H. David Blalock, Thran Reborn, Book One of the Thran Chronicles

Published by Booklocker.com, 2003

Reviewed by TG Browning

Thran Reborn is the first of a six volume series by Blalock with the second volume scheduled to be published in 2004. The fact sheet my editor sent me mentioned Robert E. Howard and being a Howard aficionado, I was naturally intrigued. It’s a good thing I like other writers of fantasy and sword & sorcery fiction because frankly, I can’t really see any resemblance to Howard’s work, whatsoever.

That’s not a criticism of the writing in any way, however. It’s merely a criticism of whoever thought that would be a good way to interest readers in the first volume of a series.

This is more akin to the Riftwar Saga by Feist, mixed up with a little Tolkien, a little Elric perhaps, and quite a bit of something that has to be considered Blalock’s own invention. It’s set in a world dominated by a huge Empire though the main action takes place, at least in the first book, entirely on the periphery of that Empire, within the confines of a large island. The narration begins with a prolog that introduces the reader to the basic world, shows how and why the House of Thran had been banished from the island 400 years before and only really begins with a ship wreck that casts the head of House Thran, Andalarn, and his family upon the shore of the island, far from their ancestral home.

If I had any complaint about the writing it was that I found it to be slow at the beginning. I suspect that was more because I had expected something like Robert Howard to begin with, which is a mistake. One doesn’t read a solo novel, such as The Hour of the Dragon, to use Howard still, as one would Feist novel or any of the Tolkien trilogy. One has different expectations and makes adjustments for pace, all very willing if the writing is good and the story interesting. Which is, by in large, true for Thran Reborn, with regard to writing and interest.

Do not make the second mistake that I found with the book—that of comparing the introduced peoples of Blalock’s creation with anything from Tolkien. Again, the back of the book mentions the two species or peoples in the following way:

“ . . . when it attacked the Telmet (dwarven people) 400 years previously. Andalarn is a merchant with a wife and five sons, an unlikely hero who has inherited the family talent: spellsong. Allying himself with a Kel (elven) healer name Baliak, . . . ”

Blalock has the outlook of both the Orientalist and Historian, and brings that to the structure of the novel and series. He draws on the history of Eastern Empires and their successes and failures with dealing with conquered peoples, setting the Empire in the mold of benevolent tolerance of local religions and customs that typified the Khanates across central Asia under Genghis Khan. While one doesn’t need to be aware of that, if does help to understand the implications, because they are a major factor in the last part of the novel.

If you like broad scale action, multiple threads in a plot, and the exploration of a new and different universe, I suggest you consider Thran Reborn and the subsequent books that are in the offing. I enjoyed it, though as I said, I would have enjoyed it more had I not been misinformed about the both the style and the intent of the series.


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