The Hob's Bargain (Paperback)

I started to read it late one night and didn't stop until 4am! When I awoke, I had to finish it ASAP. One thing though. I have to agree with the others when they say that the people of Fallbrook, for the most part, didn't deserve Aren. I know she feels an obligation to save them all despite how nasty they are to her, but if I had been her, I would have let the Hillgrims have the worst ones. :¬)

Mark E. Cooper
The Warrior Within

An interesting premise, the bare bones of which could make for a very interesting story. Unfortunately the book doesn't live up to the potential. Flawed would be the best way to describe it. How flawed? Let me count the ways.

First, the characters. Aern, our principle protagonist, is little more than storybook fluff with no depth of feeling and few redeeming characteristics. He husband of one night is killed, didn't seem to bother her overly much. Her parents, brothers and pregnant sister, also killed brutally, a little more reaction but after spending a few days hiding in a cellar she seems to get over it. To be honest she's not someone it is easy to get emotionally attached to. Then there's the Hob, another bit of insubstantial fluff. Other than he's is purported to be the last of his kind, a fact contradicted in the text of the story, where is his motivations, his drivers. Does he love Aren? Doesn't seem to, but then she doesn't seem to really care whether or not she is mated to this half man either. They are both emotional vacuums. In other words it is difficult to care what happens to either of them.

So the characters are incomplete, I can live with that. The real problem with this story is that it is incomplete. Not only does it drag a bit, the 'bargain' doesn't even surface until more than half way through the book, the story just ends! Bam! Almost everything is still unresolved. Will the village survive? Will Aren go to the Hob? Who knows! Maybe there was meant to be a sequel, although I can find nothing to indicate there was or will be one. It was published in 2001 and as of yet there is nothing to indicate a follow-up. Without knowing if there is something else coming up you will be disappointed in the abrupt and unsatisfying ending.

Without more I have to say this is a nice try but not quite good enough. At this time I have to say this book is NOT RECOMMENDED.

First, I found the book uninvolving. Basically, readers are plunged into a fantastical world but given little background on it, or reason to care about it or its characters. Here's an example of my biggest problem with this book: It is mostly written in the first person, from the point of view of Aren, a young woman whose entire family, including her parents and new husband, are mercilessly wiped out at the start of the book by a party of raiders. Aren's grieving period lasts, oh, maybe a couple of days, and by the end of the book, she's as sympathetic to the raiders as she is to their victims -- she even saves some of them from attacks by confusing magical creatures. In short, Aren's actions never really make any sense, and she has a dull writing style to boot.

The "Hob" of the title was also, in my opinion, a shallowly drawn character, with magical powers that really didn't seem to be an organic part of him. They just arose as needed. He simply didn't ring true as a character. True to character, however, Aren soon forgets her dead husband when she meets this oversized hunk with the flirtatious tail.

Plot? What plot? The author just seemed to make things up as she went along. I really do not recommend this book to anyone who's in the market for an undemanding fantasy novel with a hint of romance. If you are, keep looking. This book is undemanding and it has a hint of romance, but it doesn't have a single hint of enchantment.