Ronan the Barbarian

James Bibby

RONAN

Huge, handsome and heroic. A man with a mission. 'Strong was his arm, sharp his word, and mighty indeed was his street-cred.'

TARL

Valorous, courageous and loyal -just three of the words he can't even spell. Author of the World-Wide Guide to Free Booze: 'Orcs are about as elegant as a tapeworm, but with absolutely none of the good points. Even worse, they never buy a round.'

TYSON

Unafraid to tackle the darkest of demons, wrestle with wraithes or match the odious Tarl pint for pint. Only Puss, the donkey from hell, is going to give Tyson pause for thought. With a taste for meatfeast pizza and human buns Puss is a force to reckon with.

In the adventure of the Singing Sword our avenging heroes find themselves pitted against the a nauseating Nekros, killer of Ronan's noble swordsmith father and then unexpectedly in league with the wizard Anthrax, whose skills are second to none (if you really want to hear your psychopathic donkey's every thought that is). Ronan must find the singing sword and put to death the evil Nekros, but will that be the end of it - only time will tell. And I doubt it, given the nature of these things...

Laugh out loud, wince in private, but don't let the successors to Rincewind and Rimmer out of your grasp.

Review by Victim (270500) Rating (9/10)
Review by Nigel (270500) Rating (8/10)

Review by Nigel
I first saw this author in the Fantasy & SF Book Club. Debut novel in the same vein as Pratchett (I don't mind this as many others do....there are only so many different ways to do something and the Pratchett way seems to work for Fantasy Humour)

The characters are excellent and the relationship between Tarl, the likeable rogue, and Puss, the flesh eating donkey, is at times very funny.

The story is standard fantasy Good against Evil, although the humour is a little more adult than Pratchett (I'm pretty sure he has never used the term 'Bollock-Brain':)
Nigel (27th March 2000)

Review by Victim
This is a tale of heroic fantasy, set in a mediaeval kind of place (ish), involving the hero, his sidekick, and some really evil bastards - Oops - nasty people. This is a well crafted tale, with brilliant characters and imagery, and I would seriously recommend it to anyone who can find a copy. If you like Terry Pratchett, Piers Anthony, and the bloke who did the Conan books you'll love this. If you don't then try it anyway, it deserves to be a classic.
Victim (27th May 2000)