Quillifer (#1)
Rogue. Joker. Lover. Reluctant soldier.
Quillifer is a young man, serially in love and studying law, when a family tragedy throws him into the world to seek his fortune. A charmer rather than a fighter, he soon finds himself embroiled with a bandit gang, caught up in vicious court intrigues, and the plaything of an angry, beautiful, and very jealous goddess. While he struggles to establish himself in the capital, the country finds itself pitched into a civil war, and Quillifer, a unwilling soldier at best, finds himself caught up in the action, and able to tip the scales of fortune.
Quillifer, with its engaging hero and his exploits with lovers, brawlers, warriors, and privateers, is a book that bursts with life. It’s the first volume in a new epic fantasy by bestselling and award-winning author Walter Jon Williams.
Reviews
"For all of you who need some great fantasy while you're waiting for THE WINDS OF WINTER [...] try QUILLIFER, by Walter Jon Williams. WJW is always fun, but this may be his best yet, a delight from start to finish, witty, colorful, exciting and amusing by turns, exquisitely written!"George R.R. Martin, NY Times bestselling author of the Game of Thrones series
“In this sprawling, lively episodic adventure, Williams (Angel Station) returns to his swashbuckling historical fantasy roots while exploring new territory.”
"Williams’ swashbuckling tale is reminiscent of George MacDonald Fraser’s Flashman Papers series in the maleadventure tradition, and it is enriched with the splendiferous vocabulary of likable Quillifer’s invented words."
"A thoroughly enjoyable series of historical adventures in a faux-Europe."
“Williams, known for a long catalogue of Nebula Award-nominated science fiction, dives headlong into epic fantasy with high-spirited gusto. He renders each scene of court life in Selford with ever-increasing visual detail, giving each castle and royal courtier their own decadently fashioned identity. The colorful friends and enemies Quillifer meets along his way enter and leave his life like guests at a party rather than tools in a save-the-world quest. And at the center of it all is Williams’ wonderful protagonist—a flawed man, learning to live with his faults in a world destined to reinforce them.”
“This is a light, but not lightweight fantasy adventure told in an irresistible narrative voice, inhabiting a world you’ll want to spend as much time in as possible.”
“Williams’ deft hand with historical adventure shows in this fantasy novel, the first in a series featuring the title character, an engaging rogue with a talent for getting into trouble. The fantasy is restrained (aside from one goddess), making this ‘for the most part a thoroughly enjoyable series of historical adventures in a faux-Europe that is as meticulous in its details as it is vague in time and place.'”
“[T]he moment QUILLIFER arrived, I knew it was the most significant release of the current crop, by a pretty good margin.”