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Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... Willamina Public Library | FN ODOM | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Independence Public Library | SCIENCE FICTION - ODOM | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Monmouth Public Library | Fic (sf) Odom, M. 2001 | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
Edgewick Lamplighter (Wick to his friends) is a humble librarian in the isolated halls of Greydawn Moors until dreams of wanderlust and a bit of dereliction in his duties result in his being shanghaied to a far-off land.Captured by pirates, sold into slavery, and adopted by a gang of thieves, Wick soon finds himself with more adventures than even a halfling librarian can imagine.Rival gangs, goblin marauders, evil wizards, and monstrous dragons are soon after the wee adventurer and his newfound allies in a tale of treasures and treachery, magic and mystery, where even a little guy can rise to the occasion and save the day.
Author Notes
Mel Odom (born 1957 in California) is a writer who has published more than 140 books. He is best known for his novels of science fiction and fantasy, though he has also written non-fiction about computer gaming. He teaches undergraduate courses at the Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication in the Professional Writing program at the University of Oklahoma. One of his best known fantasy novels is The Rover (2001), which in 2002 won the Alex Award, an American Library Association award given to novels written for adults that would also appeal to young readers.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
Adult/High School-Edgewick Lamplighter is a third-level librarian in the basement of the Great Library. The bookish, fearful, pint-sized fellow's vast knowledge of the world has been acquired through reading. When the Master sends the halfling to deliver a package/letter to a warder on the Yonderling Docks, his curiosity gets the best of him. Wick follows the man down an alley and saves him when he is attacked by creatures called Boneblights, sent by the evil Lord Kharrion. Wick is shanghaied by pirates, given to goblins to be sold as a slave, and then adopted by a gang of thieves. In for the adventure of his life, the quiet librarian wants nothing more than to be at home in bed reading. The development of Wick's character is as good as the weefolk in Terry Brooks's The Sword of Shannara (Ballantine, 1983) and in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit (Houghton, 1938). Odom has created a likable, believable character who will continue his adventures as a newly promoted Second Level Librarian in charge of great books. Fans of the movie version of Tolkien's Fellowship of the Ring (Houghton, 1982) will be looking for books to satisfy their interest in weefolks. Readers will enjoy the wealth of creatures in this tale of magic, mystery, and self-discovery, and will stand up and cheer for this little guy who reaches for his best shot and saves the day.-Linda G. Sinclair, Alexandria Library, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
This amiable, inoffensive Tolkienesque fantasy from bestselling author Odom will satisfy the same teenaged and young adult readers who flock to the author's Buffy and Angel novelizations. Older readers, however, will find the adventures of Wick, the book's hobbit-sized dweller hero, tedious. As a "Third Level Librarian in the Vault of All Known Knowledge," Wick can read, unlike most of the odd creatures he meets oxymoronic "big dwarves," trolls, goblinkin, Boneblights in a series of contrived encounters that make up the overlong story. Shanghaied by pirates (dwarves who seem on the verge of bursting into Gilbert and Sullivan's "Tarantara, tarantara"), Wick saves the pirate ship from a flaming female Embyr, but the plot doesn't really catch fire until midway through, when humans, in particular the engaging leader of a band of thieves to whom Wick is sold as a slave, push the dwarves offstage. In the familiar tradition of The Lord of the Rings, Wick rescues a beautiful elven lady from a web spun by a huge spider, decodes a puzzle using his reading skills and defeats a colossal dragon by inadvertently dropping its gem-heart into a lava mountain. It's no wonder that by tale's end "the little librarian," as the author likes to refer to Wick, has grown in self-confidence and esteem. With the movie of The Fellowship of the Ring on the horizon, this knock-off from the Master can only benefit from the reading public's insatiable appetite for all things Tolkienian. (Aug. 27) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Review
Odom's first hardcover is a charming fantasy about a bookish, pint-sized librarian whose small size and vast knowledge earn him self-confidence, the admiration of various rough characters, and a dragon's treasure. Edgewick Lamplighter labors in the huge Vault of All Known Knowledge. According to the history that he knows so well, Wick and his fellow "dwellers" (half-height human beings) were created by a long-lost race to store and preserve the wisdom of the world. When Wick is sent to deliver a letter to the local customs house, he is set upon by ghoulish Boneblights. Having read about swordplay and derring-do, he fights off the flying zombies devised by the evil, long-vanquished goblin king Lord Kharrion, who seems to be responsible for much of the evil in this gloomy fantasy world. Then Wick is knocked on the head and shanghaied onto a dwarf pirate ship, where he wins the crew's respect by saving them from a fiery Embyr (he tells the creature the story of its creation). When the ship is threatened by pirate goblins, Wick voluntarily surrenders himself, only to be sold into slavery. Purchased by a band of thieves, he identifies a stolen bag of jewels as part of an elfish puzzle, which leads to more cliffhangers and the aforementioned dragon. Odom throws numerous challenges at his plucky hero, forcing Wick to adapt his store of knowledge in a harsh, tragic, but ultimately rewarding adventure. A cute, smartly told pastiche of Tolkien and Terry Brooks aimed at the Harry Potter crowd and librarians at every level.
Booklist Review
Grandmaster Frollo thinks timid little halfling Edgewick (Wick) Lamplighter, third level librarian in the remote and secret Vault of All Known Knowledge, spends far too much time reading trivial legends that spur the imagination at the expense of logical thinking. Sent by the grandmaster to the harbor to deliver a package, Wick tangles with the dreaded Boneblights and, running for his life, accidentally manages to kill some. Thinking he is a brave fighter, dwarfs shanghai him to their pirate ship, where his lack of prowess comes to light, and he is condemned to washing dishes for the harsh cook. His book knowledge earns him respect, though, when he saves the ship from a heartless, fiery Embyr, one of nine created near the end of the long-ago Cataclysm by the evil Lord Kharrion to wreak revenge. After that, Wick is enslaved by vicious goblinkin, rescued and adopted by thieves, pursued by assassins through the Forest of Fangs and Shadows, attacked by Shengharck, King of the Dragons--and more. Pushing the conventions of fantasy to the max, Odom serves up a rip-roaring, pell-mell, often laugh-out-loud romp. Throughout, though Wick's companions readily wield swords and other weapons against their enemies, it is Wick's vast knowledge of aged lore that saves the day. A surefire page-turner, and the characterizations are simply delicious. --Sally Estes YA: Teens will enjoy the combination of farce and derring-do. SE.
Library Journal Review
Shanghaied by dwarven pirates, Edgewick Lamplighter, a lowly halfling librarian employed by the Great Library, finds himself faced with the life of adventure and peril he has always wantedand feared. The author of Lethal Interface pays homage to Tolkien, Brooks, and other masters of epic fantasy in this rollicking tale of an unlikely hero who proves that even a humble librarian can boast an arsenal of unconventional weapons. Suitable for most YA and adult fantasy collections. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.