Tuesday 20 July 2010

FANTASY REVIEW: The Sword of Albion - Mark Chadbourn

BOOK BLURB:

1588: The London of Elizabeth I is rocked by news of a daring raid on the Tower. The truth is known only to a select few: that, for twenty years, a legendary doomsday device, its power fabled for millennia, has been kept secret and, until now, safe in the Tower. But it has been stolen and Walsingham's spies believe it has been taken by the Enemy. This Enemy is not who we usually think of as our traditional opponent. No, this Enemy has waged a brutal war against mankind since time began, and with such a weapon they might take terrible toll upon England's green and pleasant land...And so it falls to Will Swyfte - swordsman, adventurer, scholar, rake, and the greatest of Walsingham's new breed of spy - to follow a trail of murder and devilry that leads deep into the dark, venomous world of the Faerie. As Philip of Spain prepares a naval assault on England, Will is caught up in a race against time in pursuit of this fiendish device...


REVIEW:

Mark is one of the stable British Writers of Fantasy today, you can virtually guarantee a reasonable novel that will not only win the reader over but of a level that will please the majority of Fantasy fans.

Departing from the fantasy set in modern times, we see an offering set in the Elizabethan period that seems to be coming very popular with other author. Add to the mix a touch of humour (with a Q like character) an international (or rather European) man of mystery and a whole host of villains from the fae world for the hero to over come and you know its going to be something a bit different. It is well written, the descriptiveness pretty tight and dialogue that will definitely win the reader over. A solid offering that will open a new branch into the fantasy world, I just hope he can maintain the quality with his second release.

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