Willowby’s adventures are gone

This is definitely a fantasy novel. Being a Tolkien fan myself, I found many days of enjoyable reading here in the world of JS Harrison. This is a place full of fairies, goblins, friendly trolls and ogres, wizards, knights, dragons, vampire slayers, big evil black rabbits and demons along with men, dwarves, elves and trofkins.

With an anti-racist sentiment, the author unites many different races to start a journey that can bring hope to the people of Werdanbabadood and save their world from the evil wizard Sardego. This strange mix of people goes through many trials and adventures to find the Knights, only to arrive at a time when very few could come to their aid. Regardless of the odds, they go ahead and work together in a desperate effort to break Sardego’s magical staff and end their war.

Although they all play a huge role in the intertwining web of events, it is the Trofkins, a people of tree-dwelling writers and lovers of food and mischief, who are the heroes of the world. This race was thought unlikely to produce heroes, being a people with many social constraints and clear definitions of what is right and wrong. However, with war just around the corner, they had no choice but to put their only hope in their young future boss, the Trofkin who seemed least likely to be responsible enough to carry out this dangerous task. The young Willowby goes far beyond any expectations the Trofkins might have had for even the greatest of his class. He proves his worth to himself and his people and gains the confidence to rule with a fair but just hand.

I really enjoyed JS Harrison’s writing style. It was like being swept into a great living room with a great fireplace, where a deep grandfatherly voice tells the story of Willowby Went. Then, without realizing it, I felt sucked into the setting and it was as if I had become the cameraman of a real, live historical event. It was an effort to put the book aside to get on with my own chores!

Stay tuned for future work from the folks at JS Harrison! I have a feeling that he is going to be one of the ‘great’ writers of our age.