As this is the first in the Legends Of The Nameless Dwarf series it is, in effect, an origin story. There is a good deal of set up and foreshadowing but that doesn't get in the way of a bloody good yarn.
Our hero is Carnifex, a member of the Ravine Guards. He is a likeable guy, a bit gruff maybe but I guess that's a typical Dwarf. He has a brother who is a scholar and a father who was told, in a kind of prophecy, that his sons were special (I'm really trying not to drop spoilers here)
The society of the Dwarves is very insular with absolutely nobody allowed to leave The Ravine. If any Dwarf does venture into the outside world they face exile and, more importantly, being stripped of their name (you can see where we are going here can't you) and having it erased from history.
As you would expect from a fantasy 'origin' book there is a good deal of history but not enough to bog the story down, there are 'artefacts' and monsters (mainly in the form of Golems who provide a real test to our hero.
By the end of the story I thought I had an idea of what the outcome would be but I was wrong footed I guess.
And then we come to the final scene. It's not often I'm left speechless but this was one of those times. WOW!!
I like my fantasy big and sprawling but in this instance I was happy to just spend time with the Dwarves. The city/Dwarven Homeland was believable and well thought out, the society and hierarchy worked and, to be honest, I had a bloody good time with this book.
I'm looking forward to the rest of this series, a lot.
I'm going to give Carnifex 8.5/10 stars just because I'm expecting even better in future volumes.
A very, very good 1st volume
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