My rating: 5 of 5 stars
With its elaborate backstory and vibrant world-building, I felt like I was right there with the characters.
The Heir Apparent, the first book in author John Gorman's new high fantasy series, Orb of Zorn, takes a minute to lay the groundwork for the story's setting, but then the action takes off, and you realize the buildup was worth every bit of it. The writing is so visual it feels made to become a movie.
The author deftly juggles several disparate groups of companions, seemingly unrelated at first, but gradually it becomes clear they are all moving toward a similar goal, to thwart the reemergence of the evil Shadowlord. The story of each set of companions is compelling, and I would be hard-pressed to single out a favorite; I liked them all and look forward to what comes next in their stories.In addition to great world-building, an exciting plot in constant forward motion, and characters that quickly mattered, the author injected quite a bit of humor into the dialogue. I also enjoyed the creative character and place names, such as Horst Smidwick, Flettsdorf, and the two orc brothers, Borg and Brig. Besides the orcs, Gorman populates his world with a variety of fantastic creatures like elves, trolls, kobolds, and some I can't even name. It's been a while since I've read and enjoyed a classic fantasy so much, and I will be following this author to be notified of the next book in this series.
I recommend THE HEIR APPARENT to readers of high fantasy and classic quest stories.I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy through RABT Book Tours and PR.
