A Darkness Forged in Fire is a new fantasy (the first in a series collectively called The Iron Elves) by a new writer, Chris Evans. I receieved a free copy from the publisher for some reason or other, and was glad to get it.
I won’t bother with a synopsis–you can get that from Amazon–but it’s got a hint of Roman Empire versus the “barbarians,” a bit of Tolkien, and some Napoleonic War-type technology and tactics. An entertaining mix, although the overall effect was not quite as fresh as I’d like. Maybe it was the elves. Did they have to be elves? Couldn’t they be something else? Elves are as generic as they come in fantasy after all these years post-Tolkien, and these elves–at least the Elves of the Long Watch–are VERY Tolkienish.
Still, I found myself racing through the battle scenes at the end, so Evans certainly entertained, and I’ll make a point of reading the next book in the series. The main characters are interesting and interestingly troubled, there’s a journalist with mysterious powers (how could I not like that?) and a dwarf who’s only a little bit Gimli-ish…
If I rated books on a five-star system, I’d give this one four. But I don’t, so I’ll just say I recommend it without raving about it.
Up next: Kenneth Oppel’s latest, Starclimber.
