The Dreamer in Discord

Caladon #2

by Craig Mills

Through the cold and the dark, the halfing wizard Eamon Menerax fled for his life from the ruin of his home and his great work. Now nothing was left for him except vengeance against those who had conspired to bring about his ruin - and one of them he had recognized. But when he used the power of Barak's true name to force the uncouth troll-man to identify the others, Eamon felt no nearer to understanding. Trion had been a rival in wizardry, but with no sign of great enmity. And immortal Ionythe had been his lover.

Then, as he searched his memory, Eamon realized there had been a fourth power against him. Barak knew of no such power, but perhaps he could force the identity from one of the others. Taking the bespelled and unwilling Barak with him as his assistant, Eamon set out - to unspeakable peril for himself and for his world!

Genres: Fantasy

229 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published June 12, 1988

About the author

Craig Mills (b.1955), the author of four fantasy novels beginning with The Bane of Lord Caladon (Del Rey, 1982). Mills studied acting in college and acted on stage in New York for four years before moving to California and taking up his writing career. In addition to four original fantasy novels, he also wrote the gaming tie-in King's Quest #1: The Floating Castle. Although Mills attended conventions in the San Francisco area, he was quiet and may not have been known to many.

Reviews

[Daniel Willis · Rating 4 out of 5]

An entertaining fantasy book. Classic setup -- Halfing Eamon Menerex, semi-immortal and powerful magician, barely escapes from his destroyed castle. Three mysterious figures did the deed, but why? As he flees he recognized one, the half-troll Barak, muscle no brains -- but Barak could lead Eamon to the others. After forcing the half-troll under his power (ooh, reluctant ally -- will he turn later?) they set off to find the two others -- a petty rival and an ex-girlfriend (ooh, love spat!) And he quickly realizes there is a fourth being behind it all, who could that be? Like I said, classic setup that draws you in.

Then there were two spurious battles that had nothing to do with the plot. The first I could understand -- Eamon fights a tavern tough to save the honour of the serving wench, easily defeating him without weapons to show the reader how powerful Eamon is. The second one seemed just to fill the pages. Yes, there was an allusion to it later as a piece to the puzzle Eamon is solving, but I felt it unnecessary. As for the puzzle, its solution is based on information obtained out of nowhere late in the book, so there is no "aha" moment, just a forced progression, facing each
of the foes until the final fight with the real power -- where a convenient heretofore unmentioned MacGuffin saves the day.

All in all though the characters were interesting enough and their development satisfying. I've read alot worse in this genre, so upping the rating.