4.0
The Eye of Ksera
ByPublisher Description
It's hard to hide from a sorceress—as Colmar, a reluctant soldier of fortune, discovers after crossing the distinctly dangerous Valdira over a powerful magical artifact, the Eye of Ksera. To add to his troubles, a sinister necromancer, a grasping abbess, and an undead sorceress-queen all have this tantalizing treasure in their sights, as well!
Indeed, the Eye is an ill-fated gem that has cost the lives of many who have sought to possess it over the centuries. Who will survive this briskly paced adventure in a quirky world with two moons and five different systems of magic? Who will emerge from it with the Eye?
And, nearly as important, who will end up with custody of Angvar, the necromancer's crested green lizard?
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesThe Eye of Ksera Reviews
4.0
“Received the book through Goodreads Giveaway. Enjoyable read with a meandering story following a sorceress and her troop. Having not read much fantasy in the past, it was a nice quick intro into the genre.”
“This series has the potential to go far. I read an arc of book 2 prior to the Eye of Ksera and despite this, the writing style and interplay of characters enables the reader to begin from, and enjoy either of these books as standalone or as the foundations of the series (Sorceress for Hire is a glorious tale and highly recommended)
The Eye of Ksera is wonderfully satirical and I really enjoyed the epigraphs that were a re-imagining of snippets from a well-known motoring associations guides as well as the deliciously creative reinvention of the flying machine amongst ither modes of transport
The novella is short but packs a huge punch in comedic delivery. I can honestly say a few paragraphs had me howling with laughter, not least;
"And if I let go of the steering bar?" Valdira grimaced. "The wagon stops flying. Let's not try that"
The use of archaic English to hurl insults was also a high point of the hilarity for me!
I am looking forward to more in this series as the world-building is absolutely fantastic and brilliant for fans of Pratchett, Holt, Adams and Butcher”
“There's a fine tradition of fantasy books finding humour in their worlds and characters, and using this to imbue their stories with comedy. The Eye of Ksera taps into this; a breezy sword and sorcery novella presented with a dry wit.
The book is a brief read that can easily be digested in a single sitting. Broken into four parts, it tells the story of protagonist Colmar, on the run from a sorceress wishing to reclaim a magical artefact. The plot works well, building nicely as it moves towards its conclusion. While the plot isn’t intricate, it serves the novella well, with the right amount of story for the format.
The light plot gives the book’s humour the space to shine. This humour permeates throughout every page. It's presented dryly. While humour can draw the reader’s attention away from the story, the book accentuates it. It's full of wit bubbling away, while not succumbing to broad or bawdy humour. Each part and chapter is introduced by an excerpt from a fictitious book from Ondiran, the book’s world. While not directly related to the plot, these add colour to the book's world.
So ingrained is the humour that it's difficult to separate it from the book’s world. Ondiran is an entertaining setting that serves the humour and story well. While NOT entirely unique, it remixes familiar fantastical concepts, resulting in something that feels fresh. The book includes five different systems of magic, and fantasy fans will recognise them, but the combination intrigues as much as it entertains. The book only scratches the surface of what the world has to offer, and SD the first book in the series, it will be interesting to see where the author takes the world next.
Every character entertains. The book doesn’t delve into any of them deeply, and nor does it need to. The characters are humorous, and work incredibly well. The author has done a wonderful job of ensuring they aren'ttwo-dimensional caricatures. Colmar is an engaging protagonist, and those who surround him in his adventure add colour.
The book is heavy on prose and light on dialogue, with most of the humour stemming from it. The author has imbued the prose with a huge amount of personality that fits perfectly within the setting. It’s well-written, flows well, and is easy to follow.. The prose is imbued with a great amount of wit, but as it provides a holistic view, it feels aloof. It's written in a way that puts space between the reader and the world, and as a result, I didn’t connect with the story as much as I would have liked.
The dialogue is written as well as the prose. Even though there isn’t much, the characters have distinct voices which set them apart from each other. As the book calls for it, it used fifteenth century words, and Swift has written the book in a way that readers won’t be lost. On the off-chance the reader struggles, the book’s back matter includes a handy glossary that explains some of these.
Although this is the first book in the Tales from Onidran series, it stands perfectly alone, so readers need not worry about only getting part of a story. The concept and world is broad enough that subsequent books could continue Colmar’s adventures, or tell other stories set within the world. Either way would be sure to entertain.
The book is thoroughly entertaining and constantly amusing. If you’re a fan of Terry Pratchett’s works, particularly Discworld, you’ll find a lot to enjoy. As difficult as it is to separate the story and humour, the elements blend together to form a great whole. It's incredibly well written, and while the prose feels distant at times, it still presents a fun story in a highly entertaining fashion.
My full review is available on my website. To read it, and a host of other reviews, click https://wastanley.com/reviews/”
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