The Defence of Troia

The Paladin series is a mixture of alternative history with a small amount of fantasy. The story takes place around 340 BC in the area around Black sea. The alternative-ness is accomplished by the introduction of elves and a small amount of magic.

In the first book in the series we were introduced to three main characters, the warrior priest (Hakeem), the (future) queen of the elves (Elana) and adopted daughter (Jacinta) along with the prophecy about how the elf civilization will be saved by the queen and her daughter. The magic is minor and quickly skipped over. The action is more on a personal level, lighting between a handful of people, and is reasonably portrayed if a little one-sided. In general the book does a good job of evolving the characters into characters we are interested in. However the author does spend a lot of time telling you the story instead of letting the characters experience the story, which some people will find annoying

So onto book two, but first a history lesson. About the first 20% of the second book reads like a history book, explaining what is happening in the region and who are the current major players. Intermixed with the history lesson are a few short stories about the Jacinta, which read more like the telling of a legend instead of part of the actual story. After we get into the heart of the story the book is very different then the first. Hakeem has changed from the main fighting force, to comic relief. Elana is just there to look beautiful, winning over the support of masses with that beauty. The majority of the story focuses on the 13 year old adopted daughter, who we learn is faster, stronger and smarter than anyone else in the book (i.e. the Bionic Girl).

There is more magic in the second book, however, there is really no explanation of how, what, etc. Magic just exists and some people can use it. The action/conflict has grown to encompass armies. Unfortunately the one-sided has also grown to laughable size. As an example a 1000 Huns (the bad guys) attack a mixed group of about 300 Greece infantry, Elves and Warrior monks (the good guys). After the very quick battle the bad guys had suffered upwards of 750 casualties, the rest injured or captured. The good guys suffered horrendous casualties of about 50.

At the end of the day: the series started out as an interesting alternative history/fantasy series and quickly morphed into a children's (maybe very young adult) series. The first book was (just) good enough go on to the second book, the second book isn’t good enough for me to continue on with the series.