The Lion of Fallavon

The Lion of Fallavon is the first fantasy-fiction book that I’ve read in quite some time. And, in the name of full disclosure, this book was written by a friend of mine and I don’t think I would have picked it otherwise. That being said, I’m glad I did.

The book is the story of a humble fur trader named Donovan who lives in a backwater trading post in an entirely new fictional realm called Drannus. By the design of powers outside his control, Donovan finds himself on an exciting quest with a mysterious rogue he hardly knows, encountering a world full of colorful and diverse creatures. Caught in a war that is not his own. Orchestrated by powers that few can perceive. Will he be a force for good, or for destruction?

First the pros of the story. The story is well written and very creative. The author gives lots of beautiful description of a world that is entirely new. With few exceptions (such as elementals, humans, horses, and swords) the world is very unique from others I have encountered. The author really has (similarly to Tolkien’s works) created a whole new world that provides the reader with excitement beyond just the adventure of the characters that extends into the discovery of a whole new world (cue the Disney music).

The cons of the story are really quite negligible. I have a knack for spotting typos in books and can usually spot a few in just about anything I read, but this book had more than I usually notice. They aren’t anything horrible, but they can break up the flow for the reader when they happen. There’s only one really bad mistake where a character appears to be sure of knowledge that the reader had no idea how he arrived there, and the significance of that portion isn’t particularly large in the grand scheme of the story.

On the whole, I would definitely recommend reading this book. I know that I plan to read the rest of the trilogy as they come out. I wouldn’t give it my totally unreserved endorsement because of the mistakes mentioned above. But I believe that the incredible creativity of the story far overshadows any mistakes the author made. If nothing else, the book is worth reading simply for the sake of having the privilege of being one of his first readers because Joseph Wolfe is probably going to be widely read in the near future.