Bernhard Hennen - The Elves. At home in the world of fantasy, this 900-page work starts off with a bang! The author does not waste time on clichés or conventional tension building: from page one on the reader is hijacked to a world of elves, trolls, sorcerers, monsters and seemingly all-too-insignificant men. And yet, it is precisely a man who is responsible for every evil existant and, at the same time, is to become the saviour and idol for an entire age. Two elves and a man are called upon to conquer a demon, to save their true loves and save an entire world from destruction. Even casual readers are pulled ever deeper into a realm full of overwhelming beauty and unparalleled cruelty where battles are fought and secrets revealed. Parallel events develop into two main plot lines which in the end climax in a crescendo of triumph and tragedy. In the course of the book, "The Elves" (Die Elfen) grows into a skilfully multifaceted fantasy spectacle addressing themes which could not be more diverse: spanning from war, death - even brutality -to loss, love, trust and friendship. In the end, after 900 adventurous pages, the reader is impatient to know: what happens next? What of other heroes appearing in this epic? The answers are found in Hennen's subsequent novel "Elf Winter" (Elfenwinter) whose story runs parallel to events in "The Elves" and where seemingly unimportant characters are suddenly thrust into the limelight, live their own adventures and become figures every bit as heroic. But how? Well, that's another story… All those familiar with Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" who enjoy escaping "real life" and love to dream, will never get over Hennen's extraordinary tale.