SAGA OF THE LIGHT STRIPER

A nation struggles to defend itself from merciless demonic beings in Stuempfle’s fantasy novel.

The country of Haaf has previously fought the Kyykki, toad-headed creatures led by their god, the Evil One. The Kyykki disappeared some time ago, but the Haafian King believes they’re coming back and shakes things up accordingly. The King triple-taxes merchants to secure money for Haaf’s military force (called the Light Striper) and requires all nobles to fight, dubbing them “the New Knights.” Commander Vosnob leads the Light Striper, which predominantly consists of serfs; they try to stop Kyykki hordes from conquering such regions as centralized D’Ka and the islands of Pinduala. The Kyykki have the Evil One on their side; the Haafians worship and trust in the Holy One. Gods and mortals go head-to-head to stake their claim or protect what’s theirs. Stuempfle wisely keeps the action in Haaf, where Vosnob and others confront dragons, cannibalistic “pale ladies,” and creepy baby Kyykki who bite. Despite an overall theme of good vs. evil, individual characters are more ambiguous, from spies and so-called traitors to Haafians that the Evil One apparently sways. The memorable cast includes Oros, a chaplain on a secret quest for the King, and Sarg, an entertainingly gruff Light Striper. Dry humor (mostly in the form of banter) invigorates the narrative, as do some unexpected romances and deaths. Unfortunately, the lengthy text is filled with grammatical and punctuation errors as well as awkwardly worded sentences like, “With mystified awe, those gathered were overwhelmed by what transpired.” The latter half of the story sheds light on the generally mysterious Haaf and its colorful citizens, culminating in a prolonged but effective final act.

This fantasy of a war-torn land consistently enthralls, even if it stumbles along the way.