DAWN OF A DARK AGE by Jane Welch
Voyager (Harper Collins) - July 2001
ISBN: 0007112491 - Paperback
Fantasy

Reviewed by Rachel A Hyde, MyShelf.com
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There are two types of fantasy writers: one that write long books and those who actually fill the pages of those tubby tomes with action-packed adventures populated with lively characters the reader can actually care about. Jane Welch fits very firmly into the latter category and here is the first book in another trilogy about those folk from the tiny mountain barony of Torra Alta and the problems that beset them.

Fifteen years have passed since the events in the last trilogy (this is really book seven) and Prince Rollo, son of Caspar and Queen Ursula of Artor has grown into a typical teenager. His sister has the power to call the bears and so she is going to inherit their dead mother's kingdom and to cap it all Caspar takes him to Torra Alta to show him what he has inherited. It doesn't seem much after the luxurious court in the sunny south and Hal's two sons don't care for the newcomer. A fight gets them all into trouble and now the Chalice of Ond has cast out all the dark supernatural creatures Torra Alta is no longer safe for humans. The only thing Prince Rollo isn't going to have to worry about is boredom!

These books started good and just get better and better. Put the kettle on and your feet up and dive into this book for a fantastic roller coaster of a ride that doesn't stop until the final page. This is surely the way good sword and sorcery fantasy ought to be.