Eye of the Wizard (Misfit Heroes, Book 1) - Daniel Arenson

This book was a blessing of a find. I wanted to read some fantasy, as I often do, but fancied something a bit different and this book offered me just that. It follows the story of five characters and how their apparent flaws get them exiled from their homes. They end up banding together and having to save the world from a skeletal warlock whose lust for revenge seems to dominate his entire being.

I admit to being a bit unsure during the first chapter or so as I didn't know quite how to take the novel. Once I realised it was a comedy and written to be so, I started enjoying it. I enjoyed it so much I managed to finish it in a matter of days! Although I wasn't quite laughing out loud, there were a few snickers along the way. Arenson writes in a few cliches through the novel which normally would be a massive ranting point - as I have done in the past - but he uses them to his advantage. He pokes fun at the accepted norms of fantasy and does so very well. The antagonist of the novel is a walking cliche but that's what he is meant to be and as a result, is all the more amusing.

The language was a delight to read, simple and to the point, there are no long winded descriptions in the novel, a lot of this is left to the reader - just how I like it, I think even the ten year old kids in my class at work would enjoy this novel, its so easy to read! Not too many adverbs and the right balance between action and chatter.

There are five protagonists in the book and each one has different flaws. These flaws do cause the characters no end of problems, especially the warlock who gains a temporary deformity every time he casts a spell, like rabbit ears or a giraffe neck, yet somehow they manage to overcome their difficulties and still achieve their goals. The characters seemed balanced and well formed to me, I cared about what happened to them and even the odd repetition of phrases didn't bother me.

I only have two niggly points to make about the novel; the chapters seemed episodic to me, like the novel was written as a bunch of short stories and then formed into a novel later, they are consistent but I like a bit of a cliff hanger at the end of a chapter, not for everything to be well rounded - maybe a personal preference and don't let it put you off reading. The other is an even more minor point, one of the characters makes a curse on the Queen of England. It bothered me because it's set in a fantasy world, which means England probably doesn't exist, let alone have a queen, it grated me a little but not enough to put me off the novel.

I have heard there is a sequel to the novel so will be off to give that a read in a little while, this book is well worth it, it will have you laughing on the inside, if not the out!