The Wizard Hunters by Martha Wells

Of the seven people who showed up for this discussion of the first book in The Fall of Ile-Rien trilogy, five had read the entire book and six had read Wells before. Two people e-mailed comments and one sent a verbal message.

The trilogy starts 30 years after the The Death of the Necromancer when Ile-Rien is at war with an unknown enemy, the Gardier. The bombing by the black airships, along with the early Twentieth Century level of technology, gives this story the feel of World War II England. Tremaine, a strong but reluctant heroine, is the only person who can operate the Damal sphere, which the military hopes to use as a weapon against the Gardier. Instead, the sphere transports Tremaine and company to an alternate, non_tech world that fears magic and wizards. Most of us found the book entertaining and liked Wells’s breezy writing style, but some noted that parts were slow or hard to figure out, or even seemed contrived. We enjoyed the chases through the caves and the clash of cultures. We particularly enjoyed how the non-tech characters figured out the technology and helped destroy an airship. Although some of us preferred Necromancer or Wheel of the Infinite, we still look forward to reading the next book in the series, The Ships of Air.

–Sandy Kayser