The Coming of Wisdom (Paperback)

The characters remind me of Dungeons and Dragons Roll Playing Games (D&D RPG's). The hero is a 7th level swordsman who picks up a 7th level priest as a travelling companion. There is the same satisfaction of watching a companion swordsman advance through the ranks as there is developing your own character's skill levels in an RPG. There are also some other character types familiar to RPG's (archer's are held in contempt). This is not one of those cheap knockoffs on a D&D game though. This is just one element of the world the author has created which is kind of fun.

The author created a universe with a multitude of gods, like the Greek and Roman gods. While this is very common in the sword and sorcery genre, Dave Duncan has made the gods active participants in his story. One god makes repeated appearances, talks with the hero, and performs the occasional miracle. The author is able to keep the gods from completely overshadowing the human characters by stressing how they value "free will" for there own purposes. The author's brilliant use of deity characters (a recurring element throughout his best series) add facets to this story which lift it above a simple Conan type "guy with sword" story.

This trilogy has a detailed, multi-leveled plot which twists enough to keep you in suspense right up until the ending. And the ending reaches the appropriate dramatic climax, then has a satisfying denouement where the characters reap their rewards and the author ties up any loose ends. When this book ended, I was left saying, "Wow, imagine that!"

The only thing I can even think of that I didn't like about this trilogy is that it ended. The author really wrapped things up for the characters. It would be almost impossible to continue the story. I do hope that Dave Duncan comes back to this world with some new characters though. Maybe the old characters can have a cameo in the new story. . .

This book picks up where 'The Reluctant Swordsman' leaves off. It can stand on its own for fun reading, because the style remains the same, but the series really should be read in sequence to get the full effect -- it's an epic, not a collection of semi-related vignettes. Whatever.. If you read 'Reluctant' first, you won't need an invitation to read 'Wisdom. '

I'd give this a 'G' rating.