The Bookwyrm's Review of A Company of Adventurers: Tales of Kjeldale, Book 1, by Rune Nielsen

 

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Rating: 9.75/10 Stars

Synopsis

What happens to legendary adventurers when they retire?

Talen is a poor farmhand…but he used to be a famously quick swordsman. Now he has one last job, which could secure his family’s future: he must retrieve a cursed suit of golden armor from a mountain claimed by genocidal orcs. When Talen fails to return from his adventure, a motley crew of rugged ne’er-do-wells must deal with the mysterious person who hired Talen, as well as a family of berserkers. And retrieving the armor will take a grievous toll...

Discover the fantasy kingdom of Kjeldale, featuring a world inspired by Norse and Celtic mythology, rich with bittersweet nuances and dry wit.

 Review

This is one of those books I heard about and was a bit surprised, because I expected the author to continue on his other series, The Doomsayer Prince. I have to say that when I started reading this, however, I certainly wasn't disappointed, because this book had me hooked from the first page, and kept me hooked all the way through. Now I'm debating which book I'd rather see continued first, since they were both so engaging. I guess we'll see which comes next, but either way, I won't be disappointed.

I really enjoyed the premise of the book, which is what happens to adventurers when the adventures stop, and they go home, get a job and raise a family? In the case of Talen and Lia, a legendary swordsman and ranger respectively, they went to work on Talen's brother's farm and raise their son. When the opportunity for a quick adventure and quick pay arises, Talen can't resist. What happens next is totally unexpected, and bring's Lia out of retirement as well, to discover that quick run Talen was on has world shaking consequences.

The characters in this book are just so well written. Talen is who we first see, and he is a shell of the adventurer he used to be, although his magical weapons and armor help him compensate as he works himself back into shape. It's just like riding a bike, if that bike happened to be slaying chimeras and other monsters on quests. It's a midlife crisis with swords, although the money is supposed to be used to buy their own farm, so there is that. Talen is an adventurer in a life that there just are no adventures anymore, and it's not surprising he jumps at the chance. Lia is in the same boat, although she has adapted better, finding motherhood suits her just fine. When the time comes to break out the bow and go kick some arse, though, she doesn't hesitate. Finding her way as she rounds herself back into fighting form, all while trying to sort out what happened to Talen, she finds herself on an adventure that she could never have imagined when she retired. 

The secondary characters are well fleshed out, ranging from Talen's brother, helping Lia find out what happened to Talen, as well as an ex of Lia's, a former teammate who has brothers missing as well, and all the dynamics this entails. There is also a mysterious warrior accompanying them, with memory issues, who's revelation will shake the foundations of all the group. 

The antagonists range from cave monsters to otherworldly evils, although the main baddie is a mysterious orc leader. This leader is fairly shadowy, but has a suit of magical gold armor that has drawn adventurers to his mountain stronghold, where they discover all is not what it seems. This is the leader the orc tribes have been waiting for, and the rest of the world could feel the effects of his rise to power.

The world building is quite good. Setting up a fairly standard fantasy world, it's got it's own little touches to differentiate itself. The magic in the world is very specifically channeled, so there aren't jack of all trade mages, but specialists, such as earth mages, fire mages, and even mages who specialize in wards. There is a lot of use of magical items, armor and weapons, and there are some really interesting effects. There is also some fun elements, like groups of people that specialize in stealing magic items from adventurers, as well as the make up of the adventuring crews, which is optimized at five members per group. You get the idea that the governments of the various kingdoms aren't overbearing,, which is a nice change of pace, and things are more centered around independent adventuring crews. These are all just some really nice touches that stand out.

As I said, this is a book that had me hooked from the first page. It kept up the pacing and tension throughout, with some great character moments and some fantastic action sequences.  Another thing I loved was the cover art, and the beautiful naked cover the hardcover has, where the art is printed directly on the cover. Definitely my preferred edition. I heartily recommend this book to anyone looking for an action packed epic fantasy with some great characters you can get behind. Check it out today!