The Ancient

The world is being torn apart by a religious war between Ancient Badden, leader of the Samhaists, and the Abellican church, which is gaining a foothold. Bransen Garibond, journeying across the Gulf of Corona to the land of Vanguard, is on a mission to find the father he has never known. Without the aid of a gemstone, Garibond is a cripple; with it, he is an awesome fighting machine. Familiarity with prior Corona books, particularly THE HIGHWAYMAN, would be a boon, given the large number of characters in this series and the extensive relationships between current and past events. Erik Singer is an enthusiastic and engaged narrator. He keeps the battles fresh. His accents help to identify ties within the various communities whose members move in and out of the story. J.E.M. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

January 28, 2008
This ensemble-driven follow-up to 2004's The Highwayman
finds bestseller Salvatore liberally borrowing themes and character types from his earlier novels. As in the Cleric Quintet, a disaffected monk (Cormack) contemplates higher wisdom and draws the love of a restless outsider (the shaman Milkeila), while rough-and-ready dwarf Mcwigik provides brute strength and comic relief in similar measure. As in the Drizzt novels, the nominal hero wanders, deals death and addresses his readers in impassioned italics. Bransen Garibond's dual identity as the swashbuckling Highwayman and stuttering Stork recalls the Crimson Shadow. As in the Icewind Dale books, the setting is a remote wintry landscape, with isolated islands standing in for barbarian villages. The scattered cast takes much too long to converge, and druidic arch-villain Ancient Badden never emerges as an effective antagonist. The result is a Frankenstein's monster–like construct of brisk prose and lively combat scenes: imposing at first glance, but awkwardly assembled and doomed to disappoint.