Allan Cole and Chris Bunch combined to write some of the most popular fantasy novels of recent years. Having gone solo, they can now produce twice as many books!

Allan Cole's latest novel Wizard of the Winds is the start of a new series, The Timura Trilogy and I eagerly bought a copy as soon as it arrived at the local bookstore.

Wizard of the Winds tells the tale of the rise to power of a mighty warlord and the wizard who helps makes it happen. The novel starts with a prologue that is more fittingly an epilogue. There, an embittered Safar Timura shapes a spell that will destroy his former friend, Iraj Protarus...

Interesting start to a trilogy...

From this prologue the novel goes on to introduce us to Safar Timura as the young son of a potter who meets and befriends a exiled desert prince named Iraj Protarus. Safar's budding magical powers have foretold that Protarus will one day be a ruler of legendary might and Safar will be the wizard that stands at his side and makes it happen. (All of this is revealed in the first dozen pages and on the cover notes, I'm not giving away any secrets)

As expected, Cole delivers a novel that is epic in scope and rich with plot and detail. Given the prologue and knowing how the first book in the trilogy ends, I'm hooked. Trying to second guess Cole's next move could take some serious time.

One thing that I did notice is that at first glance, Wizard of the Winds and Chris Bunch's The Seer King are remarkably similar. Both tell the tale of the rise and fall of a warlord and a wizard. In Wizard of the Winds, the wizard is the main character and the advisor to the warlord. In The Seer King, the warlord is the main character and the advisor to the wizard. The stories themselves are substantially different but its makes you wonder if both authors used the same kernel of an idea first discussed over a cold beer...

Wizard of the Winds is published as When the Gods Slept in Europe by Hodder and Stoughton so some people might need to look this novel under a different name. And avid collectors get a second book to add to their must have list.

Wayne MacLaurin is a regular SF Site reviewer. More of his opinions are available on our Book Reviews pages.