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Reluctant Heroes
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Reluctant Heroes “Freedom to carry out his plans was so close he could taste it, and it tasted good. It had the flavour of fine wine, sweet honey, exquisite candies, maple syrup, expensive perfume on a young boy’s neck…” Mishtar wanted out. After two hundred years of captivity he’d found a way to escape the magic that bound him, and to smash it completely so that he could take his revenge on the peoples of Middle Vooragh. What he hadn’t accounted for, however, was his unwitting assistant’s penchant for ale, women and his uncanny ability to screw things up. Throw in a cunning Sister of the New Dawn, the last wizard, a cretinous dwarf, a flying lizard and a big red dragon and maybe, just maybe, the world could be saved. Oh! Did anyone mention cannibals? Interested? Why not read more...
 Chapter One continues
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If you enjoyed reading Chapter One why not buy a copy of the book. Read the Book Reviews below. |
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Steve Westcott's Reluctant Heroes Reviewed by Kevin 'Jaqhama' Lumley, Sydney, Australia. A big, brawling, barbarian hero. Lusty, courageous, liked and admired...does not portray an accurate picture of Steve Westcott's original sword and sorcery character, Ryzak. Think selfish, lazy, drunken, lustful...not necessarily in that order. Ryzak's not the sort of hero one normally finds striding though the pages of a sword and sorcery adventure novel; but then neither is Snorkel...a dim-witted dwarf and wizard's apprentice who may be more than he at first appears...and he appears short in stature and brains. Enticed into helping a beautiful girl purloin and restore some ancient seals Ryzak is soon knee deep and trembling in trouble. Nasty elves, cannibals, black magicians, black humour, brave maidens, short people, stupid people, smart dragons...I see say shades of Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser in Steve Westcott's debut novel. A host of characters come to Ryzak's aid and quite a few come along with the opposite in mind.The aged wizard Beulah. Snorkel's endearing off-spring, a young dragon...later joined by Reizgoth, last of the true dragonkind. The black magician Mishtar; manipulating his way to freedom before the ill assorted group can put in place the seals to stop him. It's a story of love and courage, drunkenness and lust. High adventure and ghastly horrors. Will Ryzak stay sober long enough to perform as the hero he thinks he is? Will Snorkel forever be destined to remain a dim-witted wizard's apprentice? Will they be betrayed by one from within their group, or saved by one from outside it?. Ah well...that would be telling now wouldn't it? Steve Westcott has written an original and entertaining first novel that steps outside the boundaries of normal sword and sorcery fiction and presents characters and situations that perhaps most us can relate to more than the average muscle bound, magic sword swinging barbarian tale. Reluctant Heroes is a great read. It's funny, in fact in places it's hilarious, but that only makes what would have been a standard sword and sorcery story into something more unique. I enjoyed Reluctant Heroes. Any reader who's tired of the normal S&S fare probably will also. Cheers |
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Steve Westcott's Reluctant Heroes Reviewed by Molly Martin Hysterically Entertaining read … Highly Recommended…. 5 stars Mishtar’s two centuries of imprisonment within a vault of legerdemain deep within Mount Aine have honed the sorcerer’s temper to a razor sharp edge. Anticipatory he felt the magical power binding him was at last weakening. Just one unintentional dunderhead was all he needed and Mishtar would once again be released to commit devastation and retaliation upon the peoples of Middle Vooragh. It was the notion of retaliation that Mishtar savored most. A witty wizard, and his inapt klutz of an apprentice, the last descendant of a dragon mounted race, The Ogmus, an ingenious Sister of The New Dawn, and a heroically unsuited and unwitting, coward Ryzak prove to be unintentional heroes about to toss a clog into Mistar’s malicious designs. Lethal elves, dragons, cannibals, flying lizards, and a contingent of daft barbaric warrior tribes, all join the effort to thwart Mishtar’s plans for revenge. The narrative opens in the small village of Fleshwick with the reader stepping into the teeming excitement of the common room of The Shepherd’s Cock – formerly known as The Shepherd’s Crock until someone removed the ‘r’. Blissfully unaware of the tumult, Ryzak slept through all the pandemonium. A loud and sudden altercation involving homicidal maniac Sawn-off Sam and the tavern croupier brought Ryzak back to reality. Within moments drink-dulled reflexes prevented Ryzak from avoiding the unexpected blow sent his way by the serving girl. From that ignominious beginning the reader is carried on a fast paced romp including a screaming girl in tatters, Wolverines, a bit of chicanery, a missing prison seal and a ‘girl’ named Shula. Ryzak is off on a quest to regain a kingdom, the name of which he doesn't know, in the company of a girl, who may or may not be a queen, and whose name he also does not know; even Ryzak’s best friend InnKeeper Jollif is certain Ryzak is deranged. Scree slopes, a cave, a crashing fall, an elderly she wolf, A Beginner's Guide to Wizardry, bumbling dwarf named Snorkel and his mentor Beulah, a mule named Clara and Draco a misguided dragonet all contribute to the reader’s enjoyment. I don’t remember when I have enjoyed a just plain for fun read more. Writer Westcott has a gloriously twisted sense of humor. Reluctant Heroes is filled with potent incitements, breach of faith, delusion, snappy dialogue, an enthusiastically focused yarn, extraordinary picturesque characters, profuse disharmony fittingly determined all excellently maneuvered into an impressive, spell binding read. Westcott has set down a typical problem, quest, resolution, tale using contemporary words and vernacular in a middle ages setting. The mix produces a highly entertaining novel. Excellent book for a lazy afternoon spent sipping lemonade while reading in the rocking chair out on the porch. Reluctant Heroes will be a good addition to the personal reading shelf, the home pleasure library, and young adult reading list. Not for everyone, some graphic language will horrify those who find their knickers too tight, everyone else will roar with laughter as they read. Enjoyed the read, most happy to recommend. |
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