The Shadow of His Wings

By Bruce Fergusson

Book Overview

From the small town of Deepwell in the kingdom of Myrcia, hardworking Luken Barra lights out to seek his fortune in the city of Castlecliff. His failure there is in contrast to his criminal brother... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0877958521
• ISBN13: 9780877958529
• Release Date: January 1987
• Publisher: Arbor House Publishing
• Length: 278 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Literary Gem

I honestly cannot believe that I am the first person to review this book. Although I accidentally stumbled across this in a library sale bin about 15 years ago, and I've never talked to anyone else who's read it, I always held the conviction that this was a cult classic of sorts with a rabid fanbase. Apparently not. First thing first, I will not condescend by provided any plot synopsis. The last thing I want to read in a review is "what happens in the book." What I will say is that this book is a genius tale. It contains elements of dark humor, realism and for a backdrop a world nearly as fully realized as those of Tolkien, Wolfe and Herbert. The story is essentially a nice little atheist parable to boot. Unlike most lame fantasy novels, this is not a rip-off of Tolkien. It's also not one of those stupid fantasy books where a mild-mannered nebbish from our world is magically transported to a realm of sword and sorcery where he seduces large-breasted barbarian women and learns spells while wielding magical items. I enjoy science fiction and fantasy, but a very large proportion of the genre seems to be engaged in some sort of intellectually stunted exercise in swindling virginal high-school kids. The downlow is that Bruce Fergusson doesn't get the recognition he deserves. "The Shadow of his Wings" is a classic. In a way, I'm glad it isn't part of a series of 12 books. Sci/Fi & Fantasy as a genre should be an outlet for some of the most creative literature. Whole worlds can be created. Unfortunately, what we get is garbage with titles like "Dragonwind Crossbow of the Dwarf King; Book 7 of the Tales of Acnea: Cycle of the Neverending Sequels" or 6 unnecessary sequels to the original Dune trilogy. But with Fergusson we get an engaging narrative, believable characters and some really impressively creative plot devices. If you're the type to take the advice of strangers on the internet, take my recommendation and read this book. Look, I gave it five stars. I need to feel validated and get at least one other person to read it.