by H. David Blalock
Review by Paul Perry, author of the novels A Room in Ueno and Letter from Chicago, 1932, and the short story collections Street People, Lost People, and The Ontiveros Street Trilogy.
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by H. David Blalock Review by Paul Perry, author of the novels A Room in Ueno and Letter from Chicago, 1932, and the short story collections Street People, Lost People, and The Ontiveros Street Trilogy. |
This fantasy novel is fully deserving of being on the shelves in Barnes and Noble, Borders, and other major bookstores.
One gets the impression from a reading of Thran Reborn that the author not only has read a lot of fantasy fiction but has written a lot. There�s a degree of professionalism in the writing that only comes from considerable experience, as well as a love of the genre. Good fiction of any kind needs conflict and this is especially true of good fantasy fiction. In Thran Reborn there is conflict from the beginning of the novel to its satisfying ending.
The novel begins with a short prologue that clearly sets the scene for the conflict that follows. After the prologue, there�s a battle scene involving the humans that populate the world, along with three non-human races: the Verni, the Telmet, and the Kel. After the fascinating battle scene that sets the mood and introduces the first Thran, as well as its most fascinating character, Baliak, the Kel, the story leaps forward over 400 years. Here, we meet the current Thran leader, Andalarn, who has the power to destroy with a force of will, and we find that Baliak the Kel still lives, and becomes Andalarn�s friend. Baliak is also known as The Healer, because he too has extraordinary powers, but his are to heal rather than destroy.
The story that unfolds in the following chapters is as engrossing as fiction can be. The ending is as it should be, although, fortunately, it�s not really the ending, because this book is only Book One of the Thran Chronicles. There�s more, much more, to follow. I can�t wait.