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Wizard Sword Daring Fantasy Epic

William Hill's Wizard Sword (Otter Creek Press, Middleburg, FL) is not for the novice reader nor the faint of heart.

It is, however, a daring attempt at presenting a fantasy epic, with a fascinating cast, a plot line that will keep you guessing, and an interesting use of typography to characterize the speech and thought of certain magical characters.

It is that very dizzying aspect of Wizard Sword that will make it a difficult read for those new to the genre. It takes several days of reading the opening chapters to ensure that you've really read what you think you've read. The opening of the story is especially difficult to latch on to because it starts in the middle of the main character's dilemma.

While hooking your readers with a bang of action at a story's outset is heartily recommended, Hill does so while sacrificing laying any real foundation for the reader to stand on.

Let's start with some introductions.

Our hero is Brin Williams, who later learns he may or may not really be Brin Kheldon -- born on the magical world of Elan, but hidden on Earth as a child so that, if necessary, he can come back as Elan's savior.

When the story opens, Brin is fighting through a snow storm to reach his college dormitory, which is engulfed in flames. He finds Terrex, the Sword of Power, and immediately begins to have trouble separating his Earth-bound life with the memories of the Sword's previous wielders. This is how Hill presents Brin to the reader and why it is so difficult to care about him -- at first.

At the heart of the flames is Llando, a Wizard that Brin simultaneously does and does not recognize, and a number of demons who are threatening both Llando and Brin's college friends.

With a nod to Star Wars, Llando is seemingly killed and Brin whisked away to Elan where he learns he is the "Chosen One."

Along comes Durgie, a dragonette who, thanks to telepathy, falls in love with Brin's memory of American rock-and-roll, making him one of the most engaging characters in the novel.

Oh, the Sword of Power is telepathic, too. Talk about some weird conversations.

Soon, Brin learns his one true mission is to save the last Dimension Dancer, Wyn-Sauern, a beautiful young woman who holds The Host within her, the souls of all of her race who committed suicide rather than be used as bodybank parts by the villain.

Oh, yes, the villain. Well, there's one big bad guy who we rarely get to see, Ruen Searr, who is trying to turn himself into a god. There's also his mad Necromancer, Margrave Tooms, and his warlord, Dareth Jarl.

Jarl is probably the most convincing of the villains. He holds some things sacred, like his relationship to the great dragons, and throughout the book's mid-section must reconcile his fealty to Searr and his worship of the dragons. Searr, Tooms, and Jarl all have their minions, some working at cross-purposes, and it seems at times that they are more engaging than Brin and his fellow heroes.

There's a lot of characters here, including elemental beings called Waveelems, Torchelems, and Windelems, centaur-like beings called Dobani, and much, much more. There are also dryads -- including Shawna, with whom Brin falls helplessly (but not magically) in love with. In fact, some of the love scenes are somewhat over the top, but fun to read.

In fact, most of Wizard Sword is over the top.

Brin's supernatural powers -- some from Terrex, the Sword of Power, some from Ellus, an elemental staff originally wielded by Llando, and some that he gains after "merging" essences with Shawna -- are downright Superman in scope. He can fly, phase through solid objects, control the elements, and -- after being bathed in dragon's blood -- nearly indestructible.

And there, along with the murky introduction, lies Wizard Sword's major fault. There is an almost inevitability to Brin's success in saving Elan and rescuing Wyn-Sauern. Although the sentient Sword of Power's true intentions belie ulterior motives of some kind, whenever Brin faces a challenge that is seemingly insurmountable, along comes Terrex to help save the day.

At well over 750 pages, Wizard Sword does deliver, but at an odd pace. Some passages blast through like a wind storm while the book, as a whole, seems to take its time telling the story.

And then there's the special use of typography. Several different typefaces are used to represent telepathy, dragon speech, elemental speech, and so on. It is an interesting attempt at visually cluing in the reader as to who or what is talking. However, the reader may find themselves referring to a typography index at the beginning of the book to remind themselves of what's going on. Ultimately, such attempts are better suited to the Internet where web site visitors expect to see such visual tricks. In print, however, it is probably best to go with simpler techniques, such as all capitals, italics, or text that begins and ends with asterisks or other unusual punctuation to denote a difference.

Finally, I just have to point out that the novel's title comes from a single reference to the Sword of Power by a minor character. Personally, I would have called the book "The Sword of Power," or any of the other names Terrex goes by, but that's just me.

Wizard Sword is an enjoyable tale of sword and sorcery in one with, surprisingly, an ending both unexpected and logical, although it does leave things unresolved. After such a long book, what is left to tell? I suppose Hill has left the way open for a sequel.

While William Hill hasn't crafted the perfect fantasy tale, he has written a book that veteran epic adventure lovers should enjoy, once they understand who and what Brin Williams -- and the Sword of Power -- truly are.

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