Review: A surpringly good read
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 10 26, 2012
Tyker's Tale is a short about a slave named Tyrker who has been placed in charge of training his master's sons in sword combat. He's on good terms with his master Eirik due to his performance and skill, but even with that it is forbidden for him to find love. If he does, and has a child, then the child will be raised as another slave for his master; a fate considered cruel for any parent to give their child. Despite this, Tyrker falls in love with another slave. You also briefly learn about Tyrker's past, and how he ended up being a slave for Eirik, and the job he now performs.This story was surprisingly good for a short and I even found myself interested in the fate of Tyrker. The author delivers a necessary amount of background information without making the story become boring, drawn out, or distracting too much for the main point, and the prose is not overdone which is a habit I notice of many authors today. I will say that Tyrker is probably the only character you'll really care about. His lover, his master, and his master's sons are brought up multiple times but there's wasn't enough time or information centered upon them to pull me in. That's not a bad thing though, after all this is "Tyker's Tale" not "Eirik the Red's."I look forward to reading more from this author. After being able to make such an impression with a basic short you can expect impressive novels or even epics to follow.