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Atlanton Earth
Faragon Fairingay
Welcome to Atlanton Earth! In this second spellbinding adventure that began with Greyfax Grimwald, friends Bear, Dwarf, and Otter are joined by Faragon Fairingay, the valiant young warrior. Sent to Lower Earth at the request of Lorini, the Lady of Light, the four allies embark on a fateful quest in search for the legendary Arkenchest and its vital Five Secrets. Never before has the trio of friends ventured so far--and risked so much--for so glorious a prize.
349 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1977
12 people are currently reading
207 people want to read
About the author
Niel Hancock
21 books26 followersNiel Hancock started out from the Panhandle of Texas in 1941, and was on the ground when the Sky Riders went down outside Roswell, New Mexico. Even as a lad, that tweaked his curiosity, and then they touched off the Atom Bomb at Trinity Site, which put him on the trail of the Road to the Sacred Mountain, young as he was.
He grew up in that wilderness, always looking for clues to the Mystery, then drifted on to the University, then Europe... He was then welcomed into the ranks of the U.S. Army... in 1965. Niel was drafted, and after his basic and advanced training, was assigned to the 716th MP BN, Viet Nam in July of 1967. He served through July of 1968, and was a survivor of the Tet Offensive of that year. In the aftermath of the war, he spent time in the Virgin Islands, then California, running with the wild musicians that fueled those later years of the '60's, and finally ended up in the desert of Chihuahua.
He came off the outlaw trail there, through a small miracle of friendship and having bottomed out on alcohol and drugs, and began to do the one thing he had always wanted, which was to write yarns and tales of the things he'd seen and done.
He grew up in that wilderness, always looking for clues to the Mystery, then drifted on to the University, then Europe... He was then welcomed into the ranks of the U.S. Army... in 1965. Niel was drafted, and after his basic and advanced training, was assigned to the 716th MP BN, Viet Nam in July of 1967. He served through July of 1968, and was a survivor of the Tet Offensive of that year. In the aftermath of the war, he spent time in the Virgin Islands, then California, running with the wild musicians that fueled those later years of the '60's, and finally ended up in the desert of Chihuahua.
He came off the outlaw trail there, through a small miracle of friendship and having bottomed out on alcohol and drugs, and began to do the one thing he had always wanted, which was to write yarns and tales of the things he'd seen and done.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
December 5, 2015
Fun bit of fluffy fantasy that is trying to be a big epic and really doesn't have enough story for this to be a quartet.
Doubt there's enough story here to be a trilogy.
The three heroes are likable, and I like that despite their having a destiny, they seem to stay on the fringes of the grand epic. They have a part to play, but not as the guys in charge.
I did like the balance between the main three and the big hero wizards, moving from the smaller quest and the big story, but at the same time, there isn't enough story here for this big a series and the padding really shows.
It's all too meandering and the writer doesn't quite have a handle on how to juggle everything.
Plus, the bad guys aren't that interesting. They feel very generic, not terribly scary or much depth to them. They feel like 'Well, I need a bad guy'.
Lots of good ideas, but an unsatisfying whole.
Doubt there's enough story here to be a trilogy.
The three heroes are likable, and I like that despite their having a destiny, they seem to stay on the fringes of the grand epic. They have a part to play, but not as the guys in charge.
I did like the balance between the main three and the big hero wizards, moving from the smaller quest and the big story, but at the same time, there isn't enough story here for this big a series and the padding really shows.
It's all too meandering and the writer doesn't quite have a handle on how to juggle everything.
Plus, the bad guys aren't that interesting. They feel very generic, not terribly scary or much depth to them. They feel like 'Well, I need a bad guy'.
Lots of good ideas, but an unsatisfying whole.
December 31, 2016
This novel is the second in the Circle of Light series by Hancock. The strengths and weaknesses of the previous book are all present here. Again, it's quite derivative of Tolkein, with many of the same stock characters and similar events and plot arcs - this goes way past LOTR homage into wholesale appropriation. Nevertheless, it's a quick read and a relatively fun fantasy novel. I enjoyed this a bit more than Grefax Grimwald, primarily because most of the large cast of supporting characters becomes more three-dimensional. More happens here and the stakes feel higher. I do plan to continue on and finish the series.
October 9, 2024
Our friends Bear, Otter, and Dwarf, along with the powers of the Light are in grave danger as book two ends. I really like where the author chooses to wrap here in book two. There is obviously two more books to come but the writer chooses a good place to pause the action for a moment and provide the unique buddhist teleology that distinguishes Neil Hancock's Circle of Light series. This is not to say there are not still aspects that borrow a little too obviously from writers like JRR Tolkien, but overall, the series forges its own unique path.
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October 23, 2025Welcome to Atlanton Earth! In this second spellbinding adventure that began with Greyfax Grimwald, friends Bear, Dwarf, and Otter are joined by Faragon Fairingay, the valiant young warrior. Sent to Lower Earth at the request of Lorini, the Lady of Light, the four allies embark on a fateful quest in search for the legendary Arkenchest and its vital Five Secrets.Never before has the trio of friends ventured so far--and risked so much--for so glorious a prize.
January 8, 2026
Too much unending battle and violence and too little else-- perhaps to be expected in the middle book of a Good vs. Evil trilogy? I'm hoping book 3 will redeem it.
February 7, 2010
First of all, I've got to say I love the artwork on this book coevr. It's not the art I've got on my edition, but it's nice. That pensive look on Bear's face, with the claw/finger up to his nose. But Otter -- how is he keeping that cloak/coat thing on? I'm not sure.
No matter. Another fine book here from Niel Hancock. Buddhist derring-do, meaning it's more a pure game of good versus evil than most fantasy tales. If you ask me, anyone who takes on this grenre is very brave to do so, since there is a lot of good fantasy writing and even more bad fantasy writing out there. Hancock is closer to the apex of this particular pyramid than the base, which is good for him. And us.
This tale helps us get to know Bear and Otter much better than the first, leaving the humanoids as kind of secondary characters to this book. Since I'm much for anthropomorphism, that's good for me. Equally important, Hancock keeps pace with a tightly-written tale that is, as with many fantasy novels, a journey, one laced with magic and danger.
The next book in the series awaits on my shelf. I'm switching gears a bit, however, and going ton to read St. Augustine's "Confessions." We'll see how that goes.
No matter. Another fine book here from Niel Hancock. Buddhist derring-do, meaning it's more a pure game of good versus evil than most fantasy tales. If you ask me, anyone who takes on this grenre is very brave to do so, since there is a lot of good fantasy writing and even more bad fantasy writing out there. Hancock is closer to the apex of this particular pyramid than the base, which is good for him. And us.
This tale helps us get to know Bear and Otter much better than the first, leaving the humanoids as kind of secondary characters to this book. Since I'm much for anthropomorphism, that's good for me. Equally important, Hancock keeps pace with a tightly-written tale that is, as with many fantasy novels, a journey, one laced with magic and danger.
The next book in the series awaits on my shelf. I'm switching gears a bit, however, and going ton to read St. Augustine's "Confessions." We'll see how that goes.
August 8, 2012
This was a re-read because I read the first two in the series so long ago I didn't remember them. I think the first book might have been better at the time I read them, because I did read this one. Now that I have read this one again I'm not sure I think I know why I never read the third one in this series. I did obtain the next one and will see how it goes, hope it is more intersting than this book was.
July 16, 2014
Well, I don't really remember the series. And I never sought out anything else by the author, either. But I kept the boxed paperback set, right there on the shelf near the boxed set of Tolkein paperbacks which I tried to read, and couldn't.
June 5, 2011
The second book of what some might view as a trite fantasy series, but it has its charms.
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August 3, 2014I didn't finish the first book so I never tried to read this book.
December 31, 2016
Book two in the series
April 24, 2013
I liked this one better than I liked the first! It was better than the first book!
April 22, 2017
Flowery. I still have read this several times.
The cover perfectly illustrates the pace of the story. :-)
The cover perfectly illustrates the pace of the story. :-)
December 31, 2017
A fairly average fantasy tale. Meh.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews