The Dwarves

Markus Heitz

Nov 2009 · Sold by Orbit

About this ebook

For countless millennia, the dwarves of the have defended the stone gateway into Girdlegard. Many and varied foes have hurled themselves against the portal and died attempting to breach it. No man or beast has ever succeeded. Until now. . .

Abandoned as a child, Tungdil the blacksmith labors contentedly in the land of Ionandar, the only dwarf in a kingdom of men. Although he does not want for friends, Tungdil is very much aware that he is alone -- indeed, he has not so much as set eyes on another dwarf. But all that is about to change.

Sent out into the world to deliver a message and reacquaint himself with his people, the young foundling finds himself thrust into a battle for which he has not been trained. Not only his own safety, but the life of every man, woman and child in Girdlegard depends upon his ability to embrace his heritage. Although he has many unanswered questions, Tungdil is certain of one thing: no matter where he was raised, he is a true dwarf.

And no one has ever questioned the courage of the Dwarves.

Ratings and reviews

Great book! The second one is just as amazing. If you have ever read RA Salvatores series with the Drizzt character and loved reading about Bruenor Battlehammer and the clan, this book will feed off that love. Of course it is not a forgotten realm book and is based in a completely different land but it is easy to relate to. Anyone playing world of warcraft who love the lore of the game would also enjoy reading these books.

this is the white bread of fantasy. probably one of the most generic fantasy novels I've read based on Tolkiens races. the author makes no attempts to add his own style or taste to any of the races except the evil ones it seems. his use of pretentious writing leads me to believe he thinks thats either required for medieval fantasy, or to make himself feel superior to the reader. the overall story is woefully bland and over used and any twists or foreshadowing are thrown at the reader long before the pay off. the villain feels less like a threat and more like an idiot who's only winning because he got there first.

Well written traditional fantasy from a different than usual perspective. It can be a bit jumpy and gloss over some details, but has good character progression and story telling. Author pulls few punches to tell a gritty, desperate story.

About the author

Markus Heitz was born in 1971 in Germany. He studied history, German language and literature, and won the German Fantasy Award in 2003 for his debut novel Shadows Over Ulldart. His Dwarves series is a bestseller in Europe. Markus Heitz lives in Zweibrücken.