Title: Prisoner of the Horned Helmet (Frank Frazetta’s Death Dealer #1)

Author: James Silke

Release date: February 1st, 1988

Are you familiar with Frank Frazetta’s 1973 fantasy painting ‘Death Dealer’? You most likely are, even if it doesn’t pop into your brain. In fact, you’ve probably seen it a few times before and never really attributed it to anything other than an intense, menacing image.

For those who’ve not seen it – I’m included it here on my review post (though it won’t appear on GR);

This painting by Frazetta just might be my favorite piece of art.

A menacing figure perched upon a massive black horse, with a shield, a curved axe and a horned helmet, with buzzards flying in the background, this image has inspired thousands of people. Between music, art, writing and film – and beyond – this image is quintessential Frazetta and sword and sorcery.

Now, I was never aware that a novel (a series in fact) had been commissioned to tell the story of the ‘Death Dealer,’ until a few years ago. While researching a different image that Frazetta had created for a project of mine, I was reminded about the books and lo and behold, I had a digital copy of this book on my Kindle already. I can’t actually remember where I got it from, but I’m thinking it was in a sword and sorcery Kickstarter I backed probably about fifteen years ago.

Finding that I had the book and feeling in the mood for a classic sword and sorcery novel, I decided to give it a go, hoping to discover that this was as fantastic as the image that inspired it.

What I liked: The novel is a classic throwback to 80’s sword and sorcery where we follow Gath of Baal, a barbarian warrior who becomes the ‘Death Dealer.’

A horde of Kitzaak warriors is on the rampage, destroying and conquering every village they come across as they travel throughout the land. The common people need a champion. Brown John is an actor, poet, meek magician and barterer. After seeing what Gath does to a small group of Kitzaak scout warriors, Brown John decides Gath is the champion they need and puts a plan in place.

At the same time, the sorceress/goddess Cobra, a snake that can take the form of a gorgeous woman, realizes that Gath just might be the key to unlocking her God from its imprisonment and she puts a plan in place – to seduce and get what she needs to have Gath unwittingly accept the horned helmet, which she believes will eat him from the inside and unleash her God upon the land.

Silke writes with gusto, and throughout I was reminded of the movies I loved growing up. ‘Wizards,’ ‘Fire and Ice,’ ‘Heavy Metal,’ ‘Conan,’ ‘Willow,’ ‘Deathstalker,’ and ‘Dragonslayer,’ just to name a few. Behind every tree lies danger and we never know if it’ll be man or beast or something in between.

The action scenes are fantastic, but also the downtime moments are great, really moving the personal side of the story along. Most of these involve Robin Lakehair. A young woman tasked by Brown John to heal Gath and somehow convince him to come and help the common people, instead of wandering the forests seemingly aimlessly.

The ending is a great bit of wrap up and Silke does a great job of showing the aftermath of Gath’s stand against the horde and what comes of those who survive. While there are three more novels after this one, the book ends as a singular read, which was nice.

What I didn’t like: Though the book is mostly action packed, there are some significant moments where this one plods along and loses its steam. It always comes back and always picks up, but it’s easy to see what would get chopped were this ever to be turned into a script to be filmed.

Why you should buy this: If you’re a huge fan of Frazetta’s, the painting itself or simply sword and sorcery/fantasy novels, then this is definitely a must read. A bit harder to find, I think if you went on an instore or online journey to track it down, you’ll be richly rewarded for the story you discover within. This was a nostalgic throwback to my youth and it brought me back to those weekend evenings when I’d be binge watching movies just like this book.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1813172.Prisoner_of_the_Horned_Helmet