Title:
Alaric Swifthand
Author:
Steve Lazarowitz
Publisher:
Twilight Times
ISBN:
1-931201-68-4
Copyright Date:
2001
Format:
Electronic
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Although best known around here for Scorch, an erotic fiction novel, Steve Lazarowitz aka Master Nage, columnist and Renaissance man here at Fallen Angel Reviews is also a well-received fantasy/sword & sorcery novelist. The S & S fantasy Alaric Swifthand, derived from serialized short stories with the same characters, is one of his recent efforts in that field.
Alaric Mason is a lowly palace guard in the city of Modron, when he falls in love with the spunky, beautiful princess Theona. The princess is smitten with Alaric's adventurous spirit and they conduct a secret affair. When her father, Baron Kelrak, discovers their affair, Alaric is banished from Modron, and forced to accompany the kingdom's tax collector to the City of Broken Swords. Alaric attempts to retrieve Theona and take her with him, but havoc ensues and she is murdered.
Alaric Swifthand is written in a robust and entertaining first person voice that draws the reader into the Alaric's world and mind. After leaving Modron when Theona is murdered, the plot takes an unexpected and inventive twist. A medieval fantasy action/adventure with a compelling love story as its center as Alaric encounters a talking sword, various maidens who are not as innocent as they seen and otherworldly environs. Alaric has to maneuver through the Assassins Guild, unruly patrons at the Wicked Warlock. Giants, rat people (Drintu) and other colorful secondary characters populate the book, a few of them with light-hearted appeal. Despite a particularly alarming twist near book's end, there is a forthright charm to Alaric Swifthand that's missing in much of today's contemporary fantasy. Swifthand was a finalist for the Dream Realms award and deservedly so. An exciting novel that draws as much on characterization as it does on spectacle.
Reviewed by: Jade
