Two gnomes, a dwarf, a gryphon, a half-sheep woman, and a halfling set out one morning from a gnome refugee center. No, that’s not the start to a joke, it’s the start of an adventure in No Country for Old Gnomes, the latest entry in the Tales from Pell series by Kevin Hearne and Delilah S. Dawson. Everything’s not fine and dandy in Pell even now that King Gustave (who was definitely not once a goat because wow wouldn’t that be silly) on the throne. The gnomes are in trouble because of some very cruel halflings and it’s up to our new band of heroes to find a way to save the day. Hopefully. What could possibly go wrong?
In all honesty, a heck of lot of things go wrong for our heroes but it would make for a pretty boring story otherwise. And if you think a book by Hearne and Dawson is going to be boring, boy do I have a lake on Tatooine to sell you. No Country for Old Gnomes has the same irreverent sense of humor as the first book, combined with the same heart and soul as a new set of heroes embarks on a crazy journey. Continue reading
The big Quest always gets all of the attention in storytelling but there are tales still left to be told about what happens after everyone returns home. The Afterward by E.K. Johnston gleefully delves into this mostly untapped time frame, just as the title indicates, delivering humor, friendship, adventure, and (most importantly) a love story and the world would be a better place if we had more books like this in it.
What happens when you throw together a human vessel for a dangerous fire spirit and a thief with a talisman that allows him to be immortal for a minute a day? They attract trouble. A lot of trouble.