The Reluctant King

First let me say that after reading some of the reviews by other readers I'm stumped at how incomprehending they are. First Jorian does not escape the planet, second; its a copper bathtub, not gold, thirdly he has to rescue a magicians manuscript from a well guarded citadel in a vast empire (not the Goblin Tower) and lastly; its not just his ability to tell a story that gets him out of trouble, but rather the application of the many skills he sought out as a King in effort to escape his fate. Mr. de Camp does a wonderful job of capturing a readers imagination by craftily building a hero one can sympathize with and placing him in imminent danger. From the start of the first book "The Goblin Tower" Our hero, Jorian, and his elderly magician companion find themselves in one mess after another, meeting a cast of charaters along the way (who by the way are fleshed out well by the author, removing confusion of character I've found in many other authors works). The author has a commanding grasp of the language, though does not overwhelm the reader with references and words one has to constantly look up, as I've found with so many other authors who let their wordy tomes leave the reader befuddled if not angry at the authors pompacity.

The Reluctant King assembles in one volume L. Sprague de Camp's three thrilling novels (The Goblin Tower, The Clocks of Iraz, and The Unbeheaded King) detailing the wild and humorous adventures of Jorian of Kortoli and the constantly amusing wizard Karadur. While passing through Xylar, Jorian instinctively catches a decapitated head out of the air and finds himself proclaimed the new king of the land, one whose own head will be forcibly removed from his body after a traditional five-year reign. With the help of Karadur, Jorian escapes, but his life is constantly threatened by Xylarian soldiers seeking their unbeheaded king. Our heroic odd couple roam the lands of the realm, encountering all manner of men and dangers, numerous gods, dangerous ape-men, lustful, dangerous women, rogue barbarians, slow-witted demons, avaricious sorcerers, witches, enchantresses, etc. Jorian employs all manner of physical objects (including a giant golden bathtub) and sometimes less than dependable magic from Karadur to keep himself alive and healthy so that he can attempt to recover his beloved wife Estrildis from the walled confines of Xylar City. The action is nonstop and the humor rich and abundant, making the Reluctant King trilogy one of the best works of fantasy I have ever read. Wanting no more than to settle down with the chosen wife he left behind in Xylar and live the simple, quiet life of a craftsman, Jorian is seemingly cut out to be either an adventurer or a king. Possessed of a noble heart, underrated combat skills, and a great deal of ingenuity and common sense, his greatest skill is actually his storytelling ability, and many of his escapes come about as a direct result of his storytelling prowess. This makes him an uncommonly interesting and very human hero. The ultimate conclusion, I was happy to discover, is by no means a foregone one ... Jorian does make a cameo appearance in de Camp's novel The Honorable Barbarian, but this 3-in-1 volume basically contains all of the exploits of this famous unbeheaded king. No fantasy fan should deny himself/herself the joy of reading de Camp's fiction, and this account of Jorian's life and times is a wonderful way for you to introduce yourself to one of the genre's greatest and most legendary writers.

The Reluctant King is a trilogy set in de Camps's fantasy milileu of Novaria, combining "The Goblin Tower" "The Clocks of Iraz", and "The Unbeheaded King." It follows the adventurs of Jorian, a fellow beset by the problem of really not being good at any one skill which he can make a living at. By accident he wanders into Xylar City proper and catches the head of the previous king (the Lot of Imbal by which the next reigning king is chosen). The books begin 5 years later when he escapes the end-of-rein beheading that would be used to choose the next king. His next task is to recover his love from the kingdom. Don't think you know the plot just by those words - de Camp doesn't write the same ole kill-the-monster-save-the-princess rag as most people do.These three books revolve around Jorian's one gift, his ability to tell tales. Like the Arabian Nights series, he uses this ability to forestall doom multiple times but in different settings. And in the process wanders through a number of epics disecting various government forms, winding up with the concept that governments are based on people, and people tend to err. Novaria is a dense setting: it's well set out. Several time's I've tried to work up a "Land of Novaria" compedium but while reading the various books I get stumped because every page contains a reference to something different. Which can make for heavy reading. But if you like realistics settings it can please you.I myself wish there were three times as many books set in Novaria...

An extraodinary tale of the adventures of a warm-hearted barbarian in a magical land where a strange custom exists -- the king is elected for a short period of time after which he is beheaded... The book is written in a very lively style. The author has once again proven himself worthy of the title "Mister Fantasy".