Arena of Antares

The seventh Dray Prescot sword-and-planet outing is the second of the Havilfar Cycle, so named for the continent on which its events transpire. This volume has the glossary I had been missing in the previous book, but it's frustratingly partial. About half of the Kregish common nouns that I looked up were not in the glossary at all, and the entries are different (fewer!) than those in the glossary supplied two books earlier in Prince of Scorpio.

As the title suggests, the plot centers on gladiatorial combat, which already featured in Warrior of Scorpio. In the earlier book, it was just part of the big finish, whereas Arena gives Dray a full career of some months during which he ascends through the ranks of exhibition fighters and show more becomes inured to sport butchery.

There was some entertainment here, with a significant chunk of world building. The evil Queen Fahia is both menacing and pathetic, the Cult of the Silver Leem looms larger in the background, and the finish of the story has lots of action and a couple of surprises. Still, it took me too long to get through this for what I got out of it, and I will definitely take a breather from this series.

Jack Gaughan's cover art is adequate, but his few interior illustrations are muddy and ugly, perhaps owing in part to the reproductive process. They also feature captions in arcane glyphs. While I suspect these of being ciphers of some kind, I haven't been able to decrypt them. It might be an amusing puzzle to revisit them at some point. show less

Arena picks up right where Manhounds of Antares leaves off. Dray travels to Yamman to help the Miglas regain their rightful footing on the land they once owned. After a not-so baleful battle and sweet victory in their grips, that damnable blue radiance and a talking scorpion once again envelopes Pur Dray and whisks him off to Hyrklana for apparently some unfinished business. I think Dray’s life and that of his wife and 2 small children would be a lot easier and stress free if the Star Lords just gave Dray a list of all the evil in the world and thus he could take his mighty army and eradicate this issue like you would any common pest, systematically from the biggest to the smallest. But obviously we all know that would make for a show more garbage storyline and we would never have a chance to be introduced to all of the amazing characters and discover how Dray actually fights his way from the ground up, in more ways than one, to be the greatest Hero 2 worlds has ever seen.

To be completely honest, about halfway through this book I felt like Dray would in fact be stuck in Hyrklana for quite a ridiculously unnecessary amount of time. But being the complete and total badass that Dray is, and in the end he even figured out a way to make his stay comfortable and even got a lift back home to Valka, or so we believe. Also, have I mentioned he slayed a 16-foot 6 tusks, trunk-less giant mammoth? Epic…

Overall, the Dray Prescot Series is becoming quicker and much easier to read, although most of the names and places are a mouthful [thanks A.B.A.] the pacing and intensity is electric and all-consuming for the reader. 7 down, 45 to go. show less