Review: Vile magic has nothing on a true believer
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 16, 2014
"Giants" launches Vaughn Heppner's Lost Civilizations series, a boisterous series of tales of early semi civilization that chronicles man's battles with the demonic spawn of fallen angels. The legend is that the bene elohim parted from their celestial brethren, took on forms of flesh and came to earth. However, there they were trapped. They reveled in excess, taking wives and spawning a new generation, the first born. Evil beyond measure possessed this band and its progeny. Humans were considered cattle. The first born and their subsequent generation, the nephilim, kill, rape and pillage. They have superior strength and size. In some cases, the mere humans worship their vileness. The prodigious Heppner starts this story with Joash, a mere slave who decides to escape his brutal master. His master is a later generation of giant. Strong, mean and without compassion of any sort, this monster uses slaves as expendable pterodactyl egg stealers. Joash escapes with the help of a valiant warrior, Herreck, and joins with the legions of Lord Uriah. Joash doesn't know it but he's got power of his own. It's pretty unremarkable but "the fire burns strong." What Joash has frightens the giants. Their magical powers don't affect him. At its essence this story is about belief in a higher power. Joash figures it out, and his faith helps his group persevere. Heppner creates conflict. His heroes suffer greatly before figuring out how to overcome. But that's his allure as a writer. I read this and then plowed (seriously) through the rest of the series. I'd rank Heppner, who has a whole slew of other books in various genres, right up there with the great pulp writers of the 1930s and 1940s. If you've read the unmolested works of Robert E. Howard and Gardener F. Fox, you'll understand. He's that good. Just straight up adventure. It also reminded me of Burroughs' Pellucidar series.