Will Gallows and the Thunder Dragon's Roar by Derek Keilty
| Will Gallows and the Thunder Dragon's Roar by Derek Keilty | |
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| Category: Confident Readers | |
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Reviewer: John Lloyd
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| Summary: A better second outing for this fantasy version of Wild West movie plots, as territory becomes scarce. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 288 | Date: February 2012 |
| Publisher: Andersen Press | |
| ISBN: 9781849393287 | |
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Because this series revisits traditional western genre stories, this volume concerns the problems caused by settlers muscling in and making demands on the land and resources of the natives. Because it is also a fantasy series, the settlers are humans fleeing an earthquake-raddled territory for new lives where elves live, and if the cavalry are summonsed to take sides they'll do it on flying horses. And because this is a very enjoyable series, the fix half-human, half-elf Will Gallows - who could also qualify as a young member of the sky cavalry - finds himself in is a most compelling plot.
We are back on the Great West Rock, a quirky place shaped like a huge cactus, with three candlestick arms topped by settlements. Readers returning from book one will know why one arm is being evacuated. They'll probably all be back for more, too, just as I happily was - more inventive creatures one step removed from those we know, more easily-conveyed, light-hearted action, and more of the invention that Keilty brought to the original.
This time round the buildup may take a smidgen too long for some readers, but once all the characters are met and all the situations put before us the narrative steams along like the runaway train it features. There's a great energy developed long before the end, helped by how quick and efficient Keilty is in his descriptions, and how snappy and propelling his dialogue. There's even time for a bit of an eco-lesson.
These books have both proven satisfying in the compelling shading over of old-fashioned wild west cliches in bright fantasy colours - and this one is better at it than the first. The illustrations - always good, but also always allowing fun to spot the cut-n-paste - make more of how the elves are the red Indian equivalents here. Keilty is concerned less with his parallels and more with being entertaining, and this he most certainly is.
I must thank the publishers for my review copy.
If you're a fan of mixing old with the new - the very new in this case - the series starting with The Lunar Chronicles: Cinder by Marissa Meyer is going to be big. Arthur Quinn and the World Serpent (The Father of Lies Chronicles) by Alan Early brings Viking mythology to the modern world too.
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You can read more book reviews or buy Will Gallows and the Thunder Dragon's Roar by Derek Keilty at Amazon.com.
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