The Runes of Engagement

by Tobias Buckell, Dave Klecha

Overview

[STARRED REVIEW] "The collaboration by Buckell (A Stranger in the Citadel) and debuter Klecha is tons of fun and full of geeky references and in-jokes. Will be catnip to readers who love this combination of military SF, alternate history, and fantasy." -Library Journal

"Fun, action-packed, occasionally gritty, and full of jokes for geeks and Marines alike." -Jim C. Hines, author of Terminal Alliance

The Lord of the Rings meets Call of Duty in this delirious mashup pitting confused soldiers against legendary monsters. This riotous campaign of a novel could only have sprung from the nerdy minds of a science fiction award-winner and an extreme amateur landscaper.

No one could have been prepared for the day when orcs, trolls, and dragons fell from portals in the sky. But now a very tough but not-quite-prepared platoon of Marines is trapped on the wrong side. The enchanting world looks like Middle Earth, but to the dismay of even the geekiest soldiers, is nothing like it.

While the Marines fend off dangerous, improbable, and very rude assailants, their mission is to escort a Very Important Princess who could broker a crucial strategic alliance between worlds. What could possibly go wrong?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781616964160
Publisher:	Tachyon Publications
Publication date:	06/18/2024
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Tobias S. Buckell is a New York Times bestselling writer and World Fantasy Award winner. He was born in the Caribbean, grew up in Grenada, and has lived in the British and U.S. Virgin Islands. He is the author of the popular Xenowealth series (Crystal Rain), along with other standalone novels and almost one hundred stories. His works have been translated into twenty different languages. Buckell has also been nominated for the Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy Awards, and the Astounding Award for Best New Science Fiction Author. His latest novel is A Stranger in the Citadel. Buckell lives in Bluffton, Ohio.

Dave Klecha was born in Detroit, and studied Russian and history in college. He then joined the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves. In addition to writing, Dave engages in a number of other creative pursuits, including acting, set-building, scriptwriting, and extreme amateur landscaping. His fiction has appeared in the Subterranean Press Magazine, Clarkesworld, and various anthologies. Klecha lives in Rochester, Michigan.

Editorial Reviews

04/22/2024

Bestseller Buckell (A Stranger in the Citadel) and debut author Klecha, a former Marine, pair their talents and experiences in an impressive military fantasy adventure that combines Middle Earth lore with U.S. marine mystique. When an interworld portal allows elves, orcs, trolls, and other storybook monsters to wreak havoc on Earth’s cities, a squad of Marines under the command of Staff Sergeant Ray Cale is dispatched across the portal with human coalition forces allied to the wood elves. The task: to escort the elven Lady Wíela to safety from the Corrupted One (“a force of evil and mayhem, ancient and brooding, that had been spreading across the world like a virus”), so she can negotiate an alliance between their worlds. Buckell and Klecha provide thrills a minute as Cale, who faced painful choices in Afghanistan and has only a rudimentary knowledge of Middle Earth, overcomes unearthly challenges with street smart know-how. The authors convincingly develop the personalities of both Cale’s squad and the nonhuman characters while offering genre fans an up-close look at Marine training. It’s an unlikely mash-up, but it works. (June)

Publishers Weekly

[STARRED REVIEW] "When the portals open between 21st-century Earth and a place that looks like Tolkien's Middle-earth, complete with elves, dwarves, and orcs, armies in every country dig in, throw the monsters back through the portals, and defend the planet by making alliances with creatures out of a Dungeons and Dragons handbook. One hard-bitten marine sergeant and his squad of newbies and nerds are escorting an elven princess to Manhattan when a dragon pushes them back from the gate and into an epic quest through forests, deadly blizzards, and evil-infested abandoned mines in order to reach an artifact (which will save the day or get them all killed), in a place far wilder than any gamer ever imagined. The novel takes military science fiction and throws it into a fantasy blender with John Scalzi's "Old Man's War," S.M. Stirling's "Emberverse," and David Drake and Eric Flint's "Belisarius." VERDICT The collaboration by Buckell (A Stranger in the Citadel) and debuter Klecha is tons of fun and full of geeky references and in-jokes. Will be catnip to readers who love this combination of military SF, alternate history, and fantasy. -Library Journal

"Buckell and Klecha tell their story with so much humour and gusto and so much nerd JOY."
-Maria Haskins, author of Wolves and Girls

"Readers will delight in the nerd-culture references in this military-fantasy romp as the squad discusses Stark Ridge, FOB Vimes, and other landmarks named by the visiting humans." -Booklist

"Bestseller Buckell (A Stranger in the Citadel) and debut author Klecha, a former Marine, pair their talents and experiences in an impressive military fantasy adventure that combines Middle Earth lore with U.S. marine mystique. . . . It's an unlikely mash-up, but it works."
-Publishers Weekly

"Tobias S. Buckell and Dave Klecha have crafted a portal fantasy that gleefully asks, 'What if we sent in the Marines?' Equal parts grounded and tongue-in-cheek, this swiftly moving military adventure will fit in perfectly before your next D&D campaign." -Samantha Mills, author of The Wings Upon Her Back

"What would your Dungeons and Dragons campaign look like if the DM let you choose a squad of U.S. Marines for your characters? Most DMs know better, but Klecha and Buckell have shown us how that adventure might go. Spoiler alert: It will be fun, action-packed, occasionally gritty, and full of jokes for geeks and Marines alike." -Jim C. Hines, author of Terminal Alliance

"A story stitched from the greatest late-night dorm room debates. Who would win: Black Hawks versus dragons? Marines versus trolls? All the magic of Tolkien arrayed against the 21st-century American war machine?" -Brian Staveley, author of The Empire's Ruin

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

"A fun read. Picture Call of Duty meets World of Warcraft with just a touch of comparative mythology for seasoning." -Michael Mammay, author of the Planetside series

"As a lifelong fan of both nerdy pursuits and action movies,The Runes of Engagement is exactly what I didn't know I needed! The Marines are a fun mix of jarhead and scholar (sometimes both in one), and the various characters they encounter-an artsy troll, a mysterious ranger, a suspiciously helpful child who attracts danger-are absolutely the kind of characters I hope to encounter every time I play D&D!" -Rachel Copeland, Boswell Book Company

From the Publisher

★ 05/01/2024

When the portals open between 21st-century Earth and a place that looks like Tolkien's Middle-earth, complete with elves, dwarves, and orcs, armies in every country dig in, throw the monsters back through the portals, and defend the planet by making alliances with creatures out of a Dungeons and Dragons handbook. One hard-bitten marine sergeant and his squad of newbies and nerds are escorting an elven princess to Manhattan when a dragon pushes them back from the gate and into an epic quest through forests, deadly blizzards, and evil-infested abandoned mines in order to reach an artifact (which will save the day or get them all killed), in a place far wilder than any gamer ever imagined. The novel takes military science fiction and throws it into a fantasy blender with John Scalzi's "Old Man's War," S.M. Stirling's "Emberverse," and David Drake and Eric Flint's "Belisarius." VERDICT The collaboration by Buckell (A Stranger in the Citadel) and debuter Klecha is tons of fun and full of geeky references and in-jokes. Will be catnip to readers who love this combination of military SF, alternate history, and fantasy.—Marlene Harris

Library Journal

2024-05-04
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.

Kirkus Reviews