German fantasy writer Bernhard Hennen is best known internationally for his series Die Elfen ("The Elves"), which has been translated into a number of European languages, including English. I have now read all 3 books and give them five stars and think them the best series I have read for quite some time.
I am now a huge Bernhard Hennen Fan and his characters Mandred Torgridson, the Jarl of Firnstayn, and his elven companions Nuramon and Farodin are a wonderful threesome, but it is Mandred who stands out for me as the central character in the book and the ultimate hero.
Synopsis: This is the "epic" tale of three warriors who travel between realms and time. Their story begins as the human, Mandred, seeks the help of the elves to defeat a monster in his realm. Faradin and Nuramon are among the elves sent by the Queen to help him. The monster turns out to be an ancient enemy of the elves, a Devanthar, which they failed to defeat. While hunting the beast, Noroelle, the woman that both Faradin, the fiercest fighter in the land, and Nuramon, the healer, are courting, is banished by the Queen to the Shattered World. So Mandred, Faradin, and Nuramon band together to complete two tasks: destroy the Devanthar, and rescue Noroelle.
The characters start out a bit dull but they quickly develop into bigger than life figures, especially Mandred. I could not put the book down after the first 100 pages of so, and from the various reports in Goodreads, I am not alone in that. Definitely five stars for me. It might be nearly 800 pages in length but the action never lets up.
The second and third books in the series were in fact first published as a single book in German and split into a double when published in English. They are really an aside to the first story. While the first story covers hundreds, if not thousands of years, the second and third books are the story of Mandred's son Alfadas. And it is a wonderful story of love and battles and loyalties and trolls and fanatical men.
At the height of its power, the elven court of Queen Emerelle relishes in the joyful, wintry Festival of Light. Yet, as tribes gather to reaffirm their loyalty to the queen, treachery festers within the nobility. An assassination attempt leaves Emerelle severely injured and plunges the realm back into the throes of an ancient war.
While an army of trolls ravages the kingdom, the elves seek aid from Alfadas, the human hero who was raised among them. Back in the land of men, Alfadas has settled into a quiet life as his village's protector. But when his former mentor appears asking for his help, Alfadas is quick to oblige.
Alfadas sets out to defeat the elves' foes. However, marching to war means abandoning his village—and his wife. And Albenmark isn't the only world facing monstrous threats…
The battle for sovereignty over the realms reaches a devastating turning point as the international bestselling fantasy series continues.
All that stands between the advancing army of trolls and the endangered fortress of Phylangan is a coalition force led by Alfadas, human hero and protector. He's amassed his own legion of swordsmen, elves, and ragtag thieves to stave off the enemy. And the next move they make could be the most dangerous one of all.
Those Alfadas has left behind are more vulnerable than ever—including his star-crossed elven love; their newborn child; and Queen Emerelle herself, who remains comatose and is powerless to safeguard her compromised kingdom.
But as Alfadas risks all in the violent campaign of the realms, the fate of Phylangan trembles ever more as the enemy advances. However tenuous Alfadas's victory is, what he fears most is what will be left of the homeland he abandoned…
