Robin Marx's Writing Repository

This review originally appeared on Goodreads on February 5, 2013.

Guardian of the Dawn

By William King – Self-Published – August 1, 2011

Review by Robin Marx

This atmospheric fantasy short introduces Kormak, a disreputable-looking stranger belonging to a semi-mythical order of monster hunters. Wounded and caught out on the night of the full moon, when hostile creatures roam, he takes shelter at an isolated house. Realizing his true identity, the house's residents use his code of honor to coerce him into defending them against one particularly menacing creature.

The premise is appealing, and while Kormak himself is only vaguely sketched out as a character, he seems interesting. I also liked the setting hinted at in the story, with a sort of uneasy detente between the human realm and the bestial “children of the moon” roaming just outside the borders. However, I was disappointed when the story name-checked elves, dwarves, and orcs. Those Tolkienian races are completely played out, and their seemingly automatic inclusion marred an otherwise original sword & sorcery setting. The ending was also a bit of let-down. I respect the author for taking a daring chance with the narrative, but I can't help feeling that it effectively invalidated much of the preceding excitement.

Still, this was a good read overall. While I wasn't quite moved to run out and buy the other Kormak books, this story put King on my radar, and I'll keep an eye out for his stories in the future.

★★★☆☆

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