Book Review – The Summoner
Author: Gail Martin
Publisher: Solaris
Binding: Hardcover
Publication Date: 2007
Prince Martris Drayke of Margolan has been secretly trained in the arts of necromancy by his grandmother, the legendary sorceress Bava K’aa. His quiet life is abruptly shattered when his ruthless half-brother Prince Jared, in league with the evil sorcerer Arontala, murders their father the king and seizes the throne for himself. Bearing his dead grandmother’s warning that Jared and Arontala seek to free the evil Obsidian King from his prison, and the knowledge of his own burgeoning power, Martris flees the kingdom vowing to return and strike down Jared and Arontala.
Meanwhile, Princess Kiara of the neighboring kingdom of Isencroft flees in turn, to escape an arranged marriage to Jared and to find a cure for her father’s sorcerous illness. Her path inevitably crosses with Martris’ and they band together for the journey to the Library of Westmarch, where the answers they seek may be found.
Needless to say, The Summoner joins the already-crowded ranks of formulaic epic fantasy. Cliche after cliche is summoned to the point of dulling any interest I might have had in continuing with the series. However, Martris’ powers of necromancy and his interactions with ghosts along the way are a good touch, even if too little to rescue the book from itself.
The characters don’t fare much better, even Vahanian, who I thought was probably the best of the bunch. In particular, the dialogue is irritatingly marred by the constant use of modifiers instead of having characters simply “say” something. Otherwise, the prose is competent and certainly a cut above some other less-than-memorable debuts I’ve read recently, if not outstanding in its own right.
The Summoner doesn’t bring anything new to life, but it certainly excels at digging up the old fantasy tropes.
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