The Rover
Mel Odom
Tor
Fiction, Fantasy
***
DESCRIPTION: The halfling Edgewick Lamplighter was proud of himself when, despite his father's objections to leaving the family trade, he was accepted at the Vault
of All Known Knowledge as a librarian... but, many years later, he's only advanced to Third Librarian. It's his insistence on reading meaningless imaginary drivel, the
Grandmagister insists, rather than devoting himself fully to histories and other tangible study paths, that holds him back. But Wick can't give up the excitement of those
tales, thrills he never finds in his own sedate and cowardly life. At age seventy, nearly full-grown for a halfling, he should've matured beyond such childish impulses - and
if he hasn't done so by now, he probably never will be First Librarian material.
Sent by the Grandmagister to deliver a letter, Wick's curiosity nearly gets him killed, as monsters unseen since the earth-shaking Cataclysm suddenly attack the peaceful,
secluded land of Greydawn Moors. Before he knows it, he's living an adventure wilder than anything he's ever read... and facing dangers that threaten to destroy the Moors
and the Vaults, dangers hearkening back to the terrible days of the Cataclysm itself.
REVIEW: So, a sheltered halfling finds himself reluctantly traveling far away from his peaceful home town, falling into the company of dwarves and humans, fighting
goblins and plundering crypts and even venturing into an abandoned dwarven fastness wherein an evil dragon dwells... yes, there's more than a hint of Tolkien's works here.
In fact, I'm hard-pressed to think of any other books I've read that were this clearly "inspired" by Middle Earth. The frequent, plot-stopping trips into the world's history
speak of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but the overall presentation and simpler story lean strongly toward The Hobbit - so much so that I suspect young adults
(especially those who haven't read much fantasy) would enjoy it more than full-grown fantasy fans, despite how the book was packaged and marketed. They also would be less
likely to wonder why a fantasy world (which, if it is related to Earth, has been so devastated by ancient magical wars as to render its countries and peoples unrecognizable)
employs Earth-centric terms like "shanghaied" and "welshed," when there is no Shanghai or Wales for the terms to have originated from.
Like many pseudo-Bilbo protagonists, Wick starts out an insecure coward until his travels and worldly experience transform him into a proper hero, a journey not without its
plot-convenient jumps forward and backwards. His companions as he moves through the phases of his adventure tend to blend together as loose sketches of characters, a few even
having annoyingly similar names... not unlike Bilbo's dwarf companions on his way to Smaug's lair in The Hobbit. Wick's only unique trait, so far as Bilbo knock-offs go,
is his devotion to reading and the Vaults; the rest of the world beyond the Moors, he quickly learns, has entirely forgotten the value of books, viewing reading and writing as
the tools of untrustworthy wizards. This trait actually shines through at several spots, providing him with a purpose, though elsewhere it serves mainly to bog down the plot
as Wick fills in unnecessarily in-depth histories of the various people, places, and things he encounters... or is reminded of, or otherwise decides to fill page count by
pondering at length. The ending leaves Wick's adventures wide open for a sequel - meaning that several of the major story arcs thrown out during the book are left hanging at
the end, limp loose ends that wind up feeling like red herrings. For all of its flaws, though, I still managed to keep turning pages. Things kept happening - at least,
between history lessons - and I almost found myself enjoying the blatant Tolkienesque "inspirations" Odom employed. I might have given the thing another half-star (having
paid only a buck for the book to begin with, my expectations weren't exactly sky-high) but Odom's writing style bugged me too much; the man seriously needed a sharper-eyed
editor, or at least a competent proofreader, to sort out overused phrases, misplaced italics, and other subtle yet irritating problems that had me beating back my inner
editor with a baseball bat. (The Vault of All Known Knowledge is just one example of the continual redundancies that plague the narrative.)
Ultimately, if you're a fan of The Hobbit and "halflings" (hobbit stand-ins), and if you aren't looking for a highly original story, you'll probably enjoy The Rover. If
you're looking for something more unique or sophisticated, I'd suggest that you look elsewhere.
You might also enjoy:
The Sword of Shannara (Terry Brooks, Fiction - A young man from a rustic valley learns he his descended from a hero... and may now be the only one who can save his world)
Dragon Companion (Don Callander, Fiction - A New York City librarian finds himself in a magical world of elves and dragons)
Scriber (Ben S. Dobson, Fiction - A disgraced scholar and a shunned warrior woman race to save the Kingsland from malevolent forces)
The Tales of Jig Dragonslayer (Jim C. Hines, Fiction - A cowardly goblin runt inadvertently becomes a hero)
Librarian: Little Boy Lost (Eric Hobbs, YA Fiction - A bookish boy discovers secrets and dangers in a mysterious library)
The Book of Story Beginnings (Kristin Kladstrup, YA Fiction - Two children must live through the stories they started writing in a special notebook)
Guardian Cats and the Lost Books of Alexandria (Rahma Krambo, YA Fiction - A housecat must help defend a powerful book from evil forces)
Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians (Brandon Sanderson, YA Fiction - A boy discovers that the true nature of the world has been kept hidden by an insidious cult of evil librarians)
Heroes of the Valley (Jonathan Stroud, YA Fiction - Raised on tales of his heroic ancestor, a boy attempts to avenge his uncle with disastrous results)
The Hobbit (J. R. R. Tolkien, YA? Fiction - The classic story of the humble hobbit who journeys across Middle Earth to the lair of the dread dragon Smaug)
The Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn trilogy (Tad Williams, Fiction - A daydreaming scullion boy finds himself on a quest to save Osten Ard from an undead enemy)
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