Review: The Thousand Lives of Ardor Benn

A new fantasy novel in our review.

content (propaganda)

a respectful person. a fraud. legend. Ardor Benn is no ordinary thief. He is cunning, ambitious, and an expert in complex coups. He likes to describe himself as an “extraordinary con man”. When a priest hires him for the most dangerous job of his career so far, Ardor knows full well that it will take more than wit and speed. So, he assembles a notorious group of counterfeiters, con-conspirators, and thieves and sets out to rob the most powerful king the kingdom has ever seen. But it soon becomes apparent that there is more at stake here than fame and glory – Ardor and his people could be the last hope for all humanity.

criticism

With “A Thousand Lives of Ardor Benn” a new fantasy adventure is presented, which has become quite voluminous with 800 pages. Here we are presented with a new fantasy world located on some islands. And just like other fantasy worlds, there is some magical thing here. The best of all found in the world of Ardor is something called dragon maw. This is made from the remains of dragons (or other things) and has different properties. Unless the feathers, for example, are made from the wings of a dragon, which allow you to float, as there are always the so-called tangible balls that close around the user as a ball. And this Malm comes in different versions, which will become more important as the story progresses.

Into this world comes Ardor Benn, a self-proclaimed master of cunning and deceit. In fact, he just wants to do some robbery moves, but is assigned by a priest for a very important task, which turns out to be something he definitely wouldn’t have saved. At this point, I don’t want to go into too much detail about some things about the story, since there are some surprising twists and turns that you’ll have to experience for yourself. Of course, once the story begins, which will lead us to shortcomings.

Because especially at first you need some staying power (or reading meat). The plot really picks up speed after about 200-300 pages, but it gets really good after that. Don’t worry, there are still more than 500 really good pages out there, as long as you’re not a little late at first. And that the failure of this start is due to two things.

On the other hand, some well-known cliches are presented. So Ardor and his partner Raek hire a thief to help them and it just so happens: you and Ardor grow close to each other almost from the start. It’s so completely a cliché that you can only roll your eyes here. The ending and chapter feel a little abrupt at this point and actually ruin some of the character development that’s been built over the course of the volume. But we’ll go over that in detail in a moment.

The second point is that our master of cunning and deceit acts on instinct and gets into some ridiculous situations. Especially at the beginning of the book, it’s clear that they want to use the comedic route and the current situations that Ardor has to make his way out of. Now, humor doesn’t work as well on written pages as it does on TV, for example, so you have to use a Douglas Adams caliber. Unfortunately, that doesn’t work here, even if you can imagine some of the situations presented here and see what they would look like on screen.

Fortunately, the author also noticed it and turned around after I mentioned the beginning. Admittedly, Ardor is still fickle, but then he’s more attuned to the world than before. And then as the story progresses, you focus on what you have to do in the book: character scenes. It’s here that Ardor in particular evolves from a hustler to a man in charge, something you believe every second of, after all you follow live. But his buddies also get enough scenes in which they can really shine. Yes, even the bad guys get some personality, if not the depth of our heroes.

In addition, good and varied scenes are given in place, which would have filled nearly two volumes. Then there is also the connection with Ardor’s past, which also knows how to please and should not be spoiled here. Because just like the ending, this is definitely one of the highlights of the story. Although we still have to make the bow to the end.

Because then there are a few errors again. On the one hand, the just mentioned ending with Quarrah and on the other hand a scene that mentions the inconsistency of other big franchises (hello, Marvel!). Without giving too much away, something happens that takes Ardor off the right track, but helps him find himself. Unfortunately, this order is eventually voided and revoked. Don’t get me wrong, I personally think it’s a good thing you’ve gone this route. The personality dynamic between Raek and Ardor is one of the best things about the band, but it definitely leaves an old aftertaste.