Review for The Legend of Griff by Richard Sparrow

The Legend of Griff  by Richard Sparrow

Rate: 4 out of 5 Stars 

Publication: Self-Published
Publication Date: Dec 28, 2018
Format: Mobi

Pages: 285

Price: $2.99

Amazon Link: Click Here

What does a wizard, a warrior, elf, and a dwarf have in common? Is it possible for a goblin to be the central piece of the story? How does a human and a goblin work against a whole lot of trolls, watchmen, and abusive politicians?

Griff found himself in an awkward situation. Killing an innocent, accidentally, he finds himself doing the deceased's incomplete task. Chased by trolls, hunted by watchmen, who will comply to a power-hungry King's bidding? How many will resist?

Richard Sparrow takes care to answer these questions in his read The Legend of Griff consisting 47 chapters is the first installment of this series followed by its second installment titled, The Legend of Griff: Man Slayer. Divided into 4 parts: Hedgehog Stew consisting of 10 chapters, Arn consisting of 15 chapters, The Goblins Head consisting of 12 chapters, and The Vault consisting of 10 chapters.

As a fantasy read driven by its characters, what stuck uncommonly different is the act of killing the hero. Though a large quantity of characters were used their step-by-step introduction, follow and involvement is well planned allowing the reader to maintain an undisturbed close eye toward each character. Besides, it's easy flow, light nature supports this plot. To bring out a despised individual as a white character, and to bring back the dead is something unique and new. The plot was descriptive which gave away a perfect setting and clear direction. It showed what the author expects his readers to experience which prove he knew what he was doing. The language conversed between characters has direct associations with Celtic language taking us back to the period of Old Welsh and Scottish Gaelic.

As an adventure read, I expected it to have suspenseful and climax moments which I didn't experience. The dark humor served well in this read, but the lack of climax created disappointment. The mismatch between the subject and object plus the situation provoked humor, example: a goblin talking about commerce and economics. At times, I felt there was a lag in the plot quite noticed toward the end of part 3. This plot had lot familiar elements from Lord of the Ring and Merlin: such as the fellowship of the sword between the wizard, man, elf and dwarf; the sword glowing blue similar to Frodo's Elf craft sword; the sword's importance as the Excalibur in Merlin. This made me question the originality but the involvement of goblins and trolls added a new twist to it. The ending noted on an abrupt halt leaving for the next installment to play its role.

Above all, it's a read that I can recommend to young-adults, and readers of all ages who have a deep love toward fantasy reads.