THE fantasy-reading community has been left confused by a tale of noble houses, war and dragons that concludes in one volume.
The War of the Flame Runes by Julian Cook, a story of trolls and foul lich-lords threatening to destroy the noble houses of High Teo’felx, lasts only 300 pages and contains no maps.
Reader Wayne Hayes said: “As the book raced toward its climax, my disquiet grew as none of the heroes were sent on the meandering quest for a mystic artefact that traditionally fills the middle book of a trilogy.
“The forces of chaos were defeated, and it was all done and dusted in one book, like it was literature or something.
“Couldn’t he at least have padded it out with the lengthy back stories of incidental characters who die anyway, then split it into two volumes? Anything to stave off reality.”
Writer Julian Cook said: “I originally intended to spin things out for at least nine books, maybe twelve, but after nine hours of hobbit movies I thought maybe readers would appreciate some brevity.
“Evidently not. Never mind, I can just bring all the baddies back because it’s magic.”
