The Curse of Slagfid

The Curse of Slagfid was one of a series of four books published back in the day when Del Rey came out with good fantasy in paperback form on a monthly basis. I'm not sure what happened to Del Rey or Ms. Boyer, since she hasn't came out with anything in a long while that I am aware of, but they don't make 'em like this anymore. This book was simply fun to read. It pleased those of us who enjoy a Tolkien-like quest story without being a knock-off of Tolkien. Boyer utilized Scandinavian myth while still make the story seem human and real. The plot was padded to be sure, but there are wonderful scenes, difficult magical problems to solve, and enough humorous interplay between the characters to keep the reader interested. Leifr, the main hero, is a Luke Skywalker type, in over his head but always up for derring-do and supremely lucky. He receives guidance and headaches in equal measure from Thurid, a self-doubting braggart who starts the series as an incompetent but ends up as a major wizard. What I really enjoyed about Ms. Boyer's works is her treatment of magic. Many fantasy authors treat magic as a mechanism, but she treats it as something organic. In her books, magic is willful, unpredictable,omnipresent, and absolute essential. Suffice to say, if you want a really magical fantasy adventure, you can't go wrong with a book in which the disembodied hand of a wizard is a fully developed character. Fun stuff.

I love stories which blend fantasy with myth and legend. Her work is a lot like Tom Deitz and any fan of one should read the other. you won't be disappointed.The story of Leifr and his love Ljosa ia wonderful and this series is well worth the read!