cover image The Shadow of the Staff: A Wizard%E2%80%99s Revenge

The Shadow of the Staff: A Wizard%E2%80%99s Revenge

M.A. Haddad. Vantage (www.vantagepress.com), $13.95 trade paper (280p) ISBN 978-0-533-16111-9

A grammatical catastrophe, Haddad%E2%80%99s underdeveloped and monotonous debut borrows heavily from Tolkien, creating a cast of characters reminiscent of the denizens of Middle Earth%E2%80%94but lacking any real depth and sharing an awkward voice: %E2%80%9CIt is like I am beginning a new chapter in my life and that a great adventure awaits me%E2%80%9D; %E2%80%9CA warrior you are%E2%80%9D; etc. When Burton Brew, the hobbit-like protagonist, is taken to the Elf city of Fallquint to celebrate his ancestor%E2%80%99s role in the defeat of evil wizard Porttia hundreds of years earlier, his life changes. An army of Orcs is again terrorizing the land, and it%E2%80%99s up to Burton to use the mysterious powers and battle skills he suddenly develops to deliver a message from Elf king Mindeloria to the dwarves of the Mystic Mountains, urging them to abandon their homes and join the battle. Haddad%E2%80%99s overly simplistic prose relies heavily on clich%C3%A9 while offering minimal descriptions of characters and setting.