Most folks that know me, know that I like to read. Over the past year, I have been trying to squeeze a little more fiction into my reading and back off on the serious stuff.

Not so long ago, I saw an ad for a new fantasy novel by an author I had never heard of before, from a publisher I was unfamiliar with.  I looked around on E-bay for a copy of "The Impending Storm" by Clifford B. Bowyer, but to no avail. (I used to buy a lot of books from E-bay - the worlds biggest online flea market as it is cheaper than buying new books.) So I contacted the publisher about obtaining a copy.  And boy am I glad that I did.

Bowyer's Imperium Saga may tread a similar path to other fantasy novelists (most particularly J.R.R. Tolkien), however it treads that path very well, and ads a few new things along the way. Bowyer's prose is modern and snappy, his characters are well drawn out and not interchangeable with each other, and he doesn't fall prey to three page long paragraphs that seem convoluted to the reader. (I never could get into Tolkien's fiction because of his meandering prose.) Thankfully there are no traditional hobbit breakfast songs in it either.

Bowyer’s saga begins fittingly enough with a traditional quest, this time as Kai, a Madrew elf with a penchant for archery and swashbuckling is sent out to find the Chosen One - in this case a young human named Kyria. Kyria will eventually have a greater impact on the archer than the elf could imagine, helping her reach her full potential in a world of wizards and warriors, dragons and trolls and adventure.

Bowyer has assembled a very interesting cast of characters with Braksis, a human warlord who was raised by a non-human troll named Ferceng; Solara, his traveling companion and bodyguard (sort of a female Samurai warrior); the beautiful and strong willed Empress Karleena who is attempting to hold together a loose confederation of human city states along with other races (including Centaurs, aquatic amphibians and flying bird people) and a hardy band of warrior dwarves.

Opposed to Bowyer’s stalwart heroes are the mage Zoldex, who tends to influence the thoughts and actions of others, making them pawns in his own game, and various trolls, goblins and hobgoblins, along with two old foes from Braksis past, his relative Rawthorne and the outlaw Durgin. One of this duo actually committed an act of cannibalism in prison when another inmate snatched some food from his serving tray. Hardcases don’t come any harder than that.

Another interesting addition to the traditional swords and sorcery fare is the inclusion of an organized crime element known as the Hidden Empire, which acts a lot like the mafia in that corrupt businessmen and even kings like the sleazy King Garum wind up being the public faces, while the leadership of the Hidden Empire really calls the shots behind the scenes.

Another innovation for fantasy fiction is the appearance of Nitorum a ninja like bad guy who assaults the castle and makes off with Karleena.  Into this mix, Bowyer brings a variety of creatures from folklore and myth such as cat people centaurs and minotaurs.

Braksis, the main character is in some ways a traditional fantasy hero. Like Siegfried from Norse mythology, he is raised by a non-human smith who crafts for him a special sword, the Phoenix. Unlike the majority of  modern authors, Bowyer takes time to describe to in detail what his various characters look like, sound like and even happen to be wearing, to help the reader paint a vivid mental picture of the World of the Imperium in his or her mind.

Through the course of the book, there are battles and action aplenty, and Braksis and Solara finally realize they have feelings for each other and at last give in to them.... only to be attacked by the villains and a pack of goblins along the way. (Bowyer and Silver Leaf Books have a spin off series aimed at young adults featuring Kyria the Chosen).

If you enjoyed the Lord of the Rings trilogy in movie theaters and found out that Prof. Tolkien's florid prose was a bit too much, but want more of that sort of wide screen epic feel to your fantasy reading, I can definitely recommend "The Impending Storm" by Clifford Bowyer, an exciting new talent in the world of fantasy fiction.

This review and others can be found at: http://www.loganbanner.com/opinion/index.cfm