A Review of Troll Tunnels, an Anthology from Peryton Publishing

Disclaimer: I'm one of the authors for Troll Tunnels, so I'm a bit biased. Of course I think my stories are great, and I think it would just be wonderful if everyone in the world read them.

What I'll give you here are my honest opinions of the stories that I didn't write, and teasers for the stories that I did write.

Troll Tunnels is a collection of short sword and sorcery tales published by Peryton Publishing and edited by Christina Lea. Consisting of ten tales, including the introductory story by Ken St. Andre, the tome weighs in at 166 pages. It is available from Peryton Publishing or from Amazon.

As mentioned above, the introductory tale is by Ken St. Andre. It's entitled "Introduction: Trollgod's Treasure Hunt." You probably know Ken as the creator of the Tunnels and Trolls roleplaying game, and it's thus fitting that he wrote the introductory story for this anthology. While Troll Tunnels isn't purely based on the Tunnels and Trolls game, it was conceived as a tribute to the game, and there are several T&T references that anyone familiar with the game will catch. You may also know about Trollhalla, Ken's web site where people join and the members partake in contests that often have something to do with the Tunnels and Trolls game. In "Trollgod's Treasure Hunt", Ken spins a yarn in which the Trollgod searches for a treasure and encounters several Trollhallans along the way. It's an amusing tale which will undoubtedly be even more amusing if you're a member of Trollhalla, especially if you're one of the dozen plus members that make an appearance in the story. So yeah, I enjoyed the tale, including the not-so-subtle Monty Python reference near the end. I'm personally glad Ken wrote this introduction for the anthology; it's a special treat for me to be published in the same anthology with him. And, yes, the Trollgod does find a very special treasure at the end of the tale, one which I hope you'll find, too... mm hmm...

First after the introduction is "The Frog or the Lion?" It's my first of three tales in the anthology. For the record, none of my stories are based on any actual T&T gaming sessions, but if you're familiar with T&T, you'll see many connections between my stories and the game. My intent was to write some good old S&S tales that anyone interested in the genre could enjoy. I think I managed that. My three stories are a linked set of stories, and should be read in order. They each feature at least two Trollhalla members.

In "The Frog or the Lion?" Taran Dracon encounters the scorpion man, Umslopaagas of the Shiny Teeth. T&T fans should recognize old Umslop, and understand the significance of the Frog and the Lion with regards to the scorpion man. But you won't need to have played the Deathtrap Equalizer Dungeon solo to enjoy this tale of misdirection and misadventure.

I found "The Troll Tunnel" by Tom K. Loney quite humorous. I think most S&S fans with a sense of humor would like this tale. Granted, it's got some T&T references, and there's a reference to 'ughs' that can only be fully appreciated by those that are aware of the T&T-based UGH Monster Attacks game here on my web site. But the thing that makes this story great is that the characters are just so lovable. Well, I thought they were...

The fourth story is "Ravana's Palace" by Michael Lea. You won't see any T&T references in this tale. This is a serious tale by a seriously talented author, and there's some serious magic going on herein. The protagonist has one primary magical ability, but it's put to good use against a formidable opponent. I've always enjoyed time travel stories that aren't resolved by changing history, and while this isn't a time travel story in the strictest sense, it does have time traveling elements that I found quite appealing.

Christina Lea edited the anthology, and she also wrote the story "All Your Friends Are Monsters." I love that story title! This story is chock full of action with interesting characters, and you soon realize that there's also a lot going on in the background to which you're not privy and which isn't explained by the end of the story. I was left wanting more. Maybe Christina plans to write more of this tale later... Maybe she's planning a follow-up anthology? In any case, if you find this tale just a little disturbing, then you're not alone.

Tom K. Loney checks in with another tale, this one entitled "The Desert Deity." I could envision this tale unfolding at a gaming table, but it doesn't read like a transcript of a game -- far from it. It's a very well told story and possibly my favorite in the anthology, excluding my own tales, of course. I especially liked the fight with the firbolg, though I still think he should have bit down a bit harder when he had his mouth full. Not really. That scene was already disturbing enough. Reading this tale after having read Christina's tale may have made the firbolg scene all the more disturbing, but I think I would have felt queasy during this scene even if I had read it first. But I like a little queasiness every so often.

The next tale is one of mine. "All Quests Great and Not So" takes you on a trip to the sacred halls of Trollhalla, from whence you follow the adventures of a small group of the Elite as they compete against other groups to complete a list of quests at the behest of the Trollgod. Who's in the group that we follow along? They're all Trollhalla members. There's Ea, a female trelf who's pretty decent with a terbutje. Then there's Grumlahk, a pot-bellied, nearly blind homunculus that seems to get around pretty well for someone pot-bellied and nearly blind. And, well, there's my alter-ego, Khayd'haik the wizard; he's a trolf, which is half-troll, half-elf, as opposed to the trelf, which is, um, half-elf, half-troll. Also in the group are the mysterious Wilforce, whose name becomes well-known to many even if his identity doesn't, and a heavily armored, bearded stranger that everyone except Khayd'haik seems to recognize. Send this group after a list of quest items, competing against the likes of Quoghmyre the swamp troll and Dekh the goblin, and you end up with a tale of grand adventure culminating in a grand wager that pays off grandly...for someone.

If you are currently a T&T fan, you know of Outlaw Press, the leading publisher of new official T&T materials. Outlaw Press is headed by James L. Shipman II. He and Ken St. Andre are the co-authors of "The Awakening." The gratuitous sex scene and the full frontal nudity (both male and female) got my attention. The story does have a moral. The main character has a unique ability of which he must gain a better understanding, and he gets a little help with that from, well, not one of his friends.

Tom K. Loney and I both have three stories in the anthology. Tom's third story, "Sash the Green Versus the Wood Giants," is my least favorite tale in the anthology. It could have been a good story, but there are too many distractions, and some of the characters don't seem consistent throughout the tale. I also don't get why Tom chose that title; it gave me the impression that there would be one person taking on a bunch of giants, which would, of course, require a great deal of cunning on that one person's part. Not that Sash the Green (or is that Salisha the Green) wasn't smart, but, well, she didn't exactly take care of the enemy all by herself. The tale is a tale of war, not a tale of David and Goliaths. Well, you might find the story more interesting than I did. But I told you I'd give you my honest opinion, and so there it is. I think Tom could have done better with his third story.

In my third story, "The Returning," the final tale of the anthology, we visit again with Umslopaagas of the Shiny Teeth, who enlists the help of Cathal the forest troll in trying to locate the infamous Taran Dracon, because of events that occurred -- you guessed it -- back in the first story. It's a classic 'three wishes' tale, but with a twist the likes of which I've not seen before. I'm betting you haven't either...

The awesome cover art is by Simon Lee Tranter; get a glimpse of it below. Interior art is by Régis Moulun, Mike Hartlieb, and Diego Gisbert Llorens. 166 pages of imagination and wonder. If this sounds like your cup of tea, click on the cover art to visit the Peryton Publishing site. Or visit Amazon and search for "Troll Tunnels" in the Books category. If you read the book, please consider writing your own review for it on Amazon. And I'd love to hear from you, too. My email address can be obtained from my Contact page.

Thanks for reading my review of Troll Tunnels. I hope you will read and enjoy the anthology.

Yours Truly,

Michael K. Eidson (aka Khayd'haik, on Trollhalla)