Tuesday, September 19, 2023

Rogues of Edomia by J.M. Kind

 

(pb; 2023: third novel in the Edomia series; aka Rogues of Edomia: Tales from the Edomian Mythos (Book 3))


From the back cover

“Forced against his will to take a risky job with scant hope of reward, diminutive swindler Drogn the Magnificent has little to rely on save his own uniquely twisted set of wits. Drawing on a shallow wellspring of dubious talent, the fast-talking dwarf must find a way to convince a brazen would-be queen to give up her most cherished ambitions: It’s either that or Drogn’s head when Svrosh, the ruthless Serpent-Prince, demands his pound of flesh.

“Architect of the coup that marked the falloff Taugwadeth, the traitorous Stethine k’ Flerion is holed up with her henchmen in the fortress-like Library of Rvnshrah. Now Drogn and his companions must find a way to infiltrate the citadel, discover the location of a priceless book of ancient lore, and get close enough to Stethine to administer a dose of numbing spider venom, the better to deliver her into the vile Prince-Regent’s clutches. Along with Vasto the giant (Svrosh’s musclebound enforcer), stolid farmboy Bymno, two-headed scholar-bird Klevix-Wrder, and lovely outworlder Gemma (a refugee from Medieval Scotland where she was once accused of witchcraft), Drogn will face more than his share of hardships and horrors, wonders, perils, and galling inconvenience in pursuit of liberty, respect, and his own dreamed-of life of ease.”


Review

Rogues, a relatively short and light Edomia novel, is an entertaining, erudite and straightforward tale, a side-work that serves as a bridge to the forthcoming Empires of EdomiaRogues maintains the themes, engaging characters and feel of the previous Edomia books while being less plot- and character-intricate (it helps that the first two books did the heavy lifting of being full-on world-builders), making Rogues lighter on its story-telling feet. Excellent series for those who like fantasy genre brains, brawn, humor and a touch of sex, a book worth owning and revisiting (re-reading) at a later date, when all the books are published.