The Axe of the Dwarf Lords - D. P. Prior

RATING: THREE STARS

With only his trusty companions at his side: Nils, Silas and Ilesa, the Nameless Dwarf continues his search for the last remnants of his people. His quest takes him deep into the dreamland of a demented god, a strange world that is apt to change and filled with terror. From flesh-eating zombies to an unstoppable horror that destroyed the dwarves of old, Nameless finds his skills with an axe are needed as much as ever if he is to succeed and keep his friends alive.

But the axe he has now is an unremarkable and common weapon, unable to defeat everything that stands in his path. If Nameless is ever going to find the vestige of his people, he needs to forgive himself and concede to magic. He needs to take up the Axe of the Dwarf Lords and accept the power of the Immortals that runs through his veins . . .

The Good
Once again D. P. Prior has produced a fast-paced and exciting story. It's fun to read and is fairly immersing, being filled with fights and humour. Prior has added a new element to this story as well, which he achieves by separating many of the main characters. This provides a few more story arcs to The Axe of the Dwarf Lords so he is able to explore and develop his protagonists more fully.

The Bad
One of the issues I had with book was Prior's sudden aversion to using words like 'the' or 'a' at the start of sentences. I didn't pick up on this in A Dwarf With No Name, so I'm not sure whether it was done less often or if it's a new technique Prior is working with. Either way, it means many of his sentences start in odd places and they don't really flow correctly, with the following quote being a good example: "Whole leg was rot all the way to the knee, which was about as far as he could see from his belly." This didn't really spoil my enjoyment of the story, but it broke the natural flow of my reading and required a bit of thought to get through some paragraphs, not to mention the effort of ignoring my internal editor!

Aside from this, the issues I mentioned in my review of A Dwarf With No Name are still present and I couldn't help but notice the odd spelling or grammatical mistake dotted throughout the book, not to mention the continued overuse of the word 'shog!'

Final Thoughts
Despite a few flaws and problems here and there, The Axe of the Dwarf Lords is a good sequel to its predecessor and I enjoyed it. Prior's writing makes for fun, easy-going fantasy and certainly doesn't lack for excitement!