Scabbard’s Song 
The Red Pavilions, No. 3 
By Kim Hunter

      At last, here is the third and final installment of this good-natured and exciting trilogy by fantasy newcomer Kim Hunter. Soldier finds his memory, squares up to the evil wizard OmmullummO, finds out more about the mysterious Raven and generally sorts things out for good in his own special way. More of the same? Yes and no; somehow this series is too original for the word “same “ to truly apply…

    As usual in this tale of quests and magic there is an adventure on almost every page, and constant interest of one kind or another. At times this almost recalls those early fantasy games, where a character wandered in a magical land, encountering strange creatures and fighting them or solving puzzles. Maybe this makes it sound a little naïve, and maybe it is, but somehow this all adds to the fun and readability of this most amiable series. For this is a trilogy for adults, but filled with delightful motifs from childhood, and some sly tongue-in-cheek references to all sorts of other things. If you want a book full of blood and guts then this isn’t it, but neither is it another tired old Tolkein clone as it draws on so many more sources than that, chiefly the Arabian Nights. Refreshing, humorous and somehow relaxing. I do hope that Kim Hunter is here to stay.