'La Geste du Sixième Royaume' is the debut novel of French author Adrien Tomas. It was originally published in 2011 and republished in "pocket" format in 2013. 700 pages of "pocket" or a thick brick. As it tells the tale of a sixth kingdom that is being attacked by a joint-venture of the five others, it's no wonder the book is so thick. Under other circumstances, it would have been split into two or three parts. Not that that is always the better option.

There is a map that depicts the world in which the events take place. The respective kingdoms are - and there is at the back and explanation of each kingdom's characteristics. In clockwise order:

* Evondia
* Sélénir
* Zoroskorya (home of the dwarves, mountainous area)
* Terres de Seï
* Vale (desert)
* Rym
* Plaine de Khara
* and in the middle, covering a large area: the Great Forest or Grande Forêt; the center of attention, almost literally. The forest is home to everything magical and fantastic: Elves, dragons, sylphides, and more.

This fight between good and evil is also one between gods, with a big, ancient tree (le Père, the Father) in the Forest vs l'Autre/le Maître (the Other / the Master) - whom we never get to see, as far as I know - guiding the opponents. Each side has chosen its heroes, so to speak, to help set up defences and apply their talents to fight off the enemies.

The book is divided into four parts:

1) L'Appel (The Calling)
2) Le Rassemblement (The Gathering)
3) La Guerre (The War)
4) La Chute (The Downfall)

Each part also ends with some chronicling, an overview of events that are of influence on the world's happenings.

This story has several similarities with a.o. Dragonlance and 'The Lord of the Rings':

* Hérauts (heralds) (Dragonlance: Heroes of the Lance / LOTR: the Fellowship)
* a chronicler who chronicles every important event (battle, encounter, meeting, death, birth, ...) (Dragonlance: Astinus of Palanthas)
* an influencer who tries to manipulate a king to take decisions that benefit the war, even if said war is of no benefit to this king and his people (LOTR: Wormtongue)
* fantastic creatures and populations (Dragonlance and LOTR also are peopled with such creatures)
* standing up for one's beliefs and convictions, not be swayed by false promises
* magic is of high importance, on both sides
* nature is of crucial importance (as Mr Tomas is a schooled biologist)

The heralds (each having lived a different life prior to their calling: thief, warrior gone trader, warrior gone bard, ...) are provided with a gift, a special power adapted to their characters, to their roles. They hail from various regions and are to convince other peoples (like the dragons) that everyone has to take part in this war, because everyone's lives are at stake. The enemies will stop at nothing to obtain their goal: the eradication of the Great Forest, so that mankind can progress.

The sylphides, a sort of warrior faeries, act as one entity (as each thought, each scent, ... is picked up by all of them). Their population is very large, as they are the Forest's first defenders. The sylphides are also in direct contact with the plants and trees in the Forest.

No matter how heavy and bloody the war is, good vs evil is not always black and white. Some will change sides, for whatever reason. Others will change sides based on false pretences, false promises, by which they exclude themselves from both sides. With severe consequences. Each is also battling with his/her own feelings and emotions. Being chosen is not always a choice and comes with great responsibility.

As push comes to shove, some will see the light, see the error of their ways. As it turns out, the war against the Great Forest was a lure, so that the king of Seï could take the rest of his army - the group that didn't take part in the war, that didn't join forces with Evondia, Rym, Sélénir, ... - to expand his kingdom. Or, as Brain from Pinky and the Brain would say: try to take over the world! Luckily, one attentive king - who didn't really have much power as a neighbour and vassal - saw through the smokescreen and took out the power-hungry king; not in a fight, but by poising the other's drink during a friendly meeting in which the other explained his plans of world-domination.

It wouldn't be a good story if there wasn't an "all's well that ends well". There is, sort of. But both parties have suffered a great deal with many losses. And yes, for some the saying 'what goes around, comes around' applies. When all is done, a new cycle begins.

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'La Geste du Sixième Royaume' - la? Well, yes, see L'Internaute: une geste = a cycle of poems telling the tale of a hero's adventures (in this case, several heroes, eh, heralds) - is not only a thick brick, it's also a dense story. There are no chapters, but the focus shifts between the various characters (primary or secondary). It is therefore important to remain focused, although some aspects get repeated if you forgot who's who.

As someone else here wrote: there are many characters. And that's what is really missing: a who's who. An overview of the various characters and their roles. If there is an explanation of the various kingdoms, then adding a characters list would have taken a few extra pages.

However, Adrien Tomas wrote the story like a page-turner. Of course there are slower passages, which under other circumstances would have been truncated or cut out, but they allow the reader to be more immersed and experience (or imagine) what is going on.

That's also, in my opinion, one of the story's messages: magic and imagination are important in life, in all life. It's the stuff that makes things happen, that makes people do great things, together or alone. Nature is of vital importance for everyone. It's the basis of life and provides for everyone, not only produce, but also tranquillity, inspiration, ...

'La Geste du Sixième Royaume' is also about respect, respect for life, respect for one another. It's a book with a message that's more pertinent than ever, especially in the light of the last elections: the rise of far-right, nature losing ground (currently: forest fires in Africa, Brazil, ...) because of man's greed and hunger for "progress".

Heavily recommended reading! (don't worry, there's also a larger hardback of the book) ( )