SWORD & BACKPACK

Three young would-be adventurers find themselves assuming the roles of Knight, Rogue, and Mage in this trilogy opener.

“Your mushroom pocket or your life, nerd,” says light-fingered street urchin Barten Two-Knives as he joins amiable Archivist Apprentice Ehmett Turzel and Kellis Rook, an arrogant rich girl with a sword, to break into a long-abandoned school for adventurers. Forced into each other’s company by an unexplained compulsion, the trio of strangers go through a series of tame, seldom dangerous, and unfortunately rarely even amusing team-building exploits ranging from encounters with subterranean urban Rattfynkes (“skulky and furtive” bipedal creatures with rodent heads) and a long-dormant forest spirit to being entertained by an extended puppet pantomime presented by a traveling company of faerling actors. Along with conjuring up only standard-issue RPG-style settings, situations, and typecast characters, Soria includes wordy footnotes and extracts from The New Young Adventurer’s Almanac on food, drink, gear, games, playing cards, and like trivia that disrupt the plot’s forward momentum. By the end, the three principals have sworn friendship, and Kellis has humbly gotten around to admitting that it’s time she lost her snotty attitude. But readers who enjoy gaming are unlikely to stay the course all the way to the bloated appendices. The cover illustration shows Kellis with red hair and light skin, while Barten and Ehmett are brown-skinned. Final art not seen.

Disappointing.