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Ethshar #5
Taking Flight
Kelder had always dreamed of a life more exciting than what waited for him on the family farm. So when a fortune-teller predicted a glorious future, that he'd roam free and unfettered and be a champion of the lost and forlorn, he immediately set out on the fabled Great Highway to Shan in search of adventure.
But once he was on the road, life was hardly as exciting as he'd hoped — until he met Irith. She was the most beautiful girl, and the only girl with wings, Kelder had ever seen. They teamed up to see the world, and then Kelder found adventures aplenty: there were bandits and demons, and there were curses to lift, wizards to seek spells from, orphans to champion, and legendary cities to visit. For the young and carefree, life on the Great Highway was filled with fun, action, and magic.
But Kelder began to wonder about his beautiful companion. Irith certainly had seen a lot of the world for one so young — and everyone along the highway seemed to know her . . . Soon, discovering Irith's secrets became Kelder's greatest adventure of all . . .
But once he was on the road, life was hardly as exciting as he'd hoped — until he met Irith. She was the most beautiful girl, and the only girl with wings, Kelder had ever seen. They teamed up to see the world, and then Kelder found adventures aplenty: there were bandits and demons, and there were curses to lift, wizards to seek spells from, orphans to champion, and legendary cities to visit. For the young and carefree, life on the Great Highway was filled with fun, action, and magic.
But Kelder began to wonder about his beautiful companion. Irith certainly had seen a lot of the world for one so young — and everyone along the highway seemed to know her . . . Soon, discovering Irith's secrets became Kelder's greatest adventure of all . . .
220 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1993
9 people are currently reading
233 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
May 2, 2021
Lawrence Watt-Evans "Nepaklusni magija" - 2/5
Kage Baker "Madam Aegyptus" - 4/5.
Kage Baker "Madam Aegyptus" - 4/5.
April 29, 2023
A young man who does not want to become a farmer, as seems his destiny, goes to a fortuneteller who foretells adventure, magic, and a beautiful wife. She's bogus, but he believes, and sets out to make it all come true.
This is another light fantasy in the world of Ethshar. The setting and characters are pretty much of the standard fantasy/fairy tale type: young, stupid, immature, at least to start.
This is another light fantasy in the world of Ethshar. The setting and characters are pretty much of the standard fantasy/fairy tale type: young, stupid, immature, at least to start.
October 29, 2023
Departure from the (loose) series formula: this time it's not the protagonist who starts out selfish, unlikeable and unpromising. It's his love interest. She's immature, selfish and petulant.
Still a satisfactory story, and takes us to a part of the world that the earlier books hadn't explored, but not my favourite of the series.
Still a satisfactory story, and takes us to a part of the world that the earlier books hadn't explored, but not my favourite of the series.
August 4, 2021
An entertaining read, especially considering I've largely stopped reading fantasy.
January 13, 2022
The blurb oversold the story by making it sound like the flyer had world-changing impact, but that just wasn't the case.
June 25, 2023
A nice easy read
This book may not be for everyone, but for those (like me) who enjoy the authors style, this was another enjoyable story and I look forward to
the next one.
This book may not be for everyone, but for those (like me) who enjoy the authors style, this was another enjoyable story and I look forward to
the next one.
February 28, 2024
I really enjoyed how this story took the idea of a coming of age, turned it on its ear (like all these do) and then really did teach a lesson by the end. The characters were great and I just love this world and the interactions created.
August 17, 2009
Typical of the Ethshar books, the protagonist, Kelder, is an average person who finds adventure where they least expect it. After an encounter with a fortune teller, Kelder believes a grand destiny awaits him. When he meets Irith the Flyer, a girl with magic powers, he thinks he is on his way. This book gives a lot of detail on Ethshar, specifically the northern Small Kingdoms. It also brings back some characters from the Misenchanted Sword. However, Kelder's story isn't very interesting and Irith is irritating, which is probably the point. And like its predecessor, this book features a minor supporting female character (Azraya, returning from With a Single Spell) who is more interesting than the lead male. I want to read more about Azraya, but can do without the other characters. This book is written well, and is interesting to those who like the series, but I would hesitate to recommend it to others.
June 24, 2014
I have no explanation for why I like this series as much as I do.
They're just fun, SMALL stories that, as a general rule, have nothing to do with grand quests or missing heirs or the fate of kingdoms or worlds. They're just amusing anecdotes about completely average people getting stuck in rather awkward situations and trying to come up with a way out of them.
This particular one is about a farm boy who decides he's going to "see the world" (or at least the highway) before being chained down to life on the farm... But instead of turning back once he sees the highway like he'd planned, he meets a girl and to impress her he keeps going. With predictably amusing consequences.
They're just fun, SMALL stories that, as a general rule, have nothing to do with grand quests or missing heirs or the fate of kingdoms or worlds. They're just amusing anecdotes about completely average people getting stuck in rather awkward situations and trying to come up with a way out of them.
This particular one is about a farm boy who decides he's going to "see the world" (or at least the highway) before being chained down to life on the farm... But instead of turning back once he sees the highway like he'd planned, he meets a girl and to impress her he keeps going. With predictably amusing consequences.
June 16, 2020
Ethshars Great Road
Kelder is a farmers son, but he wants more from his life than just following the south end of a north bound ox all day. After a few false starts he finally arrives on the Great Road which stretches from Shan on the desert to Ethshar of the Spices, two of the four great cities founded centuries earlier during the Great War. This novel recounts his adventures traveling with Irith the Flier, a fifteen year old girl who has the magical ability to shape shift or turn invisible at will.
Kelder is a farmers son, but he wants more from his life than just following the south end of a north bound ox all day. After a few false starts he finally arrives on the Great Road which stretches from Shan on the desert to Ethshar of the Spices, two of the four great cities founded centuries earlier during the Great War. This novel recounts his adventures traveling with Irith the Flier, a fifteen year old girl who has the magical ability to shape shift or turn invisible at will.
June 25, 2009
I went to read this book and realized that I had already read it before I starting organizing things here on GoodReads.
I found it was a fun book, simple easy fantasy to devour in large gulps. I enjoy the world and think that there is much to be said for knowing what you are getting when you start off an Ethshar book.
I found it was a fun book, simple easy fantasy to devour in large gulps. I enjoy the world and think that there is much to be said for knowing what you are getting when you start off an Ethshar book.
October 5, 2008
Another amazing Ethshar book by Lawrence Watt-Evans. In this story, we meet a young adventurer named Kelder of Shulara, who is just following his destiny. If you like the other Ethshar books...you'll love this one! Very adventurous!
March 19, 2009
Another Ethshar tale with small stakes. I found one of the main characters to be particularly annoying; though I suspect that's Watt-Evans' point, it doesn't make me eager to reread the book, though I do own a copy and wouldn't part with it.
November 11, 2014
I liked the way this book brings characters together from earlier books. It is fun and fills in more gaps to the Ethshar story but lighter than some in the series. I look forward to reading the next book about this fascinating world.
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January 9, 2010Fictionwise multiformat ebook
February 7, 2016
Better than The Blood of a Dragon, but still not up to some of the other entries in the Ethshar series. The next book in the series though, Night of Madness, is my absolute favorite.
August 22, 2011
Taijilibrarian"s review pretty much sums it up for me; this is one Magic of Ethshar story that left me unsatisfied and wanting to know more about at least one of the characters.
June 7, 2021
5 star - Perfect
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews