Into the Deep: Ep 2 "Seekers of Fortune."

Chapt 1-4: Ahh, so this is the Sword and Sorcery you Are Seeking! (These are pretty good sized chapters.)

The Prologue: That Deer Knows Whats Up.

Ahh yes, nice peaceful forest that won't do nothin wrong or various levels of evil.

No, dear fellow readers, its something else. Whatever could be wrong within this forest?

A good way to catch my attention. What the heck is goin on with that place? In fact, the mystery man of the Prologue:

Chapt 1: Of Seagulls and N'wahs. 

Clawson describes this particular set of wings perfectly! 

Yes, beware the over zealous screeches of mindless Sea-fowl, barring the times its screeching about books. Heh.*

*Please note, I do really enjoy all these books I am reviewing. I just decided I'd bring my epic level cornball to it all. :P

So he decides to make the best of his situation and strikes up a conversation with a fellow "traveler." Yes. That's what we will call it. They are riding economy class. Awesome!

See? This right here. Perfect. You can get so much across with First Encounters. The both of them are doing their best in a bad situation. But how Devlin and Silvo talk to each other in this bit, gives me a decent window into their personalities.

Things get rather choppy for them. Yes. Kur-thunky. I gotta admit: This part really did its job. Will they win? Oh my. What the hell is Silvo clinging to? He's too nimble for his own good. Gave me good Conan the Barbarian vibes with this fight.

Chapt 2: Deliverance or Something Else is Rotten Here?

You get the sense of just how degraded this empire is. It's full into the Bread and Circuses phase. In only a page or two of spitfire exposition. Plus with a few well placed words, the world grows much bigger.

Ahh, freshly minted. What is an enterprising Protag supposed to do now? I ugly cackled in a good way when I read about what he did to get initial funds. And via whom. So much Bread. Yup.

A Whale of a Tale. Hehehehehehehehehehehe. Even offshoot characters, one liner types can really convey a whole lot about a setting. The group of Three gets a real quest though. Now the real fun begins in earnest. More banter or its absence really highlights their personalities. Esp. with the taciturn Jarrod.

But something is def. not right about all of this. What is the game this quest giver is playing? That's also a little mystery that kept me reading.

My Brain Just Knows TO suspect the PLOT.

Chapt 3: Follow the White Raven Road.

Nothing like a First Class Delivery Service. Then the oddity of the situation comes to the forefront.

The Quest was not Appreciated!

So the Trio is determined to find out why this particular quest was so important to (Plot Instigator.) I am describing some things this way because this book is fun and I don't want to spoil the really interesting parts so for the sake of all, this point will be called....Tim.

Why did he want that particular product so much? Mysteries that will lead to more mysteries. Like any good yarn. Plus I know this feeling, so much damned rain. FL gets this in spades. Sometimes on one side of the street. While the other half is bright and sunny.

I feel ya Davlin.

Spotted: Later in the chapter....a most interesting rivalry. Oh yes. Sil is a snarky one indeed. Kinda like if you would put a Bruce Campbell type character into the mix. With some Conan spice.

When a side character has a big voice and even bigger stick to break up this ancient rivalry. Yes.

Oh man, yeah. This is the stuff readers look for. Esp. genre readers. Its like putting on a really well worn jacket that you can't help but enjoy. Even if I am a broken record with this: Know what kind of audience you want to reach. We will gobble it up. 

Now we get to the heart of the Matter. The Trio becomes embroiled in another conundrum. Every thing has a key and a place. An even bigger call to adventure. You can spot the pieces. It's all coming together now.  

Good books, like the ones I review here, have a key formula: Keep a balance of character interaction, exposition and that little bit of mystery that keeps you turning pages. So we now have the new additions to the crew sorting out things. 

Pretty much if you love LoTR, Conan, or just adventure in general, this series will be right up your alleyway.

Chapt 4: The Blind Leading the Blind to Buxom. 

Funny, when I went to Basic Training at Great Lakes, there were some people there who didnt know how to swim either. SO I understand what Haagrim is currently going through. Not all of us can be Florida Woman. 

When I first read this part: Besides my sides going into orbit.

He failed his deduction roll.

Or in this case: a slight quip on the reverse of "All dwarven women and beards thing."

Yes, Us women have to be rather weighty in the rear. Otherwise mistaken identity. XD

See, this is how you do commentary in your setting. Make it fit your setting and just entertain people.

The Bar: Oh man. That name is quite accurate. Our poor Sil, making all sorts of "friends."

Jerrod gonna knock you out. And there goes the neighborhood!  This former Imperial is just primed to hulk out when he needs to. Nearing the end of this chapter lets just say: Yes. Now that's a halfling I can appreciate. Wont spoil that part because it was too damned fun. 

It doesn't take much for me to be entertained. Esp since it was a nice set of jugs that caused all this mayhem in the first place. Funny how that works. Again, readers can tell when a writer is having too much frackin fun. Chapt. 4 is worth the price of admission alone in my opinion. 

Additional Thoughts:

• If you enjoy fantasy, get this. It will appeal to the adventurer inside.
• If you just want to be entertained.
• Want to see an epic quest evolve.
• Characters that are genuinely fun to follow.

Clawson knows his stuff. This series has self awareness of what it wants to do but doesn't knock the reader out of the story. Has the archetypes you'd expect but he does his own thing too. 

Its like a blender of Conan, LOTR, Black Company, and some D&D sprinkled in.

 

• Part 2: (Link PH)
• Part 3:
• Part 4: 
• Part 5: