N14: Hiero’s Journey by Sterling Lanier

Book Review!

N14: Hiero’s Journey by Sterling Lanier

In “Appendix N” Gary Gygax recommended Hiero’s Journey by Sterling Lanier. My paperback copy of the book contained 325 pages with copyright dates of 1973 and 1983. At first appearance this story looks like a fantasy tale, but the story actually contains post-apocalyptic science-fiction because the setting involves a future version of Earth millions of years after a nuclear annihilation that wipes out civilization and mutates the creatures of our world.

The Good

*I really enjoy post-apocalyptic science-fiction fantasy; we need more unique literature in this genre.

*The story stands out as an interesting exploration quest because Heiro’s people lack knowledge of what happened in the south. He discovers different mutated monsters and technology/magic on the way.

*The telepathic abilities in the story involve interesting rules and provide a uniqueness for this type of literature.

*Lanier masterfully narrates the combat sequences, taking into consideration the speed of the weapons and the ferociousness of the mutated monsters.

*When some monsters injured Hiero, he actually spent time healing and recovering.

The Bad

*Some readers might consider the main character too powerful since he comes across as a paladin/cleric/druid/ranger/warrior/psionicist with many innate skills and abilities.

D&D Connections & Inspirations

*Hiero, his mutant moose mount, and his sentient bear friend form an adventuring party engaged in an exploration quest.

*They fight evil wizards and monsters.

*The scene after the group kills the first wizard they fight involves a very typical D&D-style looting of the wizard's dead body, taking his magic/tech items.

Overall

I really enjoyed reading this book, not wanting to put down the text while reading. I give the work a 8/10 rating.