Review – The Warrior’s Bane by David L McDaniel

Another day, another Netgalley review. This is the first book by this author, and it’s a decent enough first effort.

The plot revolves around Alaezdar, a former mercenary who ran from his unit after killing one of his fellow mercs. He finds some peace in a town called Valewood, where the locals welcome him and he settles in helping out on a farm. However, on the eve of an annual celebration, they are attacked by an evil wizard and his band

of trusty murderous gronts (similar to orcs). The creatures wreak havoc, and kidnap one of the girls to use as a sacrifice. Alaezdar takes umbrage, and takes some of the townsfolk to track down these murderous creatures.

Okay, there’s a lot more to it than that, but you get the gist. To be fair, it’s quite a good story, with some political intrigue, nice worldbuilding and a modicum of internal strife amongst the hunting party. The gronts in particular are cool, as are the flaming demons (best description I can come up with) who appear at the start.

Sadly, like most first efforts, it is not without it’s flaws. The writing is a bit weird at times, with the author saying “the right thing,” but just going the wrong way about it. I’ve noted before in reviews about a trend in which authors try to appear articulate, and instead just appear loquacious. The action scenes are quite good, but it usually boils down to a couple of heroes slaying baddies like they’re threshing corn, but not always. I’m also unsure of the target audience; at times it’s pitch dark, at others it’s a bit light and fluffy.

I liked the general plot, despite the obviousness of some of it. The author does a good job of hiding some of the upcoming events, so there’s always some surprises just when you think you have it sussed. However, there is way too much info barfing, and it really slows down the pace of the novel. I believe the author could have knocked off fifty pages or so, added a bit of spit and polish, and he’d have a pretty tight first effort.

Not bad, but no great either.

3/5