The industry seems to be in something of a Golden Age of Self-Published Fantasy. Talented authors are grabbing the bull by the horn, not waiting for validation from traditional publishers before releasing their works to the world. It's a risky venture, in truth. It's also awfully expensive if you happen to publish physical copies in addition to ebooks. The latter is necessary even if you only begin with the former, especially when the ebooks start to gain traction.
This goes without mentioning how much money goes into cover design. The Way of Edan is a fine read, but I think its cover does a real injustice, especially as there are loads of inferior reads with stunning covers. Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed The Way of Edan, average cover or not.
The influx of self-published fantasy books has seen readers treated to works by different individuals from varying backgrounds. Granted, Philip Chase teaches English Composition and Literature and is a keen fantasy vlogger. Still, that's no excuse to write fantasy like a seasoned pro. His writing and storytelling are so effortless that one is surprised that it comes from an author writing his first fantasy novel. In The Way of Edan, a fresh author barges his way into traditional fantasy fiction, raising the bar very high for himself in his first foray. Indeed, the bar is quite, quite high.
Religious extremism and a religious war are the backbone of the story's plot. We read scenes that bring to mind the Crusades of Medieval Europe and all the wars ever fought by humans in the name of God. It's a refreshing take on a story that is, at heart, traditional fantasy in all its original richness. However, that is not to say that The Way of Edan is not a unique read.
Indeed, authors like Ryan Cahill and Chris Woodling have recently taken on the responsibility of repropagating the gospel of traditional fantasy, a subgenre that until recently was fast losing its popularity with fantasy faithfuls. The meteoric rise of authors like Mark Lawrence, Joe Abercrombie, and G.R.R Martin increased readers' appetite for flawed heroes and morally-grey characters. The subgenre of traditional fantasy appeared to have been over-flogged by the seemingly endless line of Tolkien and Gemmell disciples.
Today, while several fantasy authors still write the traditional good vs. evil theme, the only ones who have made a name for themselves out of it are those like Brandon Sanderson, who are adept at building high-scale worlds and complex magic systems, or those like Daniel T. Jackson who are brilliant storytellers and character-builders. In The Way of Edan, Philip Chase belatedly joins the elite ranks of those who not only write traditional fantasy but write it truly well.
I liked several things about this book. First was the writing. It's easy to read, flows very well, and hooks the reader front from start to finish. In other words, it's a very hard book to drop. Good writing is something I appreciate very much, even if a story's plot leaves much to be desired. So, kudos to the author here.
While there wasn't much by way of sprawling worldbuilding, the author made up for this with some rich lore. There are attempts at poetic epics and tales, which, in my opinion, helped to bring the world to life in the readers' minds. In addition, there's a major battle scene at the end, which I found particularly satisfying, as all the physical conflict in this book seemed to be building up to such a finale from the very start. The description of the cities, land, and places in the book are quite vivid. As a reader, it's so easy to see yourself in Eormenlond, traveling with the main character as he journeys to discover who he is.
The magic isn't overworked, but it's pretty clear to understand and relate to, as it doesn't deviate too much from traditional fantasy canon. The characterization is also wonderful. It's a balanced blend of selfish, power-hungry, naive, ambitious, loyal, brave, sly, murderous, and heroic characters- the very thing that traditional fantasy readers expect.
Sadly, the book does not have the sheer cliffhanger ending I'd hoped for, which is why it gets four stars instead of five. Nevertheless, the entire thing is still extremely intriguing, and I find myself immediately picking up The Prophet of Edan. With the bar set so high in The Way of Edan, my expectations for book 2 are stratospheric. I have no doubt, however, that the author will exceed expectations.
A highly recommended traditional fantasy read.
