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"A charming fantasy"

Dweller hero, Juhg, is apprentice librarian to the Grandmagister of the Great Library, Edgewick the Lamplighter. However, Juhg finds his work tedious and ennui is a problem for him as working inside the Vault of All Known Knowledge is boring for an adventurous ROVER like him though he admits to himself that his mentor the grand Wick seems contented in his role. Juhg goes on a sea voyage when he hears rumors of a book in the possession of Goblins, a race that would never possess anything written except to use as fuel.

He decides to take the tome from the goblins and Juhg succeeds. He brings the book to his learned Grandmagister, but when Edgewick and the wizard Craugh inspect it they open a magical portal that enables Dread Riders, Blazebulls, and Grymmlings, to enter their realm. Juhg, Edgewick, and Craugh battle the book's evil spell, but destroy much of their library and even if they succeed they have just started the quest because they will need to trace back to the source who might be a powerful malevolent Goblin Wizard Aldhran.

This is an engaging epic fantasy that reaches out to a wide range of readers with its amusing often ironic humor (especially satirizing Mel Odom's own works). The story line is action-packed with many of the typical genre elements, but also contains characters that seem real so that Mr. Odom's various species appear as genuine. Set in the same universe of his previous works (like ROVER); Mr. Odom provides a terrific opening gamut of a series that will please the young teen crowd as well as aging boomers.

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted August 15, 2004

Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted January 24, 2007

Mel Odom's award winning quest fantasy The Rover was hailed as a successor to the legacy of Tolkien and Terry Brooks. The tale of "Wick" the lowly librarian who rises to the occasion and becomes a great adventurer struck a chord with adventure lovers and fantasy fans alike.

After his adventures on the mainland Wick returned to his duties at the Vault of All Known Knowledge and quickly worked his way up the hierarchy , continuing his quest for the preservation of books and the knowledge contained therein.

And now that quest is threatened.

The Destruction of the Books

It is many years later and lowly Wick is now Grandmagister Lamplighter of the Great Library. His trips to the mainland are fewer due to his advanced age, and lately he has enlisted an assistant by the name of Jugh to undertake those roving duties he used to relish.

An encounter with a goblin ship on the high seas leads to Jugh's discovery of a book in goblin hands, a most matter that must be investigated.

This single event leads to startling revelations that forewarns of a great evil that exists that is every bit as powerful as the Vault of All Known Knowledge, and whose presence in the Great Library may indeed result in

The Destruction of the Books

And perhaps far worse.