The Orchard of Dreams

Godfire #1

by Tim Waggoner

At the beginning of this fantasy from horror writer TIm Waggoner, everyone in the country of Athymar suddenly falls asleep. On awakening, most people have gained a minor magical ability (e.g., one man can change his eye color). "The Change" has a more significant effect on others, including Tarian Ambrus, a former soldier. Tarian is now a healer, but he can no longer hold a weapon. Tarian's wife, Lowri, suffers an even more unpleasant change. For Lowri's sake, Tarian. his son, Phelan, a royal wizard, a priestess-adviser to the queen of Athymar and an Eyslk (an elf type) go on a quest to find the source of the magic and somehow reverse it.

Genres: Fantasy

339 pages, Hardcover

First published July 2, 2006

About the author

Tim Waggoner's first novel came out in 2001, and since then, he's published over sixty novels and eight collections of short stories. He writes original dark fantasy and horror, as well as media tie-ins. He's written tie-in fiction based on Supernatural, The X-Files, Alien, Doctor Who, Conan the Barbarian, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Grimm, and Transformers, among others, and he's written novelizations for films such as Ti West’s X-Trilogy, Halloween Kills, Terrifier 2 and 3, and Resident Evil: The Final Chapter. He’s also the author of the award-winning guide to horror Writing in the Dark. He’s a four-time winner of the Bram Stoker Award, a one-time winner of the Scribe Award, and he’s been a two-time finalist for the Shirley Jackson Award and a one-time finalist for the Splatterpunk Award. He’s also a full-time tenured professor who teaches creative writing and composition at Sinclair College in Dayton, Ohio.

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first half of a story with kind of stock fantasy characters in a kind of stock fantasy quest adventure, but it has a few cool twists. All of the people in this world have been infected with a D&D version of the Wild Card virus; they've all been given some supernatural ability, sometimes beneficial, sometimes not so much. The main warrior character gets the ability to heal, but (a la Clockwork Orange) can no longer touch a weapon. His wife becomes something like a vampire demon, their son something like a werewolf, etc. etc.

[R · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though not the first time I've seen the idea of "The Change", it is certainly one of the better executed, particularly in the fantasy genre. This book finishes rather abruptly, and so could not be called "stand-alone" resulting in the loss of a star.

[Aramis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gah! When is the next one coming out?!

A less comedic, but equally interesting read to A. Lee Martinez's In the Company of Ogres.