The eighth book of well-done Runelords series, Wyrmling Horde just came out, and I was excited. Despite the fact that Tor set a word-count restriction on the author, resulting in a much smaller book starting with the previous Worldbinder (which resulted in a truncated feel to that ending), the series has been a good, solid read. So i delved in. A few chapters in, I was horrified. The recap from book seven was contrived and forced. Very disappointing was the questionable cast of characters asked to carry the story. Fallion, by far the strongest character of an already weak cast is left sidelined, which may have been forgivable if his comrades took up the challenge and blossomed. Not only did they fail to do so, they undermined an already floundering plot with chance run-in's, a cheesy romance, and another encore of the all-too-convenient magic system that hasn't evolved or deepened since Book One. The plot, the plot! Wyrmling Horde is a lisping fraction of a story. About 1/6th of content compared to the earlier books. Which is simple to understand; starting with Worldbinder, the remainder of the plot is spread over the last books, scraped thin and unsatisfying. If you read the back of book blurb, you have read the entire story; Fallion is captured by Lord Despair and his friends try to rescue him. (Insert a few unbelievable and distracted attempts for rescue). By the merciful end of the book, we are left with an ill feeling that the characters will quite possibly be in the same exact situation in Book 8 as the beginning of Wyrmling Horde. Unless someone accidentally runs smack into a facilitator who happens to be holding some ready-to-use endowments, recycling the all-too-familiar magic system... which is entirely plausible. Most disturbing was the level of disinterest within the writing itself. Word repeation, half-hearted try-fail cycles. Halting and unsure dialouge is cluttered with unnecessary and ill-timed descriptions... I found myself increasingly confused, flipping to the cover page every paragraph or so, disbelieving whose name was on the cover. It was like the author had asked some of his more dubious college writing students to collaborate their amateur hands at the manuscript, then sent it unread and unedited to the publisher. I was a bitter reader, bitter at having paid $14 for the book that didn't deliver. Before the halfway point was even reached, I was gnashing my teeth, demanding a refund, but still torturing myself with the read, like staying on a bad amusement park ride to just to see how jolty the end would be. It was jolty, obliterating any last shreds of respect like a resounding fart after being booed for a bad speech. All in all, Wyrmling Horde reads like a thin half-cooked soup with a random carrot floating by if you were vigilant enough to spoon it. You have been warned: Read at your own risk. David Farland, aka Dave Wolverton, has created the most interesting fantasy series, world, and system of magic in the world of fantasy to come along in decads. All I can say about this one is WOW! STUNNING! What sets him apart from all of his competitors is how he so effortlessly merges deep philosophical concepts--forgiveness, Christ in the Garden of Gethsemene, Biblical allusions, drawing from his own LDS theology, and so many other issues--with slam bang action that takes your breath away. The result is a thrill ride that is literally beyond compare. It helps if you read the first four books but not necessary.
What do You think about The Wyrmling Horde (2008)?
Ugh... good author, but seven books in... whatever happened to one good stand-alone novel?!
—lenamoonlight
Not much to add here. Review of "Worldbinder" pretty much applies here as well.
—outlandson
That was an non-ending. I hate that.
—nikkiboo2030
