Vengeance and Honour

Author Ben Dixon reached out to me and asked me to review his book Vengeance and Honour - A Heroic Quest, a fantasy book about a quest of sword and sorcery. A tyrant King set to see his son, a missing prince, brought back to the kingdom by orchestrating the kidnapping of the prince's fair maiden, Mae. Together with an elf who offered his sword, they journey through the land after Mae whilst picking up more friends along the way. 

From the acknowledgements at the beginning of the book, you can tell this is a book of love and passion. Dixon has been encouraged and influenced by his entire family and friends. 

The book starts off with a charm seen in books like Lord of the Rings. The way Dixon describes a stranger in an inn sitting with his back to the wall immediately made me think of Strider sat with his cloak in the shadows. And that isn't the only connection we get to Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, Dixon uses many similar themes throughout his book. There's conflict between Dwarves and Elves and a Dragon that's taken over a dwarven mountain full of treasure. We also get the beloved phrase “and my axe” as the group forms to go after the kidnapped maiden. I don't think Dixon intends to plagiarise in any way but instead has been heavily influenced and has written more of a fan fiction-esque tale. For me it brought nostalgia and familiarity, and as long as Dixon owns this connection, it's all gravy!

The pacing at the start of the book is quite fast, we immediately jump in with a light altercation, which Dixon uses to start planting seeds of information. Pacing doesn't seem to slow down as we move from action to action. It is a short read that keeps you entertained and involved throughout. I would like the book to be a little longer, with a bit more world building, due to the fast pace we skim over this lightly. Asking for more is never a bad thing, having something to really sink your teeth into and to get lost in.

The reader gets acquainted with the characters very quickly, Dixon has done a really good job at connecting the reader with the character. You are able to sense the tension of their plight, wanting to urge them on in their mission as the plot develops. There is really strong character development between the group of rapscallions who mature and change as they delve deeper into their quest. There are some real heartfelt moments that pull at your emotions which are balanced quite well with humour, a particular shout out to the introduction of the ‘Big Red Bastard' which had me laughing out loud. As already mentioned by other reviews this does feel like a narration of a DnD session, you can almost see the rolling of the dice as decisions are made and battles fought. 

There was one aspect of the book that unfortunately did draw me out of the story. Without sharing spoilers Zombies are introduced to the book, which for me just doesn't fit. Zombies are a modern sci-fi element which don't really have credence in a fantasy set in medieval styled times. I think if Dixon had stuck to terms like wraiths, or the undead, this section of the book would have matched the rest of the story and wouldn't have broken the flow or experience. 

Overall I think this is a solid book heavily influenced by the world of Tolkien. It is very obviously a passion project of the author, and even the author's friends and family. Although world building and language use could be improved I give this story a 3.5 out of 5, which i will round up to 4 stars. My suggestion to the author: get a proper artistic cover made, and get reviewers to help with cover reveal to reach more audiences and get the book promoted with bookbub. You have an authentic and nostalgic style fantasy, swap out zombies for a more appropriate word for the time of your book and you are onto a winner!