warwolf, and while very little is added in terms of the ongoing meta-plot and progressing history of the world, it does give a different perspective of those events and adds to the richness of the world. We visit the Rice Empire for the first time and get a rather more detailed picture of Selzirk and the Harvest Plains, as well as Chenameg. Characters such as Farfalla the Kingmaker and Plovey of the Regency are revisted, as of course is Drake Douay. There are cameos from Morgan Hearst and references to a number of other characters who crop up in previous books, as well as some minor ones from later books such as Zelafona the Witch, her dwarf son Glambrax (perhaps one of the more interesting apperances) and even such random names as Theodora Turbothot (ne Thrug) and of course Thodric Jarl. Seeing some of these from difference perspectives is certainly interesting, in particular comparing the overlapping events of this volume and The Walrus and the Warwolf, but in this relatively slim volume not much is revealed that is of particular interest. A different perspective, variant thoughts on a wider theme, facets of a prism. For me, as a fan of the series and the world which Cook created, these are positive things.

Also, whatever is thought of the character of Sarazin, Cook's writing does not suffer with this volume. He remains witty, thought provoking and the prose flows at a pace where the reader is never bored and is always eager for the next chapter. In many ways this is particularly impressive in the face of such a pathetic little creep of a main character as Sarazin. Rereading this book for the first time in over fifteen years (I have read it at least twice before, maybe three times), I definitely both appreciate it more than I did before, and also am more aware of the flaws in Cook's rather brilliant writing. On the one hand I appreciate the way this book fits in to the pattern of the Chronicles more than I previously did, especially reading in quick succession after several others in the series, but also well aware that Hugh Cook passed away a number of years ago now and this series is well and truly over lends a significant sense of loss and probably of added value to the reading experience. On the other, it has been several years since I started cataloguing my reading experiences on Goodreads and in that time I have become far more aware and far more critical of the things I read, and there are certain aspects of Cook's writing which may not stand up well scrutiny. The general lack of strong female characters would probably be one of the major criticisms of his style, and yet here we encounter Farfalla, a strong, intelligent and very practical woman. Not the main character, it is nice to see that Cook's world does not treat all women as objects of lust or chattels. These books are very much set in an age of darkness, and the sad fact about a great deal of history is that the world was not a pleasant place for women unattached to men or who tried to be strong in their own rights. I feel Cook is here adhering to a certain gritty realism which runs through his books, even in the face of the ludicrous or the utterly fantastic. One of my favourites of the Chronicles is The Women and Warlords, which has a strong female character, yet it is probably no accident that that book is not the norm. Still, there are various portrayals of female characters here which many may find distasteful, or at the very least outdated. I would argue that these are intentional and serve a literary purpose, but for the more sensitive reader... Well, to be honest, it is unlikely that they have progressed this far through the series.

In the end, for the fan, this is a worthwhile and interesting book. However, I must be honest and say that this is neither the best place to start with Cook's Chronicles of an Age of Darkness, not will the casual reader miss anything of any significant import if they were to skip this book. On the other hand, even today there are not so many fantasy books which can both embrace such a style of epic scope and high fantasy and yet combine it with a dirty, ugly side of things which is so lacking in the typical fantasy read and then add a healthy dose of humour and top it off with sophistication and intelligent thought.

[Patrick Stuart · Rating 3 out of 5]

What can be said? He's just a bad guy.

Certainly my least favourite of the first five of 'Chronicles of an age of Darkness'

It lives in parallel.

Cook has already done two versions of the singular young male point of view hero. In 'Wordsmiths and Warguild' we got Togura Poulaan, a sometimes slightly dim, or, more fairly, just a normal IQ 100 young teenage boy, while in 'walrus and Warwolf' we met the highlight; Drake Deldragon Douhey, an absolute fireball of manic energy, crazy schemes, relentless invention and Big Protagonist Energy.

'Wicked and Witless' is built around Sean Sarazin, firstborn child of the Kingmaker Farafella, of Selzirk, sun-worshipping ruling city of the Harvest Plains.

So who is Sean Sarazin? Aka Sarazin Sky, aka WATASHI!



HES A TOOL

A somewhat occasionally clever, not especially cowardly, pompous, pretentious, status-obsessed, lonely deluded dickhead.

There are some excuses for this; Sarazin was raised as a hostage in a southern, vaguely Chinese/Japanese coded Kingdom, as the distaff "Son" of its ruler Lord Regan. His closest companions are his weapons tutor Jarl Theodric, his scholastic tutor Epelthin Elkin and the prostitute Jaluba.

Its not clear if anyone who knows Sean Sarazin actually likes him in any way. Lord Regan plans to use him as a weapon against his mother the Kingmaker of Selzerk, and every else he knows is in the pay of Lord Regan. True, Sarazin isn't actually that likeable, but this may be something of a chicken and egg thing, as his entire life has been one of manipulation and carefully deluded dreams. Regan fills Seans head with vaguely Nietchien/Randian philosophy about the great individual being able to shape their own fate and conquer all.


"'Remember, we create ourselves. Always remember that. We have free will so we are entirely responsible for ourselves. Everything happens t us by our own choice. Never forget that.

'I never will, my lord,' said Sarazin.

'In the final analysis,' said Lord Regan, 'you can have whatever you want. You can be whatever you want to be. You can win whatever you want to win.'

'I believe it my lord,' said Sarazin.

'Some people become victims,' said Lord Regan. 'This only happens because they have a victim mentality. Feeling themselves to be victims, they behave in a way which makes them just that.'

'My lords wisdom is all-encompassing.' said Sarazin, truly impressed by the depth of Lord Regans philosophy."


It's not clear if Regan is ding this because he actually believes it, or because it will hopefully turn him into a guided missile of crazed ambition aimed directly at his mothers not-Queendom.

Seeds and fertile soil. Sean Sarazin decides right at the start of the book that he is absolutely destined for some kind of great and/or heroic role of command and glory, and that he can achieve this largely by his own efforts. From that point on he becomes a problem for absolutely everyone else in the book, primarily his mother, who exerts insane amounts of energy and political cunning trying to keep him alive.

The book is an exercise in seeing the world from the point of view of someone who understands less about what is going on than most of the intelligent characters, and usually less than the reader, who is misinformed, but still less deluded than Sean Sarazin.

Its also an exercise in viewing a deep and complex world, full of deep and complex characters, from the point of view of a shallow and self-interested person.



COMPARISONS

The comparison to the two other young, questing male heroes, explain why this is the least of the five;

Togura Poulaan - sometimes a dingus. Relatively unambitious for a Prince. 'Memorises' the one magical word needed for his quest and then forgets it. Fails to notice that he has, by luck, actually found the object of his quest once he has it. Broadly good-natured, genuinely wants to save his girlfriend from a magic circle and puts in a fair degree of effort to do so, does actually achieve some quite heroic things; in particular being captured by pseudo-Mongol steppe riders and managing to move from slave and the lowest status person there to actual tribe member; his notable deed is surviving an ambush and dragging himself a lot of miles over broken ground with broken legs to get back. Wins some degree of respect from at least one father figure. Crosses a mountain range on his own. Survives capture, disease, war. Fights for his life in a Nightmare City against an ancient evil and manages to defeat it. Does, in the end, manage to free his GF from the magic circle and defeat his evil half-brother. Honestly he does pretty good for a teenage boy!

Drake Deldragon Douhey - raised in a bizzaro sex cult, dissolute and scheming, survives attempted drowning, convinces an ogre king to make him his heir, becomes a pirate, defeats a crazy bug-monster and saves the ship, performs several high-risk secret missions and manages to survive, crosses most of the continent of Argan at one point or another, may have dived into alternate realities, falls in love, tries to commit a rape, is made the antichrist figure in a new religion, becomes less of a rapist, fights an entire religion for his beloved, discovers works of an ancient poet and sells them, is given a semi-immortality health parasite, becomes master swordsman and skivamareen player, briefly a king of the Chennaming Gate, kills Par Plovey the extremely evil misogynist bastard, goes to extreme and ridiculous lengths to save his one true love from illness. Honestly I have barely even sketched the surface.

Sean Sarazin, you get involved in a lot of stuff but are largely as competent as extensive education and experience make you, and not much more.

Sean why can't you be cool like these guys? Why can't you learn?



NEVER CHANGES

The agonising thing about Sarazin is that, even though by the end he has a mother and a father who love him, and a small kingdom, and a pretty cool Dwarf servant he's still an utter tit! He sentences Jaluba to death! (She survives). He consistently does things almost as bad as that and seems to gain almost no self-knowledge or depth. He remains, almost and perhaps even to the end, a big believer in 'noble blood' and the grace and natural will to power of the nobility, despite being not of noble blood himself, and being reminded of that multiple times.



SLIGHT GLIMMERS OF HOPE

Competance - after being exhaustively trained by a very good mercenary, educated by a possibly-evil wizard and having experienced the complexity of court intrigue in Selzirk, and having been part of and somewhat lead, several at-least-not-disastrous military expeditions and actions, Sarazin does seem to get actually better at basic protagonism. He can fight and war and organise and plan, to a degree, and is not always crap at it, though he would still lose to most other protagonists.

Dwarf - after being roofied and sexually assaulted by a witch, Sarazin ends up with an evil Dwarf manservent, the Dwarf: Galbrax! Galbrax is great, partly because he consistently gives Sarazin shit, and partly because he is openly and nakedly a petty, awful, lying, thieving little shit and owns it. He is on the outside what Sarazin is on the inside and that makes him much more palatable. He also sticks by Sarazin and never betrays him, (maybe once or twice), becoming the closest thing Sarazin actually has to a friend, (though of course he remains largely oblivious to this).

Some Friends - after being not-a-prick to at least some people, Sarazin does end up with some friends, or at least friend-like relationships, which is all he deserves.

Loving Parents - Raised in a palace of manipulation and more and more aware that everyone around him only wants to manipulate and use him, Sarazin is honestly crushed when he thinks he has accidentally killed his own father, and is genuinely thrilled to see him alive again. His time spent with his actual father running around preparing to be a revolutionary insurgent, his efforts to protect him and willingness to put aside his crazy Randian politics to spend time with him, make Sarazin, for once, almost likeable. Here, the reader starts to think; "Damn, maybe if he was raised right he wouldn't necessarily have been that bad."

Sarazins mother; the Kingmaker Farafella, also genuinely loves him and tries hard to keep the dumb bastard alive.

Flickers of Decency - after being interrupted in an absolutely horrible crime by his father, Sarazin experiences something like.. momentary shame? Near self-awareness? Once utterly bamboozled and defeated by Drake Deldragon Douhey, who Sarazin had previously tried to saw the legs off, he bows in supplication to the grand tragedy of Drakes noble (and imaginary) kingdom and blood curse. This is all nonsense but for Sarazin its nearly character development.



ELEMENTS OF THE WORLD

Many fragments of world-lore are found within the book, including much that may come to pass, (or would have, if Cook had lived).

Elpeth Elkin; the mind-controlling Wizard of Ebber. Is he good or bad? Certainly the only other wizard of Ebber has proven to be quite bad previously. Now he has access to his ancient city, what will he do next?

The mythical 'Tectonic Lever' of the Deep South. Fated to drop all of Southern Argan into the sea. Previously pulling this thing would be genocide, but with the Swarms invading, pulling that dang lever is starting to look like a pretty good idea actually.


THE WRITING

Because Sarazin is the way he is, much of the pleasure of the book is provided by the world and the side characters. This being Cooks AoD, the world is more than up to the challenge, and the costars are customarily, complete, interesting and compelling. As always - every single named person is clearly on their own complex journey and adventure all of the time.

Perhaps because of Sarazin, Cooks lovely inventive, euphonic sometimes ridiculous onomatopoeic prose is lesser here than in the first four AoD books, though there are bits here and there.

The political and personal complexity remains, and the hearts are still genuine, but again, due to Sarazin, the natural cynicism becomes more dominant than it was in other books, making this one 'darker' but in a low, grimy way, rather than a magisterial tragic way.

For a 'Cook' story I give this three out of five, or even maybe two-relative. For a normal fantasy, I give it a four out of five, as it is still Cook.


..........................................



'Am I doing the right thing or the wrong thing?'

'Its not what you do,' said Jarl, ' its how you justify it when you get back to Selzirk. I've seen a lot of famous victories which were actually no more than draws - a couple of them were in fact defeats!'

'We'll worry about Selzirk when we get back there alive,' said Sarazin.

'No!' said Jarl. 'Start writing your history now. This is what happened. By a skilful forced march you took the enemy by surprise. you seized Eagle pass. You established a base on the heights. Then you yourself led a reconnaissance in force while your subordinates were busy bringing up the supplies necessary to support a determined thrust deep into enemy territory.'

'Why,' said Sarazin, in admiration, that sounds really good.'

'Of course it does,' said Jarl. 'With the right line in storytelling, you can make the worst defeat into a triumph of courageous, dynamic soldering.'

[Mark Redman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review: The Wicked and the Witless by Hugh Cook

The Wicked and the Witless, the fifth volume in Hugh Cook’s Chronicles of an Age of Darkness, stands as a bold and layered entry in his sprawling ten-book epic. It showcases Cook’s trademark interwoven storytelling—retelling major events and revisiting familiar characters from earlier books, this time through the eyes of Sean Sarazin (also known as “Watashi”). The result is a meta-fictional experience that threads together disparate pieces of the saga into a rich, unified tapestry.

The novel carries strong thematic weight, particularly in its exploration of fate versus free will. Sarazin, raised under a rigid ideology, finds himself caught in a world governed by prophecy and shadowy conspiracies. This philosophical tension is one of the book’s greatest strengths, complemented by Cook’s deft balancing act of violence, sex, suspense, and dark humour. In this instalment, he delivers just enough of each to keep the pace brisk and the tone engaging.

While Sarazin himself may alienate some readers—depicted as pompous, pretentious, and obsessed with status—his flaws are deliberate and central to the novel’s moral complexity. Among the young male leads introduced in the series so far, he is perhaps the least sympathetic. His self-centred worldview makes him difficult to relate to, particularly if you're looking for a traditional hero figure. Still, the narrative is enriched by a vibrant supporting cast whose individual arcs heighten both the political stakes and the emotional depth.

The novel’s ending is as unconventional as its protagonist. Rather than building to a traditional fantasy climax, it closes in the midst of war, offering little resolution. This open-ended structure may frustrate anyone seeking a clear payoff but it fits with the broader, episodic nature of the series.

Tonally, The Wicked and the Witless leans heavily into dark humour and mature themes, often skirting the edge of the grotesque. Its cynical, politically incorrect take on topics such as rape, incest, and psychological manipulation—including scenes designed to shock or disturb—marks it as unapologetically adult. It’s a raw, unflinching work that’s not for the faint-hearted.

In terms of series placement, this book acts as the culmination of the “Argan arc,” focusing tightly on Sarazin’s storyline while drawing in characters who made brief appearances in earlier volumes. This continuity adds richness for longtime readers but may overwhelm newcomers unfamiliar with the series’ layered structure.

Ultimately, The Wicked and the Witless may not be the most accessible or beloved of Cook’s works, but it’s a pivotal, thought-provoking instalment in his grand design. Its integration of overlapping narratives, philosophical undercurrents, and a richly populated world makes it a compelling—if challenging—read.

For those willing to grapple with a morally murky protagonist and an intentionally unresolved narrative, it’s a rewarding experience. But readers who prefer tidy arcs and more relatable leads may find it a tougher journey. This is Cook at his most intricate and most divisive.

[Ceri Sambrook · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm cheating and using this reveiw for all Hugh Cook's Chronicles of an Age of Darkness.
Take almost every fantasy cliche and trope you can think of and give it to Eddings or Jordan and you get 'The Belgariad' or 'The Wheel of Time'- entertaining enough but otherwise souless pap. Give them however to Hugh Cook and you get your tiny mind blown. He turns everything on its head like no other author before or after him. Wizards, magic bottles, monsters and heroes are used in such a fresh imaginative way that you are glued to the story page by page. Humour pervades every book to a varying degree and one of the great disappointments in life is that he never finished the whole set as he saw them- though luckily each book can be read as a stand alone novel, rewarding fans with nods, winks and links akimbo, otherwise complete reads in themselves.
I cannot recommend these books enough- even if you are not a fantasy fan; believe me these books will nothing like you expect and I think represent a truly unique literary experience

[Rex Hurst · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the fifth book on the continent of Argan in the series. As usual, the main character shifts to Watashi, or Sean Sarazin, who has been a minor character in most of the other novels. In the previous novels, Watashi is displayed as a competent battle-commander, a leader of men, and a hero. This books shows how most of that was fabricated, exaggerated, and almost the complete opposite. The action revolves around the politics of the Harvest Plains and his mother Farfalla. Naturally, as any reader of this series knows, it all falls apart due to the appearance of the Swarms - an event which happened in book 1.

This book is a little bit of a let down. The character is an arrogant jerk of sorts, who does nothing but make bad moves. It might not be so bad, but coming off the 4th book, the parallels between Drake and Watashi are too similar. Both main characters have very little agency. They are swept along by events, barely able to keep their heads above water. I wouldn't mind so much, but after the first book, the protagonists become increasingly helpless. And it does become somewhat tiresome. Still, I enjoyed it, but it depended too much on what happened in other volumes to make sense. Luckily, after this book, the series leaves Argan and we see other parts of the world.

When you read this series, you have to remember that the main character of the over arcing series is the world itself, with various chaotic forces rumbling about it, driving the characters into collision. It all creates a vivid tapestry of an insane world where nothing is stable.

[Angus Mcfarlane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Should I have started this series in book 5? I suspect there were some rewards that readers of the series in sequence might have earned, but I don't think the author's intent was only for the conventional. Indeed, breaking convention seemed to be the intent. In this case, the story explores the idea of destiny, with the protagonist taking up the quest to fulfill his 'divine' fate. Or his chosen path to self defined success. Or both? With some help from prophecy and well meaning friends. It all pretty zany, which may be more in character with this particular theme, but I imagine other books are in the same vein. Fortunately, I've found another two of the series, not the first as yet, so getting into some classical, or in this case anticlassical fantasy, is waiting on the bookshelf. Overall, the pace was a bit frantic, with lots of episodes packed into the plot, spare on unnecessary fight/battle scenes, but also little time to elaborate on character and conversation.

[Duncan · Rating 3 out of 5]

After a 25 year (or more) gap since I read the first 4 books this one was a fun revisit to the Age of Darkness Universe. Hugh Cook has a fun, not too serious style, and paints an epic picture. THe quirk is that, although sequels in the series, most of these books take place across the same timeline and so depict the same series of events but from a different person perspective. Thus the complexity of the characters and politics grows with each book, making it a very satisfactory read, for such seemingly lightweight material. However, that means a 25 year pause between reading the books is not ideal. I did recognise some of the events that took place, particularly later in the book, as scenes I had read from another protagonist angle. Shouldn't have waited so long to read.

[Jp · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maintains Cook's high standard of writing, yet not as enjoyable as previous books as it seemed our hapless protagonist just never gets a break. Watashi lacked the stature of Alish or Hearst, or the cheek and boldness of Drake Douay. He really just comes across as an impotent soul with ideas above his station. Enjoyable but not rousing like the previous books.

[Ian Schagen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another rambling saga from the Chronicles of an Age of Darkness, following the adventures of Sean Sarazin, as he pursues what he regards as his destiny, but is actually the toy of fate and circumstances. In the process he interacts with characters from other books, and gives us a new insight into the events of those times. Amusing and well-written, but perhaps a bit over-blown.

[The Reading Ruru (Kerry)]

Read/own.

[Ed · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to say this was the point in the series where my interest flagged somewhat. Again it is another witty picaresque adventure but the central character this time round is less likeable and the whole thing has a certain deja vu quality to it - I suppose that after 3000-4000 pages essentially on the same events, it was inevitable that the narrative would start to run out of steam at some point.

Apparently the sixth book shifts the focus away from the events of the first 5 volumes to introduce a new plot and a raft of new characters. Probably a wise decision on the evidence of this one.

[Zivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had an even harder time with the protagonist of the Wicked and the Witless than I had with Drake in The Walrus and the Warwulf.

He is indeed witless and his destiny is controlled by wicked politicians.

The hero is just to stupid and there isn't enough of Hughs great cometary.

[Steve]

Chronicles of an Age of Darkness