The Cave of the Six Arrows - Book Review

A mystical tale set in a prehistorical land, The Cave of the Six Arrows,  by Len Boswell, is a fantasy novel with intrigue, a secret quest, and battles interspersed with comic relief. Hero and main character, Calax Halfhand, is a mercenary warrior who reluctantly takes a young runaway girl, Rhynt, with him on his travels.

The story is told as a folk tale with backstories revealed as dreams. Calax is a mighty warrior with unusual physical ability.  He was born with a deformed hand, but through the powers of wizardry, he manipulates a mechanical hand with abnormal strength and the power to not lose the limb if it is cut to pieces. His powers are challenged when he learns that he is being sought and perhaps to be killed by unknown enemies.

Rhynt, a young servant girl belonging to the Red Monk, has mystical skills of her own. To escape her cruel master, she runs away and attaches herself to Calax and his quest. She shares her incredible abilities at tense moments to enable them to escape from potentially fatal encounters with the enemy.

Minor characters, both monks and wizards, are as fleshed out as Calax and Rhynt. Salibar is as tall and thick as a tree “with forearms knotted with the muscle that comes from swinging a broadsword”…eyes black as a pit… a cheek split by an old scar… smelled of onions.  Zyrx, a dwarf blacksmith, surprises the reader with his magic armor. Phendour and Blusk, gypsies, have their own tale of woe.

While Calax and Rhynt follow a minstrel’s directions to the sanctuary and mystery of the Cave of the Six Arrows, a parallel story alternates with the continuing saga. In this plot, the back story and history of d’Bedo Brendyl, the Green Monk, and King Braque are told by Bookins, the king’s fool. Fearfully anticipating an upcoming war with thousands of soldiers bearing swords, carrying bows, and riding horses, the kingdom frantically makes preparations as the old king lies dying.

The novel introduces new vocabulary. The reader will learn what a sellsword is and a berserker.  What is a simidemigod? The author is to be commended for his imaginative storytelling and creative personalities.

In conclusion, Whelan the Wanderer, a minstrel in verse and lore, provides logic when discussing the cruelty of war. “we must understand the whole -the good and the bad- to live in harmony”….” with the ultimate goal of universal harmony…peace and prosperity.” The tale may be thought of as a myth because as time moves on, it is the enemy of reason. Let the reader ponder the story’s moral.