We begin with a fight scene and there are several to follow. And he just happens to be the new king’s (Rohan) most important advisor. Not exactly the kind of magician I would want at my back. The more I learned the less confidence I had in him. He becomes quite fun in a nasty way as the story evolves. Varien is an interesting character but the opposite of Ehren’s helper. She, too, has a magical ability that Ehren will need. Sherran is the other person that turns up and happens to be the T’ieran of Clan Gurran. He has another ability but that comes out late in the novel so hush to me. In the one case the helper places Ehren in an awkward position. Ehren is actually supposed to kill Laine (or Lain-iee! as his sister calls him) and his family. Laine is the nephew of the dead king Benlan. Ehren has trained them well and we get a few episodes illustrating how dangerous they are. Two killer horses (that is for any other person than Ehren) are among the assistants. As a hero Ehren has several helpers and not all of them are people. When one is silent one sometimes listens and is able to hear things one might not otherwise hear. In his case his silence and strength are very much tools. He is our hero, the one with the quest he must fulfill. Most of Ehren’s guard-friends had also been killed at the same time.Įhren is an interesting character yet familiar in a fantasy sense. The reason Ehren feels so passionate about finding the murderer (not every one else wants him to find him/her/them) is because Benlan was his best friend. Who killed the king (Benlan) is the question that is eating Ehren up. In its basic form Barrenlands is a mystery. My read was an updated and reworked edition. Barrenlandsis my first meeting with Doranna Durgin and a pretty good one at that.

Wolf Hunt by Doranna Durgin