The Unwilling Warlord: #3

This is one of my favorite of the Esthar books by Lawrence Watt-Evans. This is a well written story that exhibits much of the same humor and insight that make most of LWE's books a delight. In an Unwilling Warlord we get (as usual) a very unlikely hero. Before Sterren is an impossible task. He must win a war against multiple enemies, all of which larger then his kingdom. He must accomplish victory with incompetent generals and no magic. Poor Sterren then has to compensate for an incompetent King. Don't feel too bad for Sterren though. The adventure he has in this book is a rollicking good time and one you will enjoy sharing with him!

Let's see: This is an Ethshar series book and is therefore an excellent read. That may sound like a bold statement, but it is a fact. Before you run out and buy it I recommend that you start at the beginning with the first book "The miss enchanted sword", that way you will understand what is going on. Get the whole series and enjoy many hours wasting time reading about a world of total fantasy. Note: This applies to every book in the series, I have read them all.

Sterren had always been lucky at dice, and was content with the life of a gambler in busy Ethshar of the Spices. However, when he is practically kidnapped to one of the Small Kingdoms, and proclaimed their hereditary warlord, he finds that his luck has run out. Facing a war against two larger kingdoms, Sterren has incompetent generals, a small and poorly trained and equipped army, and the knowledge that defeat in battle means the execution of the losing warlord. Unwilling to abandon his new country to destruction, Sterren takes the course of action preferred by any Ethsharite, and hires some magicians to solve his problems. However, magic rarely takes care of all problems, and in this case the cure seems to be worse than the disease!Once again, this is another wonderfully exciting Ethshar book! Lawrence Watt-Evans loves writing stories that throw a young person in at the deep end, leaving the reader to watch as he or she struggles and overcomes, often with courage, luck, ability and a good dollop of humor! This is a great Fantasy book of wizards and spells and high adventure. I highly recommend it to you.

I have probably read this book more than any other in the series, and I enjoy it more each time. While the Misenchanted Sword is the primer, and Single Spell sets the tone for the rest of the novels, this book gives the best examples of all the varieties of magic in this world. It also has a likable character forced into extreme circumstances who uses brains he never knew he had. A real treasure.

Watt-Evans, one of my favorite authors, writes another story in the world of Ethshar. Not really connected with any of the others, still a very good read. It has the same style as "The Misenchanted Sword", the same feel to it. I liked both the novels, and highly recommend them both.