This is a magisterial work of rivalry and romance, loyalty and treachery, friendship and malice, quiet heroism and subhuman vileness. Wolf weaves a luminous tapestry, intimating without reproducing themes of Homer's Odyssey, Marlowe's Dr. Faustus and Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. The trials and transformation of common dwarves into hardened heroes, the corrupting lust for power, and the astonishing triumph of enduring goodness over the forces of darkness give this work the gravitas of a true epic. With a dexterous juxtaposition of comforting homeliness with nail-biting suspense, tenderness and friendship with brutality and tragic loss, Wolf reveals the ultimate vindication of sacrificial love in a battle with self-serving power. ----- Dr. Angus Menuge, Editor, "C. S. Lewis: Lightbearer in the Shadowlands"