Path of Glory
Boundary's Fall, No. 1
By Bret M Funk

     If you are a fan of Tolkeinesque fantasy with evil Dark Lords, virtuous farmer's boys, arrogant elves and magic spells, then this is going to be up your alley. It also has the added bonus of some good characterization, which hardly makes it unique but certainly gives it a head start. The Boundary was raised nearly a thousand years ago to keep the Dark Lord and his minions imprisoned, and every now and again the odd criminal is pushed through, including in very recent times the dreaded princes of Ra Tacham, the Durange brothers. Nearby live Jeran and his friend Dahr on a farm, but their peaceful boyhood is shattered when the brothers get loose and come looking for the key figures behind their imprisonment. Now it is time for the boys to grow up fast, and the beginning of a lot of adventures.

     This is one of those books where you really feel that you know the protagonists by the end, and which tends to roll happily on, even when there isn't anything much happening. Like nearly all fantasies (and many other novels) it could stand a little editing, but not all that much. The author has plenty to say about growing up, racial tolerance, the values of courage and the ties of friendship, but not in an overly obvious way; I tended to notice it more when I had finished the book rather than while I was reading it. Many of the characters are "gray" rather than white, giving them a three-dimensional realism, but the villains tend to be all bad as far as I can tell; maybe there are surprises here in the later books. At some points, the same story is told from the viewpoints of the three main characters (all male, which perhaps isn't the best way to appeal to both sexes of readers) which tends to be repetitive and not work as well as it might, but this is a minor gripe which shouldn't spoil what is actually a fine and thrilling fantasy novel. Would I read the second installment? I can't wait, and the cliffhanger ending is only part of the reason…