Fifth Ring

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View books by Mitchell Graham.

Unintentionally Funny - Rated
The evil king is brought a few ancient rings, the product of a vanished society... Our hero, Mathew, accidentally finds The Fifth Ring... and slowly develops "technological" powers - standard fantasy fare. When you read the political background to the war, and realise that the narrative is inconsistent with the map in the front of the book, it starts to be funny. Then Mathew and his pals start "firing" arrows (in the dark, of course, and never missing). But when Mathew goes into the stable and finds that "someone had stacked several large oil drums" it's become a hoot. I just can't put this book down!

Not too original, but a good flight of fantasy. - Rated
THE STORY:
A mad and cruel king has found several powerful ancient rings. As he launches his attempt to conquer the world, however, it becomes clear that another ring has fallen into the hands of a young swordsman who could stand in the king's way.

WHAT'S GOOD:
This book has all the building blocks of good fantasy; characters who are ripped from simple lives, cruel and monstrous creatures, a mad villain and a great war. Added to this solid mix is the author's own fencing interests, giving the story an extra layer of realism. You'll find yourself sympathising with the heroes and wishing death on the villains, no doubt.

WHAT'S BAD:
This book sticks a touch too closely to the building blocks I've mentioned. The attempt to suggest that the book's setting is our own world post-apocalypse is nothing new either. Ultimately, I felt that most of the book was too strong an echo of other fantasies (it seemed particularly akin to 'The Eye Of The World' to me).

An entertaining fantasy, but nothing groundbreaking.

Page turning standard heroic fantasy - Rated
Graham's writing is filled to bursting with non-stop action, which takes you into an exciting adventure that is difficult to pull away from. The fifth ring is definitely a very good book but unfortunately it disappoints in some aspects.

I couldn't help relating this book to a Hardy Boys adventure (remember those?) set in a fantasy world. The plot was predictable, basically the same old story, young stable/farm/kitchen/baker boy acquires great power and is hunted across half the world by an extremely evil king or lord. Then throw in a "decides the fate of the world" war between nations and you've got your standard fantasy novel. So don't expect too many surprises. The character development also leaves a lot to be desired as Graham concentrates on only 3 or 4 people, leaving most of the others as one-dimensional puppets.

It would be unfair not to mention that I enjoyed this book and got through it in no time. The writing style is excellent so the story always flows along, sometimes at break neck pace and you might even end up holding your breath. The action scenes are top class and take full advantage of the author's experience in fencing. There is also a good amount of humor which makes it a pleasant read.

I do think that 3 stars is probably a bit harsh, but even though this book was entertaining it doesn't quite make it on par with 4 star books such as the sword of shadow series by J.V Jones. And it doesn't come near 5 star books by Martin, Erikson and Hobb. I believe 3.5 stars is fair.