The Silken Key by Oliver Lea

A hobbit sets out on an epic quest to find the silken key and transcend to a power greater than any other. Sworn to protect her is Detlef, who dreamed of becoming a priest. With them is a half elfin alchemist, Maddy, a gnome bard turned sea captain, Rudiger, and a warrior, Tariq, who wants to prevent the power falling into the wrong hands.

Can such a disparate band of complete their quest or will they perish along the way?

An exciting, funny fantasy adventure for fans of Dungeons and Dragons.

I don’t usually enjoy books that have hobbits in them (unless they’re written by Tolkien), but this novel so joyfully captures the humor and action of a D&D campaign or a Wizards Of the Coast game that I enjoyed reading it from the first page to the last.

The settings should be familiar to fantasy fans. From agricultural farmlands and bustling seaside towns, to sinking marsh bound cities and terrifying necromancers towers, the locations reminded me of one of my favorite games – Baldurs Gate. Rather than use this familiarity to skimp on the details, Lea embellished the world with lush descriptions and rich details that brought it to life realistically and naturally.

This book is very funny, and I chuckled throughout at the banter between the characters. I liked how the author never made fun of the characters, the fantasy setting or the plot. This book is a serious fantasy adventure. Instead the humor comes from the characters themselves, and their interactions which are so well described. The different characters spark off each other, making for very entertaining conversations, even in the most exciting of situations.

My favorite characters were Tabitha the hobbit and Detlef the human. Tabitha is so sharp and dedicated to her cause, and she rocks the whole goth punk hobbit thing. Detlef is an honorable man, a man of faith, and I loved him to bits. He’s truly kind and good and noble. I’d follow him to the ends of the earth.

The plot is strong, with exciting twists and turns, great action scenes, and real peril. I loved how the author used foreshadowing throughout the book. It was fun to guess how several set ups would work out later, and I was excited to read on to see if I was right!

I also really like the cover, which shows Detlef with his halberd, Tabitha with her staff, and Maddy with a flask.

This book has all the excitement of an epic D&D campaign with friends. The banter is witty, the stakes are high, the action is tense. A wonderful book for fantasy fans.

I award The Silken Key…