I really liked THE CRAFTSMAN AND THE WIZARD. It felt like a modern retelling of a myth I should already know, despite being completely original. I read a review saying that Newlon is trying to be Tolkein, but I very much disagree. I felt the tone and style was more reminiscent of a Nordic saga. My only critique is that I wish Kolga had been a bit more fleshed out as a character and that we'd gotten a slower burn with the romance, which felt rushed.

Inclusive fantasy more interested in checking boxes than in an immersive story which would transport the reader to another world.

DNF
the author is trying far to hard to emulate Tolkien, the writing is clunky, and doesn’t flow well at all, the base of the story seems like an interesting premise, but the pretentiousness of the writing was too hard to get past. If it had received better editing this might have actually turned out well.

The Craftsman and the Wizard was a fun read. I wasn't sure what to expect going in, but I enjoyed the quest nature of the story and the way tropes were both used in traditional manners and subverted. It felt, a lot of the time, like reading an old epic or saga, which was helped by the influence of Norse mythology that pervades it. The Craftsman is one of the dwarves of myth, and a lot of his journey involves other Norse figures, which was quite fun to see. What I struggled with was the way the two main characters don't really cross paths until the very end, which in some ways was fitting, but I was hoping they would meet sooner. That's just a preference of mine. And the other thing is that, while the protagonists were well rounded, all of the more villainous characters felt very one-dimensional, and I could not really see any motivation for their actions other than them being evil and corrupt. But I still enjoyed the adventure.

Thank you to NetGalley and Silver Eel Publishing for this arc.

If you like classic fantasy mixed with a healthy doze of Nordic mythology, you’ll want to pick up a copy of this book.

It reads like several folktales weaved into one Grand Tale complete with Gods, Godesses, Trolls, Dwarfs, Mad Kings, Wizards, Destinies and so much more. And Joel Newlon does so in a refreshingly new manner with interesting characters, who (almost (which isn’t a bad thing!)) all manages to grow and evolve during the tale

It was a truly delightfull read, and I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.