James Enge - in the footsteps of Jack Vance?

Art by Dominic Harman

Some very enthusiastic praise for James Enge

Mark Argentcorn writes:

"I also really enjoyed James Enge's novels Blood of Ambrose and This Crooked Way. Okay...the phrase "really enjoyed" is inadequate. I f***ing loved them. These books are swords & sorcery in the best tradition of that genre, without being slavishly beholden to that tradition. Grimy, brutal, and witty, they are a wake-up call, a punch in the face in the best possible way. I don't say this lightly, but I think Enge is one of the modern-day heirs of Jack Vance and Fritz Leiber, and you can read an approximate sh**-ton of his short stories and novellas at his website."

Meanwhile, Singular Points has a very positive review of This Crooked Way:

"I had the most fun with James Enge's This Crooked Way that I've had with any fantasy book in the last year or so. His grumpy and not always admirable 'hero' Morlock Ambrosius is an engaging character and Enge puts him through all kinds of interesting adventures. ...There's action aplenty. Battles with monsters and dragons and insectoid warriors. Enge seems endlessly inventive, throwing in all sorts of creatures you've never thought of and doing new and fun things with old standbys like dwarves and gnomes.  Best of all, the book runs the gamut from horror to humor to pathos. I found myself chuckling at Morlock, only to get hit with a heart breaking bit of tragedy two pages later. Enge has that kind of versatility."

He too makes a comparison to Jack Vance.