Patricia Bray    

Sword of Change — (2002-2004) Publisher: Devlin of Duncaer has lost everything. Only his obligations to his brother's family keep him from seeking the oblivion that he craves. In his wanderings he arrives in the Kingdom of Jorsk, where the King has offered a generous reward to anyone who will fill the position of Chosen One, champion of the Kingdom. Devlin eagerly accepts, for the reward will provide for his brother's family, while the position itself is a certain sentence of death.

Sword of Change: Completely forgettable.

Devlin is a tortured soul who wants to die, so he becomes the country's Chosen One because it pays a fortune (which he sends to his brother's widow) and he's sure to be killed soon. Sounds exciting, but don't bother putting on your blood pressure cuff because it wasn't.

Devlin's sure he's going to die during the initiation ceremony (boring), but, unfortunately, he doesn't. And so we accompany him on his journeys which read more like a book report than an adventure. Descriptions are dull, people are dull (though a few had such potential), fights are dull, monsters are dull. And the language is dull. For example, Devlin doesn't see things, he beholds them. He doesn't talk to people, he has speech with them. He doesn't put on clothes, he dons garments. And he doesn't go to bed, he seeks his quarters. Here is part of the most exciting scene of the first book, when Devlin is fighting a guy who is trying to kill sleeping travellers in an inn. Devlin has just managed to wake up one of the travellers (by shouting "Awake, awake," not "Get the hell out of the damn bed!"), so he says to the traveller (while he's holding off the killer with an axe):

"What are you called?" Devlin asked, never taking his eyes off his opponent.
"Dalkassar."
"Rise Dalkassar, and call to your companion. And arm yourself. This man tried to kill you."

Wow. Not even an exclamation mark. How am I supposed to get excited if Devlin isn't?

There are hardly any women in The Sword of Change series. I got half way through Devlin's Honor (second book) and never met the interesting-looking woman on the cover. And speaking of that cover: Devlin lost two fingers at the end of the first book, so what are they doing still attached? Perhaps I didn't read far enough. —K.H.