My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Azaroth & Sefalin is a very well written fantasy tale with two heroes, of those same names, who become reluctant buddies. When they are charged with finding and holding onto the Coda Uma, a book of evil powers, their dangerous adventures begin. We have Sefalin, a psychic prince, who is a talented swordsman and his companion, Azaroth the wizard, who seems to be disgruntled throughout most of the book. The pair have to take on numerous enemies and monstrous evils in many battles while a blossoming friendship between the two develops.
Unfortunately, I felt that the (very) many battles, humorous remarks and situations that are written about became almost clichéd for me when I was about half-way through the book. I kept thinking “another day/page/place another battle”. When I thought about this it was because so much of the story reminded me of Tolkein’s “Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit”. There is even a demon/dragon which has to be tamed in order to serve the pair of heroes. The author describes Skurbash as a demon but for me he sounded just like your “usual” dragon. Normally a dragon present in a tale carries its own fantastical twists and turns but I found Skurbash a little disappointing for his lack of surprises and lack of use of evil powers. While the main characters are well drawn the plot held little intrigue and interest, being too obvious in so many places and for me the well-described battle scenes did not provide enough compensation for me to enjoy the book as whole reading experience.
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