(The Hunter of Fareldin Series Book 1)

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~Her eyes watered with tears as she took the first bite. The mere taste of the food seemed to give her body strength. It was nothing like the fine dishes she was used to, but at the time it tasted better than anything she’d ever eaten~

What it’s About:

As I read and analyzed Book 1 of The Hunter of Fareldin, I couldn’t help but keep comparing it to another book we recently reviewed on Virtual Pulp based on certain similarities. Both stories revolve around two seemingly different and polar opposite characters-a young girl and a brooding ranger (or hunter)-caught up in a life and death situation that involves a long journey on foot and on horseback while being hunted by dangerous foes. The big difference is that in The Hunter of Fareldin the writer doesn’t bore us to death and doesn’t create incoherent character behavior as things unfold.

Flow:

Let’s face it, when most of the story consists of marching/setting up camp/building a fire/repeating, keeping things interesting can be quite the challenge. But I’m happy to say that Aagard manages to do so and in a very astounding fashion. Not only does the story hardly ever get boring, but we slowly start feeling invested in the two main characters just as they slowly start building strong emotional ties toward one another!

Plot:

Our adventure starts when a failed kidnapping attempt of young noblewoman Adeline of Fenforde (Addy) finds our young protagonist lost and alone in foreign land. When she tries to steal a sword from a strange man, she strikes a most unusual deal with Strider (aka The Hunter) and his giant wolf pet Greer. She promises that if he can deliver her back home to her family he’d be generously compensated for it by her father. Although Strider accepts the offer, little is he concerned with monetary compensation, but this mission rather gives his life some temporary meaning, which it had none left ever since his family was murdered.

This is a story of powerful but dangerous magic, of spies and inside jobs, but most importantly of lives being restored to hope.

Craft:

If I have to use a word to describe the work the author does here, that word would be BALANCE. Aagard always finds that perfect balance between character development, action scenes, compelling plot lines, and solid prose. And so, just when we feel like the story is getting too slow she gives it a boost with something that gains our attention right back, and when we feel that we should know more about a character she slows things down, taking the time to dig into their minds and hearts.

Although a Book 2 is in the making, the reader turning to the last page will feel satisfied knowing that they read a complete story whether or not they decide to pick up the next book. But given the quality of this first story, I don’t see how anybody wouldn’t want to read more of The Hunter of Fareldin!

🦀