– From Baryon Magazine
In the land of Madryn, the four races are forced to work together to defeat the evil darklord Lorthas. The elves, the humans, and the Garun'ah fought courageously at the final battle when the mages erected the Boundary to contain Lorthas. The barrier is a magical mountain range with only one entrance, a portal guarded by a garrison of troops. A millennium later, the segregated races keep totally to themselves with the worst criminals sent into the Boundary. Jeran, a young boy who lives on a farm near the Boundary, befriends a runaway slave, Dahr. The twosome share many happy adventures together before two outlaws thought to be in the barrier attack their farm. Jeran's uncle gives him a message to take to the king telling him the barrier is weakening, and the two boys do his bidding. They meet allies along the way who help them get in to see the king but even after their message is delivered, Jeran and Dahr's adventures are only beginning. Path of Glory is epic fantasy in the tradition of The Lord of the Rings and the Shannara series. The protagonists are two young people who must learn about their different heritage if they hope to use it in the upcoming war. No one will be in a funk after reading this novel except having to wait for Bret M. Funk's next "Boundary's Fall" novel Sword of Honor, expected in bookstores in late fall.


– From Dark Moon Rising Magazine
The Boundary of Madryn has stood for 1,000 years. A feat of great Magic, the Boundary ended the long MageWar and has kept the Darklord Lorthas imprisoned, But with the end of the MageWar came the end to the truce between the four races of Madryn.

The Boundary was supposed to last for all time, but now it's Magic is weakening, and the Darklord and his servants are threatening to destroy the world once again....

And so begins Bret M. Funk's epic Boundary's Fall series.

After a prologue that explains what the Boundary is, and how it came to be, the true story of Path of Glory (Book One of Boundary's Fall) begins with young Jeran Odara spying a strange boy lying as though dead by the water. As Jeran sneaks up to get a closer look, he tumbles to the ground below, and is confronted with the stranger. Jeran meets the startled boy, Dahr, and learns that his strange position is an attempt to catch fish.

Jeran and Dahr, as boys are want to do, quickly become friends as they catch fish, and Jeran invites Dahr back to his village, and his farm. Dahr receives strange looks from the villagers, but is comforted by Jeran's words that the village is not used to strangers. Once they reach Jeran's farm, the young boy asks his Uncle Aryn if Dahr can stay. The old man is grateful to have another hand, and a playmate for his young nephew and so he quickly agrees. Seasons pass as Dahr learns the ways of the farm, listens to Uncle Aryn's stories, and becomes a member of the Odara household.

All goes well until one night, a wounded solider appears at Aryn's door with the message: "The Bull...escaped." These words propel Jeran and Dahr on an adventure to find the King of Alrendria to warn him of this terrible news. On the way they meet friends, and fight with powerful foes as the Bull and his army pursue them. Barely escaping with their lives, Jeran and Dahr eventually make it to the capital of Kaper - and to the King.

It is here where they meet Martyn, a boy their own age - and as the years pass they become the best of friends. As young men, the three friends must now go on a journey in order to alert the other kingdoms and races of the dangers facing them if the Boundary is to fall. Loyalty, honor, duty and friendship are tested as these young men embark on their epic quest. Can they succeed? Dare they fail? The fate of the world, it seems, is now in their young hands....

Path of Glory was a novel that I greatly enjoyed. This epic fantasy, this good versus evil story, is told mostly from the point of view of these three young men. It gives the reader a more intimate feeling: the story becomes personal. I feel involved with these three men's lives, and realize that it is them that must undertake these grand journeys, both to distant lands, and within themselves if the world is to be saved. I quickly became very engrossed with these characters and their relationships: their wants, needs and desires.

I also like the idea that the personal good versus personal evil is also important to the author. The story is not just focused on the grand evil, but on lesser evils and how they affect the characters. And, also, how things important to one character affect the other characters. This is a good break from epic fantasy that I've read ala the likes of grand authors such as Robert Jordan - whose world has become so large, so epic, that whole books have gone by without mention of at least one of the main characters.

The story was wonderful; it kept me glued to the book, turning pages. Several nights I was up way past my bedtime in order to just get to the next chapter, and once I got to the next chapter, I tried to convince myself that "just one more" wouldn't hurt. It takes a really good book to keep me that enthralled.

However, Path of Glory was not perfect. There were a few small flaws which should have been fixed; typos, and other slight editorial oversights that should have been given more attention. I understand that this is the first book published by Tyrannosaurus Press, and that mistakes will be made, but I really think they could use more attention to detail in this department - I hope the next installment, and future books from Tyrannosaurus Press are better proofread.

The only major problem I had with the book was the lack of screen time for Martyn. Jeran and Dahr are the main characters through the first part of the book. With the addition of Martyn in the second half, I had hoped to learn more about him, and I was disappointed. I hope this will be fixed in future installments of the Boundary's Fall series. I'd like to know more about Martyn and feel like he's more a part of the main characters rather than just a large secondary character.

I highly recommend Path of Glory to anyone who loves epic or high fantasy, or who just loves great characters. The story's focuses on the values of love, loyalty, honor and discipline: high values for anyone to understand and grasp. If you're looking for quality reading material, look no farther than Path of Glory. I would also highly recommend it for summer reading material for older children. If your older readers have already finished Harry Potter, Path of Glory is another wonderful story about three friends who have secret pasts and struggle against the evils in the world. Fantasy lovers should jump on this story. I praise Funk for drawing his readers into such a wonderful, colorful, rich world and for writing about characters that are intriguing and, above all else (regardless of their actual race), human.


– From Library Journal
When their village is destroyed by a pair of warlords who have escaped the supposedly impenetrable Boundary that once protected the land from those responsible for the MageWar, orphan Jeran Odara and his new-found friend, the ex-slave Dahr, find themselves chosen to carry a warning to the king. Pursued by their enemies and uncertain of trusting others, Jeran and Dahr form a close bond of friendship despite the secrets each youth carries within his heart. Funk's first novel launches an epic fantasy that combines a vivid back-history with strong characterization to produce a memorable tale that belongs in most fantasy collections.


– From Midwest Book Review
Book One of Bret M. Funk's "Boundary's Fall" series, Path of Glory is a high fantasy about Jeran (an orphan raised by his uncle on a farm near the Boundary) and Dahr (an outcast hiding from his past), two men who find that they must brave a perilous and uncertain journey in order to warn their king of an impending darkness, as the boundary that has sealed the imprisoned Darklord gradually weakens. The four major races of the world, once in alliance, are now squabbling, and new enemies seek to exacerbate the chaos to their own ends and benefits. Path of Glory is an entertaining epic and a deftly written saga of hope, determination, and courage.


– From MyShelf.com
If you are a fan of Tolkeinesque fantasy with evil Dark Lords, virtuous farmer's boys, arrogant elves and magic spells, then this is going to be up your alley. It also has the added bonus of some good characterization, which hardly makes it unique but certainly gives it a head start. The Boundary was raised nearly a thousand years ago to keep the Dark Lord and his minions imprisoned, and every now and again the odd criminal is pushed through, including in very recent times the dreaded princes of Ra Tachan, the Durange brothers. Nearby live Jeran and his friend Dahr on a farm, but their peaceful boyhood is shattered when the brothers get loose and come looking for the key figures behind their imprisonment. Now it is time for the boys to grow up fast, and the beginning of a lot of adventures.

This is one of those books where you really feel that you know the protagonists by the end, and which tends to roll happily on, even when there isn't anything much happening. Like nearly all fantasies (and many other novels) it could stand a little editing, but not all that much. The author has plenty to say about growing up, racial tolerance, the values of courage and the ties of friendship, but not in an overly obvious way; I tended to notice it more when I had finished the book rather than while I was reading it. Many of the characters are "gray" rather than white, giving them a three-dimensional realism, but the villains tend to be all bad as far as I can tell; maybe there are surprises here in the later books. At some points, the same story is told from the viewpoints of the three main characters (all male, which perhaps isn't the best way to appeal to both sexes of readers) which tends to be repetitive and not work as well as it might, but this is a minor gripe which shouldn't spoil what is actually a fine and thrilling fantasy novel. Would I read the second installment? I can't wait, and the cliffhanger ending is only part of the reason…


– From Quantum Muse Magazine
Path of Glory is both familiar and different. It's familiar, a medievalish land with Elves and magic, warriors, kings, that's the familiar part. Fortunately, this tale is more than another rip off of Tolkien. There are races that never appeared in Middle Earth. Not just renamed, but actually different. For that alone, Funk deserves credit. It's not easy to write fantasy and break new ground.

The tale begins with a prologue set many long years before the main body of the story. Dark wizards had plunged the world in a war that had lasted three centuries. In desperation, a final alliance is formed between the races of, men, elves, and Garun'ah. The wizards, under the guidance of the Magi Aemon, erected a physical and magical barrier. The Dark Wizard Lorthas was trapped in a land from that point forward known as Ael Shataq, the prison.

The main body of the story concerns the two boys, Jeran and Dahr. Jeran, an orphan, had been raised by his Aryn, his uncle. One day, Jeran discovers a large raggedly dressed boy, Dahr, who proves to be an escaped slave. Jeran's uncle is persuaded to take the lad in and Dahr and Jeran grow up the closest of friends.

Path of Glory follows a tried and true convention. The boys are more than they seem. Dahr turns out not to be a large human, but a member of the race known as Garun'ah. Jeran is the orphaned son of a noble family. His uncle is a great military leader, now retired. He decided to raise his nephew in a rural village, deeming it a good place to raise a boy.

Their rustic life is disrupted by the attack of Tylor Durange, known as the Bull. The Bull had been exiled to Ael Shataq, from which escape was thought impossible. Aryn is captured, but Jeran and Dahr escape and are commanded by Jeran's uncle to go to the king and inform him about the unexpected developments. If the prison is "leaky" no telling what may happen next. Could the dark wizard himself be in danger of escaping?

Just to make things interesting, the Bull's and Jeran's families have been involved in a long running feud. For the Bull, it's personal. Jeran attempted to save his uncle with a spectacularly long archery shot. Unfortunately, the Bull's son accidentally took the arrow meant for his father and died.

There are wizards, secret political maneuvers, traitors, romance, fighting, slavers -in short, enough action to keep things flowing along nicely. Yet, in a way, this first book just sets the table. While the young men have grown from youths to young adults, their journey of self discovery has just begun. The young men have to come to grips with their special abilities and powers.

Funk slips in plenty of back story, in the form of tales and educational history lessons to the young boys. It does round out the world, making is seem more like a real place and not just a fantasy construct. Funk knows how to build a world. It has politics and economics; people have to make a living.

Wizards and magic were once better thought of than at the time of the lads' age. Wizards are incredibly long lived, a side effect of being a magic user. Over thousands of years, they can see how the record of events gets twisted, tales corrupted, and facts scrambled. Unfortunately for them, magic is now held in superstitious dread. Their city had been destroyed and the survivors scattered. They are in a weakened state, just when it appears their ancient enemy may escape.

The alliance that imprisoned the dark wizard is no more. The races have drifted apart. Old animosities have resurfaced. The help of the Elves is needed, yet few trust them. It doesn't help that the Elves, in ancient days, had enslaved the other races. Something like that is not forgotten. The other races seem to have gone their own ways, occupied with their own concerns.

Funk often tells the same scene through the eyes of different participants. While the event is the same, the interpretation of it is often wildly different. This writing technique often illustrates the misconceptions people labor under. This changing point of view may annoy some readers, but I enjoyed it immensely.

Yes, yes, yes, but is the story any good? Yeah, it's good. I read more books than I review, as I hate to give bad reviews. It's too darn painful, for all involved. One well known author, no - not Robert Jordon, currently has a fantasy series that buries the reader in jargon to the point of pain. I'm not into pain. Then he adds to his sins by leaving plot holes you could drive a truck through.

Funk, though a young author, avoids these pitfalls. Better yet, I actually like his characters. They are good guys. Some people think it passe to have actual heros, but I happen to like them. I need someone to root for.

Path of Glory get the series off to a good start. If the following books keep the promise of this first one, then this will certainly be a series to follow.


– From Scifantastic Magazine
Path of Glory follows young heroes Jeran and Dahr as they make their own way towards glory, on an unasked for mission to deliver an urgent message to Mathis, King of Alrendria. The message? That the Boundary protecting Alrendria from the evil Darklord Lorthas is falling. And the whole of Madryn is in terrible danger.

The initial quest plot is a tried and tested fantasy formula and one used in Kristen Britain’s Green Rider, so Path of Glory is in good company. Many traditional sword and sorcery fantasy readers ought to be engaged by the premise of this adventure.

Path of Glory is Funk’s first novel and that shows. At times, his prose is overemotional and unnecessarily protracted. Despite that fact, one cannot help but be drawn into Jeran and Dahr’s world of danger and magic. After the first 100 pages of this 500+ fantasy, I was hooked.

In the first half of the book, Jeran and Dahr are but young children, brought together by Fate and allowed to remain that way thanks to Jeran’s Uncle Aryn’s unofficial adoption of Dahr. Straight away, it is apparent that Dahr is of a different “kind” than the residents of Keryn’s Rest, although Funk cleverly keeps you guessing as to his true nature for another few hundred pages.

Equally, it becomes obvious through Aryn’s visits from Lord Talbot that he is in no way a mere farmer. Consequently, the reader becomes aware that Jeran has his own secrets, though as yet, they are unbeknownst to him.

One fateful night, a wounded Guardsmen rides into Aryn’s farm, bearing pressing news for the attention of King Mathis: the wicked Tylor Durange, thought to be imprisoned by the Boundary, is free.

When Durange’s army storms Keryn’s Rest it falls to Jeran and Dahr to complete the Guardsman’s task. What follows is a treacherous journey which sees two children survive against all the odds, evading cunning tyrants Tylor and his evil brother Salos’ (the Bull and Scorpion of Ra Tachan). Aided only by a pair of feared and revered Magi, Jeran and Dahr soon begin to discover the secrets within themselves.

In the second part of the novel we rejoin Jeran and Dahr, now young men, as they embark upon a new quest to inform the Elves of the impending threat not only from Tylor and Salos, but the Darklord himself.

Funk’s writing gets better throughout the book and I would imagine that the sequel, Sword of Honor, will continue this trend. Although the prose does lack some maturity at this stage, that is not only befitting for Path of Glory’s adolescent protagonists, but it is also part of the charm of the novel.

In my opinion, Path of Glory marks a good start to what should be a great career for Funk.


– From SFRevu (www.SFRevu.com)
Just as his characters must each follow their own path to become adults, first time author Bret Funk also sets up a challenging road ahead for himself. This is because his debut novel, Path of Glory, is setting a high standard to maintain. I was very impressed with the way this story pulls you in and keeps you turning the pages. As with most five hundred plus page novels, there are a few lulls, but not as many as you might expect and they never last very long.

As the first in a series, the author had to set up his entire universe and the main characters that will be taking us along on their journeys. Funk does this wonderfully. He manages to describe the world of Jeran, Dahr, and the others with creativity and color. He also makes the reader invest themselves emotionally in the characters. There were times where you were compelled to go on to the next chapter to see how they’d fare. In a welcome twist, Funk turns many of the chapters into cliffhangers, but does not end the book that way. Instead he relies on the bond you’ve developed with his universe and writing style to carry the readers on to the future.

I thoroughly enjoyed the way in which each of the characters was developed, each bringing a bit of personality to the story. It didn’t seem as though the primary protagonists were cookie cutter types, but unique individuals who each told a slightly different story. The author even goes over certain events as seen through the eyes of each character, which really lets you get into the psyche of them all rather than being limited to the viewpoint of a single narrator.

There were certain parts of the story that reminded me of Jack Whyte’s Camulod Chronicles as the boys go through their travels and are mentored into future leaders. This doesn’t hold true everywhere, but flickered in and out throughout the story. As the story progresses you are able to see the boys being molded by multiple mentors, each shaping a different range of attributes. Perhaps this is one of the explanations for why the boys are not simple black versus white heroes. Funk is able to touch on some of their weaknesses, which in turn make them more three-dimensional. The flip side of that is while the antagonists are most certainly evil, they seem to add to the story as more than just foils.

Bret Funk deals with his created universe in a way that slowly brings the reader along. The entire dynamic is not thrust upon you up front, but developed in a way that aids the story. This mixes in a good bit of politics as well as race and class issues. It is interesting to note the interplay between the races of Madryn, as well as those between the various human kingdoms therein. Standing out from many other tales of fantasy is the way in which the author deals with the subject of magic. Rather than a fire and brimstone school of magic, he exhibits the influence of somebody who grew up in the past two decades. I won’t give away the inner workings, but suffice it to say that at times you are waiting for Obi Wan Kenobi (Alec Guiness version) to add his ghostly explanations to the narrative.

Path of Glory is a captivating tale in which you follow Jeran and his close friends on their journey from boys, to men, and ultimately to leaders of men. The voice is fresh and the story is one that keeps you involved. I would recommend Funk’s work, and look forward to the next installment.


– From Weedhopper Press
Path of Glory, by Bret M. Funk, has all the clichés: reclusive Elves, powerful magicians, and long-forgotten evil in a pre-industrial society. But if you thought the classic fantasy novel had nothing left to offer, think again. Told mainly from the intimate perspective of two intriguing, three-dimensional characters, Funk puts a realistic and thought-provoking spin on the typical sword-and-sorcery tale. This first book in the Boundary's Fall series combines modern prose and sensibilities with the epic storylines of Tolkienesque fantasy.

The story follows Jeran, a farm boy living with his retired-military uncle, and Dahr, an escaped slave whom Jeran's family befriends and unofficially adopts. When two former warlords escape from a magical prison, Jeran and Dahr find themselves saddled with the duty of reporting the news to the king. They are aided by two Magi, who help Jeran discover his illustrious family roots and his own magical abilities.

Jeran's ambivalence regarding his magical "gift" is one of many double-edged topics in Path of Glory, and it adds a degree of thought and relevance that few fantasy writers even consider. Magi are responsible for most of the civilization's greatest accomplishments, yet they are resented for their power and have been hunted nearly to extinction. The mysterious Elves, while revered as wise and nearly immortal, have both helped humanity and enslaved them at various times in their history. The king of Jeran's land must cope with bickering politicians and taxes before he can worry about the decay of a millennia-old magical Boundary. Not many fantasy novels discuss the economic disadvantages of tariffs, but Funk avoids Star Trek preachiness by introducing questions, not answers, and leaving the reader to draw his own conclusions.

In fact, just as with real bureaucracy, years pass before the various countries and races gear up for the impending war reported by Jeran and Dahr. The story rejoins the boys, now young men, as they embark on a diplomatic mission to the Elves–the first Elf-human encounter in over a hundred years. The friendship is shared by a third, the young prince Martyn, who hasn't quite figured out the balance between authority and responsibility. The journey along the title Path serves as a test of strength and loyalty, especially when Dahr is forced to choose between his sworn duty and his lifelong hatred of slavery. The book ends just as the party enters the Elves' domain, leaving the rest of the story maddeningly untold until the next installment is published.

This novel is definitely a character-centered work; events unfold in an episodic fashion, but the main storyline barely gets beyond setup in this first entry of the series. Instead, we experience the characters' everyday life. Dahr's knack with animals and Martyn's addiction to flirtation are demonstrated in numerous character-building scenes. The writing is not nearly as concise as one expects; scenes can exist simply for atmosphere and entertainment, but the witty dialogue among Jeran, Martyn, and Dahr keeps boredom from setting in. The writing style wavers somewhat between archaic formalism and modern slang, but taken as a whole it's a fast read and doesn't get bogged down in purple prose. The whole novel has a warmth to it that is atypical of story-driven fantasy and SF; characters don't just exist to fill a plot point, they have their good and bad points that grow on you over time. The strength of Funk's writing is his ability to evoke sympathy for the characters; you are drawn in to their struggles without really noticing, and putting the book down becomes more difficult each time.

However, there's more to Path of Glory than guilty pleasure. The author has obviously taken great pains to weave a history of his world, and the tales of warriors and noble sacrifices will satiate even the most hard-core fantasy reader. The descriptions of controlling and using magic are creative and evocative on their own, but the passages truly come alive in the context of Jeran's experiences. The bond between the reader and the characters heightens the drama of every situation, holding the reader's interest throughout every extraordinary revelation.

Path of Glory makes the classic fantasy approachable for every reader, even those turned off by fantasy series in the past. I'd recommend it for anyone interested in seeing down-to-earth characters coping with larger-than-life events.