Yeah. That's good. Ward is great - his uncertainty about himself, whether there's more to him than the roles he plays. Oreg is wonderful, with his various secrets. And what he doesn't know. Axiel, Stala, Penrod, Garronen - every character is richly drawn, with depth beyond what's shown. The adventure is interesting - Oreg's trick was nasty, though. Ward's various plans to get Hurog back, and how politics and reality get in his way. All of it. I keep seeing the foreshadowing of the next book - have to reread that, now. Absolutely wonderful. Wish she'd go back to this kind of straight fantasy rather than the urban fantasy - the characters in Mercy's stories are just as well drawn, but I don't _like_ most of them. And her concerns are petty next to Ward's - or the Hob's - or the Raven's. Ah well, I'll just reread and hope for the future. ( )

I have been a lump today. All I did was read these two books. They are set in a fantasy world of the Five Kingdoms. Our hero, Wardwick, is son and heir of the Hurog, rulers of one of those kingdoms. He has survived to reach adulthood because after his abusive father beat him senseless, he pretended he was stupid, and thus no threat. The first book is a quest - his father died, and now he must prove himself worthy to rule. Summarized like that, it seems so prosaic. Instead, it is a series of two books about people fighting for their lives and their homes that capture your interest from the first words of the story.

"Hurog means dragon." Those words are repeated at several key points, and each time it reminds, the story reveals new layers of meaning. It is no accident that Ward means "guardian", either. There is a dragon in each story, too, but the emotional core of the books are the relationships between the people and their reactions to the situations.
Wow that sounds dull. But wow it was not.

This is early Briggs and she had definitley improved as a writer, but this book still works and is charming. A happy read if not a keeper. I liked the character of Ward of Hurog, I believed his struggles and found him engaging. Protecting himself from a psychotically violent father by pretending to be stupid (and thus no threat to him) Ward has to decide who he really is and what he is willing to sacrifice, after his father's death. He has adventures and there is magic, but for me, it is his character development that really drives the book. Some of the other characters were less well developed, which is why this isnt' a rereader for me, but I am looking forward to reading the sequel. ( )

Wardwick of Hurog is a simpleton, left that way after one of his father's beatings went a bit too far - except he's not. For the past seven years he's been hiding behind a cow-eyed facade. Now his father's dead and Ward's acting skills are going to be put to the test once again if he wants to save his inheritance. But than just the fate of Hurog is at stake and Ward isn't the only one keeping secrets.... Can Ward save his country and his lands with little more than the help of the ancient family ghost, his mute sister, and slave girl and a few family retainers?

Fast-paced and twisty. Briggs' writing keeps you turning pages. I'm not sure but what Ward isn't my favorite hero yet. ( )

This book reads well and fluidly. I'm hoping the follow-up does the same. But...

Whilst thinking of what tags I wanted to add, and a bit during the reading, I had the feeling that the author was running down a check-list got the bard, got the heir, got the inheritance, got the doughty warrior etc.

There are enough little subtle twists that I find it works rather than doesn't despite this, but you might not find it so. If she'd tried to work one or two less of the required elements in, it would probably have been a whole 4 starts, but 3.5 is it. ( )