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This sequence of books are an amazing read and deserved to sell far, far better than they did when in print. The initial premise is far from original- the earth pre-great flood (the bulk of the action takes place in the great-forest basin valley, due to become the mediterranean sea a couple of thousand years in the future). But the stories and imagination are exemplary- the writing style is overflowing with colour and highspeed detail, always painting a vivid scene with the minimum of words. Often tongue-in-cheek humour accompanies the often grotesque characterizations: see the quote above. The story is one of self-defense and the first defeat of a world-spanning empire, who dominate the world through dark magic and through the ability to forge steel weapons and armour (which comes over as magical in and of itself). The characterizations are strong and believable, the best of the crop being `Brown John' bukko (leader) of the tribe of players. The world is young and full of excessive life- sorcery can bring out the beasts inside a person- the hero, Gath of Baal, has his biggest challenge not in mighty Kitzakk empire but in the domination of his own aggressive nature. This book is a good read to anyone who likes fantasy to be a bit different, and especially those wanting to escape the yoke of Tolkein. The story brims with love, hate, sex, violence, revenge and loyalty and never lets up its pace once. A rip-roaring swashbuckler of a book. If you like it track down the others- the series gets better as it goes along.
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