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hectaizani's review
4.0
Army of Misfits is the fourth in the Sojourn Chronicles. Even though the author is coming into the home stretch with only two more books to follow there are still plenty of stories left to tell. Army of Misfits follows the now familiar format of - [b:on the road|6288|The Road|Cormac McCarthy|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21E8H3D1JSL._SL75_.jpg|3355573] to the destination, add a few new characters to the mix, then embroil the characters in a nearly insurmountable obstacle which they finally overcome allowing them to return to the main objective. The main objective in this case being to save the world from Gorg invaders.
Dale and his band of travelers must find King Yaybar before they run out of time. Each time it looks like they are going to make it something stops them in their tracks. They first have to make their way through a mountain range that is protected by a deadly magical barrier. After doing that they need to convince the people of the mountains that they aren’t demons before the people use their own deadly force. Out of the frying pan and into the fire.
In addition to the main quest line, there are quite a few interesting sub-plots. There is a confrontation at a pixie castle that leads to the rescue of a lovely sprite maiden who is particularly taken with Kheri. Frost dragon Quhi takes Dale’s oath and becomes quite a useful addition to the group. Dwarf Thoradin turns out to be not quite what he seems from outward appearances. Faran works to understand his father and family relations a little bit better. Dale and Aerline need a little marriage counseling. And the reader will never guess who will join the group in the last few chapters. Quite a nice little surprise there.
As always, this is not a stand-alone novel, one absolutely must read the series in order. To do anything else is to miss too many of the nuances of the story, not to mention the character development over the successive books. The series is written in a seamless line with each new book picking up exactly where the last one left off.
Write faster Crystalwizard, write faster. Your faithful readers will be champing at the bit to know what happens.
Reviewed by Sarra Borne (Hectaizani)
Dale and his band of travelers must find King Yaybar before they run out of time. Each time it looks like they are going to make it something stops them in their tracks. They first have to make their way through a mountain range that is protected by a deadly magical barrier. After doing that they need to convince the people of the mountains that they aren’t demons before the people use their own deadly force. Out of the frying pan and into the fire.
In addition to the main quest line, there are quite a few interesting sub-plots. There is a confrontation at a pixie castle that leads to the rescue of a lovely sprite maiden who is particularly taken with Kheri. Frost dragon Quhi takes Dale’s oath and becomes quite a useful addition to the group. Dwarf Thoradin turns out to be not quite what he seems from outward appearances. Faran works to understand his father and family relations a little bit better. Dale and Aerline need a little marriage counseling. And the reader will never guess who will join the group in the last few chapters. Quite a nice little surprise there.
As always, this is not a stand-alone novel, one absolutely must read the series in order. To do anything else is to miss too many of the nuances of the story, not to mention the character development over the successive books. The series is written in a seamless line with each new book picking up exactly where the last one left off.
Write faster Crystalwizard, write faster. Your faithful readers will be champing at the bit to know what happens.
Reviewed by Sarra Borne (Hectaizani)
weaselweader's review
4.0
Our ragtag army reaches Yaybar's mountain stronghold!
Dale is a man in trouble, stranded, lost and seriously out of place - transported through a galactic space warp and marooned on Earth by means and enemies unknown! He is worried to discover that his sophisticated, technologically advanced tools and weaponry, normally capable of modifying and controlling the people and the environment around him are now undependable, inconsistent and frequently out of commission entirely. But the tools that he does have and his charismatic force of personality are sufficient to gather around him a ragtag collection of misfits that seem to have also lost their place in the world - a thief bent on reform and self-improvement, an "animal-whisperer" who dropped out of the local wizard's college, the spoiled son of a baron, a demon held in thrall by a sorcerer's spell who can't seem to stay out of trouble and the runaway pacifist son of a cutthroat murderer.
As Dale and his strange fellowship fight for their lives against Gorgs that, time and again, materialize out of nowhere to attack them, (think really mean, really ugly and really powerful ogres - big brutes with a serious attitude problem) they come to the realization that the entire world is under attack by a magical force that survived the Wizard's War thought to have ended over fifty thousand years earlier. The world's only hope for survival against an impending all-out attack rests with Dale's technological know-how reaching the King of Yaybar. But his path is blocked by an impenetrable mountain range, a magical force field and some pretty powerful science and technology in the bargain!
In my review of Wizards and Wanderers, Book 3 of The Sojourn Chronicles, I criticized Crystalwizard for allowing the plot to become mired in the mud on the road to Yaybar where, presumably, Dale and his cohorts were still destined for (but no closer to) their encounter with the evil Gorg. Happily, Book 4 seems to have resolved that issue. While the plot still has two more novels to run to completion, happy readers will see plenty of action and snappy dialogue as they actually move toward their date with destiny. Look for plenty of growth in the depth of your favourite characters and a return to that fascinating blend of science and fantasy that was begun in Book 1 but rather ignored through Books 2 and 3. Perhaps most charming of all, you'll bask in lots of that warm, pastoral, descriptive style with which Crystalwizard is fast establishing a reputation as a skilled narrator. How's this for homespun simplicity combined with razor sharp clarity?
"Morning tiptoed into the camp and tickled Aerline on the nose. She squeezed herself awake and yawned. A thin stream of sunlight spilled through the branches, trickling down to pool on the ground beside her. She regarded it for a moment, glanced up at the sky and groaned as she struggled to sit up. "Why does morning have to pick on me?"."
Heartily recommended for young adult or young at heart lovers of epic fantasy. Good job, Crystalwizard.
Paul Weiss
Dale is a man in trouble, stranded, lost and seriously out of place - transported through a galactic space warp and marooned on Earth by means and enemies unknown! He is worried to discover that his sophisticated, technologically advanced tools and weaponry, normally capable of modifying and controlling the people and the environment around him are now undependable, inconsistent and frequently out of commission entirely. But the tools that he does have and his charismatic force of personality are sufficient to gather around him a ragtag collection of misfits that seem to have also lost their place in the world - a thief bent on reform and self-improvement, an "animal-whisperer" who dropped out of the local wizard's college, the spoiled son of a baron, a demon held in thrall by a sorcerer's spell who can't seem to stay out of trouble and the runaway pacifist son of a cutthroat murderer.
As Dale and his strange fellowship fight for their lives against Gorgs that, time and again, materialize out of nowhere to attack them, (think really mean, really ugly and really powerful ogres - big brutes with a serious attitude problem) they come to the realization that the entire world is under attack by a magical force that survived the Wizard's War thought to have ended over fifty thousand years earlier. The world's only hope for survival against an impending all-out attack rests with Dale's technological know-how reaching the King of Yaybar. But his path is blocked by an impenetrable mountain range, a magical force field and some pretty powerful science and technology in the bargain!
In my review of Wizards and Wanderers, Book 3 of The Sojourn Chronicles, I criticized Crystalwizard for allowing the plot to become mired in the mud on the road to Yaybar where, presumably, Dale and his cohorts were still destined for (but no closer to) their encounter with the evil Gorg. Happily, Book 4 seems to have resolved that issue. While the plot still has two more novels to run to completion, happy readers will see plenty of action and snappy dialogue as they actually move toward their date with destiny. Look for plenty of growth in the depth of your favourite characters and a return to that fascinating blend of science and fantasy that was begun in Book 1 but rather ignored through Books 2 and 3. Perhaps most charming of all, you'll bask in lots of that warm, pastoral, descriptive style with which Crystalwizard is fast establishing a reputation as a skilled narrator. How's this for homespun simplicity combined with razor sharp clarity?
"Morning tiptoed into the camp and tickled Aerline on the nose. She squeezed herself awake and yawned. A thin stream of sunlight spilled through the branches, trickling down to pool on the ground beside her. She regarded it for a moment, glanced up at the sky and groaned as she struggled to sit up. "Why does morning have to pick on me?"."
Heartily recommended for young adult or young at heart lovers of epic fantasy. Good job, Crystalwizard.
Paul Weiss
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