bellgirl's Full Review: Markus Heitz - The Dwarves
After traveling for two orbits they reached a set point and continued alongside another rail. Suddenly a second wagon rolled up and drew level with theirs. Its passengers, a dozen or so orcs, seemed just as surprised as they were. Ireheart was the first to recover from the shock. He reacted true to type. “Oink, oink! Come here you runts,” he screeched excitedly, whipping out his axes. He glared at the others. “Leave them to me.”
This is a story like many other stories told. Humans are humans, elves are elves and dwarves are as stubborn and crazy as always. However, there is a difference. The dwarves take center stage. I have always loved dwarves; from Gimli in “The Lord of the Rings” to Flint Fireforge in the Dragonlance series. Their stubborn tenacity makes them endearing and adds a bit of comedy to the story. However, dwarves have always been reduced to being a sidekick. They have never had the glory of being the hero of a story….. until now.
Markus Heitz, the 2003 German Fantasy Award winner, has created a book that puts the dwarves in the spotlight where they belong. “The Dwarves” is a story about Tungdil Bolofar. He is a lone dwarf adopted by Lot-Ionan the Forbearing, a magus and ruler of Brandokai. Tungdil spends his life among humans. He works as a smith and is trained as a scholar. One day Lot-Ionan requests that Tungdil make a journey to collect items for him from another magus. Along the way he finds devastation. Orcs are decimating villages and the Perished Land is seeping into the realm. While facing absolute death at the hand of one of these orcs, he is saved by two dwarves, Boendal Hookhand and Boindil (Ireheart) Doubleblade.
The three dwarves travel together toward Ogre’s Death, a dwarven stronghold, to warn others of the coming threat. Tungdil learns what it means to be a dwarf. He is taught by the blade of his axe and the wily of his companions as they fight their enemy the entire way to their destination. Tungsil learns that the only way to stop the spreading evil is to forge an axe called Keenfire. It requires a long journey, dragon’s fire and steady hands to create such a weapon.
He set out on his journey along with a band of dwarves, humans and a few other interesting characters. Each has a role to play in stopping the evil that is gathering to destroy the land of Girdlegard. The journey is a long one that leads them through many perils. Many an orc is slain under the axe of the dwarves. Can they make it through with the odds stacked against them? Read the book and find out.
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