"I was sad when I reached that last page and the great saga of Rumo the Wolperting's silver thread was over. It felt like a chapter of my own life had ended in some way as well." ~ Lucas

Set in the land of Zamonia, this exuberant, highly original fantasy from Walter Moers features an unlikely hero. Rumo is a little Wolperting - a domesticated creature somewhere between a deer and a dog - who will one day become the greatest hero in the history of Zamonia. Armed with Dandelion, his talking sword, he fights his way through the Overworld and the Netherworld. He meets Rala, a beautiful Wolperting female; Urs of the Snows, who thinks more of cooking than of fighting; Gornab the Ninety-Ninth, the demented king of Netherworld; Professor Ostafan Kolibri, who goes in search of the Non-Existent Teenies; Professor Abdullah Nightingale, inventor of the Chest-of-Drawers Oracle; and, worst luck, the deadly Metal Maiden.

Astonishingly inventive, amusing, and engrossing, Rumo is a captivating story from the unique imagination of Walter Moers. Illustrated with the author's own line drawings and filled with humor, this rambunctious novel will delight fans tired of the usual epic fantasy. The comparisons are many - Douglas Adams, Lewis Carrol, J.K. Rowling, Dr. Seuss, R. Crumb - but Moers is clearly an original. Long live Zamonia!

Lucas says:

"I first encountered this author when I read The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear (another excellent read). This author's style of fantasy writing and anthropomorphism instantly caught my attention because it was so fanciful and out there and different than any other fantasy I've read. Rumo... maintains the quality and style of writing that Captain Bluebear has, but it does so in a much more epic way. The story is told in the tradition of the great northern European sagas.

In Rumo... the reader follows a young Wolperting (a dog like creature) named Rumo from his puppyhood to the end of his silver thread (an almost sixth sense that guides the direction of a Wolperting's life). Along the path of the sliver thread Rumo is captured by demons, receives an education, engages in dangerous gambling, falls in love, masters woodcarving and the art of battle, and he even goes to Hel (the underground kingdom) to save his true love from the clutches of death. The path of Rumo's silver thread is rich with great battles, riddles, and memorable and outlandish characters.

It is tempting to assume that this book is appropriate for young readers/young adults because it is fantasy about anthropomorphized animals. While it's probably okay for the young adult reader (considering the content of the dystopian young adult genre), it is not okay for young readers. The battle scenes in this novel are gruesome, the love story aspect of this book is presented in a way that only an experienced adult could understand, and the philosophical exploration of the concept of death would be beyond the understanding of any young reader.

At 684 pages, this book is the perfect read to take along on a trip—or for the person looking for an escape from their everyday reality. It did take me a long time to read, but I enjoyed every minute of it, and I was sad when I reached that last page and the great saga of Rumo the Wolperting's silver thread was over. It felt like a chapter of my own life had ended in some way as well. I think that is the power of Moers' writing , the fact that he can take these outlandish animal characters and make the reader care about their lives and problems the way he/she would care about the problems of his/her own family and friends."

"'American Elsewhere' conjures up echoes of the best works of Ray Bradbury and Stephen King. ...manages to surprise, terrify and move the reader." --Los Angeles Times (No Wonder Hank Likes It)

 

Ex-cop Mona Bright has been living a hard couple of years on the road, but when her estranged father dies, she finds she's had a home all along: a little house her deceased mother once owned in Wink, New Mexico.

And though every map denies Wink exists, Mona finds they're wrong: not only is Wink real, it is the perfect American small town, somehow retaining all the Atomic Age optimism the rest of world has abandoned.

But the closer Mona gets to her mother's past, the more she understands that the people in Wink are very, very different - and what's more, Mona begins to recognize her own bond to this strange place, which feels more like home every day.

Hank says:
"When Mona Bright's estranged father dies, leaving her a house she didn't know her long-dead mother had owned in the small town of Wink, New Mexico, you can pretty much figure it's not going to go smoothly. For one thing, it's not that easy even to find Wink, but when she manages to get there, the arrival of a newcomer in a bright red car distracts attention from a funeral, because--well, there are never, ever newcomers there. For another, the first chapter has shown us a distraught group of criminals escaping (minus one of the contingent) from a house in Wink their boss sent them to on a mission, and it proved to be Just Not a Normal House on the inside. 

After townspeople grudgingly help her locate her mother's house, she decides to take up residence, and see what she can find out about the end of her mother's life. No one is at all forthcoming, but she starts to fit in a little bit, in spite of people's resistance. With some effort, the prevailing attitude of Not Talking About That begins to peel away, and Mona gets an inkling about the strange forces in control of Wink, and how her mother's history fits in. Bennett steadily builds the suspense to a satisfying, confrontational climax I don't want to spoil. However, I think we can all be glad that nonfictional families pretty much stick to being dysfunctional in a single dimension! During various parts of the story, I was reminded of things I've liked in books by Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, and especially Clive Barker, but I did not find it to be annoyingly derivative."

Hank Is Recommending The Riyria Revelations

Hank says:
"Originally published on-line, these stories have been collected into three books: Theft of Swords, Rise of Empire, and Heir of Novron. Each contains two continuing, but satisfyingly self-contained, adventures. More toward the political intrigue end of the spectrum, but not devoid of magic, the adventures of Hadrian and Royce will probably appeal to fans of Fritz Leiber's Lankhmar books. I was surprised to read in the bonus interview that Sullivan was not himself a follower of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser; however, he does pay a little homage."

Royce Melborn, a skilled thief, and his mercenary partner, Hadrian Blackwater, make a profitable living carrying out dangerous assignments for conspiring nobles-until they are hired to pilfer a famed sword. What appears to be just a simple job finds them framed for the murder of the king and trapped in a conspiracy that uncovers a plot far greater than the mere overthrow of a tiny kingdom.

Can a self-serving thief and an idealistic swordsman survive long enough to unravel the first part of an ancient mystery that has toppled kings and destroyed empires?

And so begins the first tale of treachery and adventure, sword fighting and magic, myth and legend.

Theft of Swords was originally published as: The Crown Conspiracy and Avempartha.

The adventure continues as Royce and Hadrian aid the struggling kingdom of Melengar as it alone stands in defiance against the newly formed empire. War approaches and a desperate gamble behind enemy lines is their only chance at forming an alliance with the Nationalists to the south.

But Royce has plans of his own as he uses this opportunity to discover if an ancient wizard is using Riyria as pawns in his own bid for power. To find the truth, Royce must unravel Hadrian's hidden past. What he discovers will lead them to the end of the known world, on a journey rife with treachery and intrigue.

Rise of Empire was originally published as: Nyphron Rising and The Emerald Storm.

The New Empire intends to mark its victory over the Nationalists with a bloody celebration. On the high holiday of Wintertide, the Witch of Melengar will be burned and the Heir of Novron executed. On that same day the Empress faces a forced marriage, with a fatal accident soon follow. The New Empire is confident in the totality of its triumph but there's just one problem-Royce and Hadrian have finally found the true Heir of Novron---and they have their own holiday plans.

Heir of Novron is the final volume of The Riyria Revelations and includes Wintertide and ---available for the first time--- the final volume, Percepliquis.