Master of the Five Magics by Lyndon Hardy
Synopsis: Alodar was a mere apprentice thaumaturge, learning the least of the five arts of magic. As such, he had no right to aspire to the hand of the fair lady, Queen Vendora, not even when he saved her during the demon-inspired siege of her frontier castle. But aspire he did.
His quest forced him from one exacting branch of magic to another, with the rewards he earned always going to others. Finally, only the branch of wizardry remained - the great, almost lost art of controlling demons.
It was then he learned of the ancient plot behind his rise - and faced the greatest danger any man could dare!
(synopsis from book cover)
Opinion: Lovers of fantasy will not be disappointed by this well-written fantasy romp. With all the necessary components of a good fantasy novel (including magic, dragons, demons, great battles and, of course, a beautiful princess), Master of the Five Magics reads as a fairly fast-paced tale with plenty of detail to flesh out the picture of this world in your imagination. The settings and plot are well thought out and make for a practically filmic experience. Each section of the book covers a new part of Alodar’s quest, and each new part of the journey unfolds as well as the last. Overall, this is a nice easy read, although it doesn’t have a lot to set it apart from other books of this genre.
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
