THE RUNES OF ENGAGEMENT

This rollicking military fantasy follows a squad of Marines trapped in a magical Tolkienesque realm and their quest to return home.

After rifts open up all over the planet and Earth is invaded by armies of creatures straight out of The Lord of the Rings, humankind joins together to drive the orcs, trolls, and dragons back through the portals. Military forces assigned to secure the rifts are stationed on the other side and must defend the gateways from a never-ending barrage of “fairy tales coming to life to kill [them].” After embarking on a perilous mission to locate and transport Lady Wíela, an elven princess, through the portal in an attempt for humankind to join forces with the elves, staff sergeant Raymond Cale and his squad are cut off from Earth after a forward operating base is destroyed. Vowing to somehow get the princess to safety, Cale and company set out across a dangerous realm inhabited by a multitude of nightmarish fantasy creatures that is described as “something out of Peter Jackson’s wet dreams.” While the initial blending of fantasy and military fiction is appealing, the charm quickly wears off as the storyline becomes predictable and none of the characters evolve into anything other than two-dimensional stereotypes. The nonstop action and battle sequences, however, do keep the momentum going and will have readers furiously turning pages. The saving grace is the humor throughout, which will have fantasy fans—particularly Tolkien nerds—laughing aloud. In one fight scene, for example, the elven princess is described as “twisting her body and running through the gauntlet like Legolas on speed.” In another scene, a line from Pulp Fiction is referenced brilliantly. The laughs, however, can’t compensate for cardboard characters and an unsurprising storyline.

A fun but forgettable fusion of adventure fantasy and military fiction.