Sins of the Cinder Prophet by Ian Garner

A lively fantasy adventure that reads like Dungeons & Dragons mixed with The Lord of the Rings, with a touch of the humour and chaos found in the Asterix comics.

The story follows an unlikely group of adventurers who have banded together in the hope of making money. There is Stryg, an Owlkin mage who has yet to earn his staff; Anshul, a Devilkin sorcerer skilled in fire magic and burdened by a tragic past; Big C, a half-orc who has survived some of the deadliest battles; and Lyle, a mischievous halfling accompanied by his mouse, who enjoys betting, stealing, and getting himself into trouble.

While travelling together, they are hired by a mysterious cleric known as Granny the Smith to find the Ironshovel brothers, Argo and Javari, who are to be taken to Summerhost. Before the band of unrelated brothers find their cargo, Argo is kidnapped. This becomes the central conflict- the search for Argo, particularly because his archaeological skills make him valuable to those attempting to uncover an ancient temple.

From there, the group encounters goblins, bog hags, sinister wizards, zombies, and dinosaurs. There are numerous fights, daring escapes, developing magical powers, and unexpected additions to the party, along with one significant loss that genuinely disappointed me because I had grown attached to that character.

By the end, the group has expanded to seven characters, which could easily have become difficult to follow. However, each character has a clear enough personality that it never felt like too much to hold at once.

I particularly enjoyed the humour and the unusual mixture of epic-fantasy language with modern slang such as "vibe," "gist," and "what the hell, man." One character even given the nickname as Mike Hunt, while enemies receive the occasional well-placed "bastard" or "bitch." This gives the book a distinctive voice and helps it stand apart from more traditional fantasy adventures.

This is not necessarily my usual genre. I was also unsure whether I would be able to keep all the creatures and races straight in my mind, but the writing made that easier than expected.

My only real qualm was the lack of heroic female characters, but perhaps they will make an entrance in the follow-up novel. Overall, this is a good, entertaining fantasy adventure with memorable characters, plenty of action, strong dialogue, and a great sense of humour.