Lessingham chooses a room to sleep in, but his wife won't join him because Mercury is too far. After the second chapter Lessingham vanishes from the book (and good riddance I say!). This masterpiece of high fantasy doesn't need him, and honestly his character has to vanish among the lords and ladies of Demonland and Witchland. How can Lessingham compete with Corund's giant hand, worn and gnarled from the countless times he's hewed his way to victory that is leathery like an elephant's skin and dotted with hair like an elephants? Lessingham is nothing when you consider the noble, Lord Juss of Demonland, who dares the impossible spurred on by loyalty and friendship. Even the romantic Lord Gro, drawn to losing sides and causes, causing him to be a traitor several times over until he is slain in the melee before the walls of Carce overwhelms Lessingham. These are not demons and witches as we think of them, but characters who stride across the world and its oceans, each footstep like an earthquake, with the thunder of high deeds and bloody warfare around their heads like storm clouds.
Just as important this is a book written by an author who was clearly in love with language. Perhaps this slows the story down, making it difficult for a reader accustomed to more contemporary writing, but it's worth it as memorable description follows memorable description, whether of people, places, or action. Who can forget the wrestling match between Lord Goldry Bluszco against King Gorice XI of Witchland? Or the glory of the court of Demonland? Or Corund's bony hand? The Fort Vancouver Regional Library does not own this book yet, but you can be sure it will soon. This book is loosely related to Eddison's Zimiamvian trilogy, but is the most accessible and interesting.
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