James Bibby

James Bibby
"Tyson...had vowed to rescue him, Tarl had vowed to help her, and the donkey...had vowed that it might as well tag along just for the hell of it"
- "Ronan's Rescue"

There is a real problem with comic fantasy novels these days, and that's just that they aren't funny. Or fantasic enough. Or both. Not so with James Bibby. Not since Pratchett have I read a writer who can so deftly combine comedy with genuine 'serious' fantasy. OK, so he can run a little heavy on the puns, but once he's created an idea he doesn't just throw it away once the joke has finished, he keeps it and runs with it. And when the moment comes for some serious swords and sorcery, he does that very well too.

The three books so far published - "Ronan the Barbarian", "Ronan's Rescue" and "Ronan's Revenge" - detail the adventures of Ronan the Barbarian, his lover Tyson (the best female warrior this side of Behan), his friend Tarl (professional drunk and sometimes magic-user), and Tarl's meat-eating sarcastic talking donkey Puss (don't ask). Together they battle against sorceresses, necromancers and evil scientist dwarves, all in the name of justice, fairness, honour and, in Tarl's case, the chance to go into some really good pubs.

Unfortunately, Bibby has not received the recognition I think he deserves. Granted the books are written from a very 'English' angle in terms of humour (not to mention being rather 'blokey' in places), and yes, alright, I have to say that "Ronan's Revenge" wasn't as good as the first two. But there's no doubt Bibby can write, and anyone who can create a land where orcs are such terminal drinkers and party animals that one of their war-chants translates as "If you haven't bought a round, you're gonna die!"...well, I think they deserve to be received by a wider audience.

(Please note, all pictures displayed here are not mine are used without permission of their owners because I'm recommending that you go out and buy more of their books. However, should they disapprove, please can they mail me and I'll remove them.)