Orion (The Vaults of Winter) – Darius Hinks
Orion (The Vaults of Winter) – Darius Hinks (The Black Library)
At the heart the Wood Elf Kingdom of Athel Loren, the forest-king Orion slumbers through the winter months to be reborn each spring and resume his arboreal throne. However, this year he awakens to discover a foul canker at the core of his eternal spirit – he has been cursed, though by whom and for what reason he does not know. In the grip of a furious rage he leads the asrai to war, but as the corruption spreads to the woodland realm around him, he feels his power waning and must rely upon his loyal subjects to help him unmask the traitor within their ranks…
This is an interesting idea, instead of focusing on the Elves of the forest in which the novel is set, the main character is a god whose powers are waning due to being cursed. Unfortunately that’s really as interesting as it gets. From page to page it just doesn’t seem to pick up it’s pace or actually get, or go, anywhere of interest. The end, on the other hand a real cliff hanger leaving a gaping chasm for much more to follow, in which case Orion may just be a bit of a back history to something a lot bigger. I hope so, but on the strength of this, I’m not likely to invest the time to find out. Gav.
