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Coramonde #2
The Starfollowers of Coramonde
Gil MacDonald, soldier and exile in an alternate reality, must find Yardiff Bey, master wizard and archvillain. Bey has abducted Gil's friend and threatens to destroy this world of mystery and magic that the American has made his home. Coramonde's Prince Springbuck sends him south to the accursed lands of Shardishku-Salama, where Yardiff Bey waits to capture and torture him. With the comet Trailingsword hanging in the sky above, Springbuck sets out with his army to save Gil from an enemy that cannot be slain.
360 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 12, 1979
About the author
Brian Daley
55 books92 followersBrian was born in Englewood Hospital in Englewood, New Jersey on Dec. 22, 1947. A blizzard kept him and his mother at the hospital over Christmas, and the nurses sang "Away in a Manger" to them.
His middle name is Charles. He grew up in Rockleigh, NJ. His mother's name was Myra and his father's name was Charles. He has an older brother, David, and a younger sister, also named Myra. He had no children of his own, but he was always great with his two nieces and four nephews.
He went to Nathan Hale Elementary School in Norwood, NJ, and a consolidated High School - Northern Valley Regional High School in Old Tappan, NJ.
Brian loved to read, drive his '74 Corvette Stingray, spend summers with me on Martha's Vineyard, and travel to wild and exotic places like the jungles of Guatemala and Mexico, and the mountains of Nepal.
He said he wanted to write from an early age, about third grade. He also read a LOT of science fiction as a kid, and that inspired him.
After he graduated from high school in 1965 he joined the army and went to Vietnam for a year's tour of duty. Then he went to Berlin, Germany.
After the army he went to Jersey City State College, majoring in media. While attending college and working as a waiter at a local steak house, he also wrote his first novel, Doomfarers of Coromande. Del Rey Books accepted it and started him on his writing career. The editor picked Brian's manuscript out of the "slush" pile (unsolicited manuscripts) because it was the most neatly typed, but it wasn't accepted right away. The editor made Brian do a lot of re-writing.
When the first STAR WARS movie came out Brian saw it, and he was elated. He said he came out of the theater fundamentally changed. His editor asked which character he would like to write about for a movie-related novel. Brian said he picked Han Solo because Han was the only one who made a moral decision... he started out on the wrong side of the law, but joined with the good guys. And to tell you the truth, Brian was a whole lot like Han, a maverick.
He died of pancreatic cancer in February of 1996. He had just turned 49. He wrote the adaptation for National Public Radio drama THE RETURN OF THE JEDI while he was undergoing chemotherapy. He died at his house in Maryland the night the Jedi radio cast was toasting him at their wrap party, having finished the taping of the shows that day.
When they posted the notice of his death, messages began coming in from all over the world. The gist of them was that his passing created a "disturbance in the Force."
Brian Daley's first novel, The Doomfarers of Coramonde, was published on the first Del Rey list in 1977. It was an immediate success, and Brian went on to write its sequel, The Starfollowers of Coramonde, and many other successful novels: A Tapestry of Magics, three volumes of The Adventures of Hobart Floyt and Alacrity Fitzhugh, and, under the shared pseudonym 'Jack McKinney', ten and one half of the twenty-one Robotech novels. He first conceived of the complex GammaL.A.W. saga in Nepal, in 1984, and worked on its four volumes for the next twelve years, finishing it shortly before his death in 1996.
His middle name is Charles. He grew up in Rockleigh, NJ. His mother's name was Myra and his father's name was Charles. He has an older brother, David, and a younger sister, also named Myra. He had no children of his own, but he was always great with his two nieces and four nephews.
He went to Nathan Hale Elementary School in Norwood, NJ, and a consolidated High School - Northern Valley Regional High School in Old Tappan, NJ.
Brian loved to read, drive his '74 Corvette Stingray, spend summers with me on Martha's Vineyard, and travel to wild and exotic places like the jungles of Guatemala and Mexico, and the mountains of Nepal.
He said he wanted to write from an early age, about third grade. He also read a LOT of science fiction as a kid, and that inspired him.
After he graduated from high school in 1965 he joined the army and went to Vietnam for a year's tour of duty. Then he went to Berlin, Germany.
After the army he went to Jersey City State College, majoring in media. While attending college and working as a waiter at a local steak house, he also wrote his first novel, Doomfarers of Coromande. Del Rey Books accepted it and started him on his writing career. The editor picked Brian's manuscript out of the "slush" pile (unsolicited manuscripts) because it was the most neatly typed, but it wasn't accepted right away. The editor made Brian do a lot of re-writing.
When the first STAR WARS movie came out Brian saw it, and he was elated. He said he came out of the theater fundamentally changed. His editor asked which character he would like to write about for a movie-related novel. Brian said he picked Han Solo because Han was the only one who made a moral decision... he started out on the wrong side of the law, but joined with the good guys. And to tell you the truth, Brian was a whole lot like Han, a maverick.
He died of pancreatic cancer in February of 1996. He had just turned 49. He wrote the adaptation for National Public Radio drama THE RETURN OF THE JEDI while he was undergoing chemotherapy. He died at his house in Maryland the night the Jedi radio cast was toasting him at their wrap party, having finished the taping of the shows that day.
When they posted the notice of his death, messages began coming in from all over the world. The gist of them was that his passing created a "disturbance in the Force."
Brian Daley's first novel, The Doomfarers of Coramonde, was published on the first Del Rey list in 1977. It was an immediate success, and Brian went on to write its sequel, The Starfollowers of Coramonde, and many other successful novels: A Tapestry of Magics, three volumes of The Adventures of Hobart Floyt and Alacrity Fitzhugh, and, under the shared pseudonym 'Jack McKinney', ten and one half of the twenty-one Robotech novels. He first conceived of the complex GammaL.A.W. saga in Nepal, in 1984, and worked on its four volumes for the next twelve years, finishing it shortly before his death in 1996.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
December 30, 2010
I came across this in a hotel room, and surprised myself by reading it straight through :)
A thoroughly *fun* fantasy novel. It is actually the second of two books - I haven't read the first, though I'll have to keep an eye out for it. In the first a US soldier ends up in the alternate reality of these books. It is primarily his story. I won't even attempt to describe what is going on, but the characters are likeable, the plot fairly straightforward, the magic totally ridiculous and fun, a couple of battle scenes thrown in for good measure. A fast paced, well written, short enough (in a world of insanely long fantasy books) book that grabbed my attention and held it throughout.
A thoroughly *fun* fantasy novel. It is actually the second of two books - I haven't read the first, though I'll have to keep an eye out for it. In the first a US soldier ends up in the alternate reality of these books. It is primarily his story. I won't even attempt to describe what is going on, but the characters are likeable, the plot fairly straightforward, the magic totally ridiculous and fun, a couple of battle scenes thrown in for good measure. A fast paced, well written, short enough (in a world of insanely long fantasy books) book that grabbed my attention and held it throughout.
November 3, 2012
I read the first part this this book several times as it one of my all-time favorite fantasy books. This book, while not quite as fast paced as the first one, was a pretty good read. It even could stand on its own if one had not read Doomfarers of Coramonde.
February 13, 2019
An incredible fantasy series. My only regret it that it was only 2 books long. I loved all the awesome characters. Highly recommended
March 18, 2024
This was a strong follow up to the Doomfarers of Coramonde. It felt as if Daley toned down the use of a thesaurus but still wrote with a sprawling and descriptive vocabulary. It is a shame he had no more time in life to revisit this world.
The book is much more standard fantasy than its predecessor. While Daley’s style of visiting multiple factions between chapters/sections occurring at the same time in Doomfarers still exists here, it is mainly saved for the final third of the book. After a brief opening period, the majority of the book follows the travels of Gil MacDonald. I sense Daley projected much of himself into this character, and it makes sense that he never felt a need to revisit Coramonde after finishing this book. Whatever purpose Daley grasped for after serving in the military, it seems he found alongside Gil’s triumph. While the ending left room for Coramonde, the characters felt fully developed and left in a nice place of closure after 361 pages. I hope Daley had that at the end as well. Thanks for the chance to visit this world.
The book is much more standard fantasy than its predecessor. While Daley’s style of visiting multiple factions between chapters/sections occurring at the same time in Doomfarers still exists here, it is mainly saved for the final third of the book. After a brief opening period, the majority of the book follows the travels of Gil MacDonald. I sense Daley projected much of himself into this character, and it makes sense that he never felt a need to revisit Coramonde after finishing this book. Whatever purpose Daley grasped for after serving in the military, it seems he found alongside Gil’s triumph. While the ending left room for Coramonde, the characters felt fully developed and left in a nice place of closure after 361 pages. I hope Daley had that at the end as well. Thanks for the chance to visit this world.
October 14, 2022
This was a more engaged continuation of the first installment. It was an interesting concept that should have launched into at least two more books in this world: how do modern concepts play out in a fantasy setting that mirrors the feudalism of our history? To play with fantasy tropes. As it stands, however, this duology ends forever. It was interesting while it lasted. I just wish this author visited this world more during his life. Guess he said what he had to say as far as his initial writing goes.
September 2, 2018
One of the time-honored genres of science fiction and fantasy literature involves men from Earth who suddenly find themselves on other worlds, whether through super-science, magic, or mysticism, rather than visiting as, say, a “normal” space traveler. The most famous early example would be Edgar Rice Burroughs’ “John Carter of Mars” series, but among others are Lin Carter’s “Green Star” books and Andre Norton’s “Witch World” series. In the modern age, the popularity of games such as Dungeons and Dragons in the late 70s and 80s helped revive the genre, with books such as Norton’s “Quag Keep,” Joel Rosenberg’s “Guardians of the Flame” series (especially book 1), and Brian Daley’s “Coramonde” books.
“Starfollowers of Coramonde” is the second of two books, sequel to “Doomfarers of Coramonde,” which introduces us to Gil McDonald, an American soldier fighting in Vietnam. One moment, McDonald and his armored personnel carrier crew are fighting an enemy ambush, and the next they’re in combat with a dragon. (Spoiler: APCs beat dragons. Barely.) McDonald and his men learn they’ve been summoned by magic to Coramonde, a kingdom under grave threat from the evil wizard Yardiff Bey. McDonald chooses to remain behind in the world and helps to restore the rightful ruler, Prince Springbuck, to his throne, foiling Yardiff Bey’s plot. “Doomfarers” ends with Yardiff Bey escaping and taking with him as prisoner Dunstan the Berserker, Gil’s friend.
“Starfollowers” picks up soon thereafter, with Gil, Springbuck, and their friends and allies deciding to take the war to Yardiff Bey and his masters. McDonald and a small party head west to return a magic sword and an infant heir to the land of Vegana, currently under siege by the enemy, as well as to investigate what it is that Yardiff Bey seeks in a long-dead wizard’s writings. Meanwhile, Prince Springbuck forgoes responding to the attacks on his own land and instead leads an army to the lands of the enemy and the city of Shardisku-Salama, wherein reside Yardiff Bey’s masters.
And therein lies the problem with “Starfollowers of Coramonde.” After that set up, the book becomes one long pursuit and series of battles leading to a climactic confrontation in front of the city, itself. The large cast of new characters is thinly drawn, and it is assumed that the reader has all the background information he needs on existing characters from reading the first book. Thus there is little to capture one’s interest and give one a reason to care if one is reading “Starfollowers” first. Without the ground laid in “Doomfarers,” this becomes a rather standard fantasy quest.
But it is well done and enjoyable nonetheless. Mr. Daley showed promise as a writer, even with the occasional tendency toward a Gygaxian abuse of the thesaurus, and it’s a shame he died relatively early in his career. His setting in Coramonde is interesting, and I would like to have seen it developed further. And, similar to other books of that time, I have to wonder if this was the author’s home D&D setting. If so, I would have enjoyed playing there.
I read the book in Kindle format and was disappointed in the quality of the file. There are simply too many typos that could have been fixed with decent proofreading. Not enough to spoil the book or make it impossible to read, but enough to be an annoyance. The publisher should issued a copy-edited revision.
On a scale of one to five, I give “Starfollowers of Coramonde” a straight three: enjoyable, but best read if one reads “Doomfarers” first. However, I recommend just that: buy both, and sit back for a good late-summer’s read.
“Starfollowers of Coramonde” is the second of two books, sequel to “Doomfarers of Coramonde,” which introduces us to Gil McDonald, an American soldier fighting in Vietnam. One moment, McDonald and his armored personnel carrier crew are fighting an enemy ambush, and the next they’re in combat with a dragon. (Spoiler: APCs beat dragons. Barely.) McDonald and his men learn they’ve been summoned by magic to Coramonde, a kingdom under grave threat from the evil wizard Yardiff Bey. McDonald chooses to remain behind in the world and helps to restore the rightful ruler, Prince Springbuck, to his throne, foiling Yardiff Bey’s plot. “Doomfarers” ends with Yardiff Bey escaping and taking with him as prisoner Dunstan the Berserker, Gil’s friend.
“Starfollowers” picks up soon thereafter, with Gil, Springbuck, and their friends and allies deciding to take the war to Yardiff Bey and his masters. McDonald and a small party head west to return a magic sword and an infant heir to the land of Vegana, currently under siege by the enemy, as well as to investigate what it is that Yardiff Bey seeks in a long-dead wizard’s writings. Meanwhile, Prince Springbuck forgoes responding to the attacks on his own land and instead leads an army to the lands of the enemy and the city of Shardisku-Salama, wherein reside Yardiff Bey’s masters.
And therein lies the problem with “Starfollowers of Coramonde.” After that set up, the book becomes one long pursuit and series of battles leading to a climactic confrontation in front of the city, itself. The large cast of new characters is thinly drawn, and it is assumed that the reader has all the background information he needs on existing characters from reading the first book. Thus there is little to capture one’s interest and give one a reason to care if one is reading “Starfollowers” first. Without the ground laid in “Doomfarers,” this becomes a rather standard fantasy quest.
But it is well done and enjoyable nonetheless. Mr. Daley showed promise as a writer, even with the occasional tendency toward a Gygaxian abuse of the thesaurus, and it’s a shame he died relatively early in his career. His setting in Coramonde is interesting, and I would like to have seen it developed further. And, similar to other books of that time, I have to wonder if this was the author’s home D&D setting. If so, I would have enjoyed playing there.
I read the book in Kindle format and was disappointed in the quality of the file. There are simply too many typos that could have been fixed with decent proofreading. Not enough to spoil the book or make it impossible to read, but enough to be an annoyance. The publisher should issued a copy-edited revision.
On a scale of one to five, I give “Starfollowers of Coramonde” a straight three: enjoyable, but best read if one reads “Doomfarers” first. However, I recommend just that: buy both, and sit back for a good late-summer’s read.
June 16, 2014
Sequel to The Doomfarers of Coramonde. Whereas the first book had an interesting twist of bringing Vietnam War era soldiers and their armored personnel carrier into a fantasy realm, this sequel, despite the continued story of the previous books US Army protagonist, is more of a standard sword and sorcery yarn. As sword and sorcery yarns go, its pretty good and I enjoyed it.
November 13, 2022
The sequel to the Doomrfarers for Coramonde, a book I read as a teenager and loved. Didn't even realize there was a sequel until recently when I rediscovered the original book in a book sale and did some searching. To be honest I had totally forgotten the title of the book until I saw it but remembered it fondly. A fantasy story where a unit of Vietnam soldiers are transported, complete with APC, to the world of Coramonde where a battle for the throne is raging. They are stuck in this world until they rescue a sorceress from a palace in Hell and end up embroiled in the battle.
The sequel continues the story, this time with only one of the US soldiers from the original, as the war for Coramonde continues. I enjoyed the sequel although it was a bit slow to get into however it definitely delivered in the end. Worth reading.
The sequel continues the story, this time with only one of the US soldiers from the original, as the war for Coramonde continues. I enjoyed the sequel although it was a bit slow to get into however it definitely delivered in the end. Worth reading.
February 16, 2023
The first novel in this series - Doomfarers of Coramonde - can be read as a stand alone but Starfollowers follows hot on its heels and completes the long story arc. If you enjoyed the first novel, this is more of the same but better. And because I hate a never ending series, the fact that the story is wrapped up here has a lot of appeal.
As before the pace of the story is breakneck, the characters are vivid and the action is non-stop. Daley's writing is very visual - if ever a story begged for a graphic adaptation, this is it. You can almost see the frames as you read. Daley never extended the series and I imagine him so bursting with ideas that he was ready to move on. There is no more Coramonde but if you enjoy the style I can highly recommend Daley's Tapestry of Magic.
As before the pace of the story is breakneck, the characters are vivid and the action is non-stop. Daley's writing is very visual - if ever a story begged for a graphic adaptation, this is it. You can almost see the frames as you read. Daley never extended the series and I imagine him so bursting with ideas that he was ready to move on. There is no more Coramonde but if you enjoy the style I can highly recommend Daley's Tapestry of Magic.
August 27, 2020
Second book is a worthy sequel
The battle of good versus evil has moved from the normal balance toward the forces of evil.
But a man from another dimension, earth’s dimension, has been summoned. Can a Vietnam vet thrown a wrench in the plans the forces of evil have set into motion? Gil Macdonald finds himself on a planet where magic real.
The story and writing are marvelous. Read this book. It is old but so is Shakespeare. I envy everyone who is reading the book for the first time. Y’all are in for a treat.
The battle of good versus evil has moved from the normal balance toward the forces of evil.
But a man from another dimension, earth’s dimension, has been summoned. Can a Vietnam vet thrown a wrench in the plans the forces of evil have set into motion? Gil Macdonald finds himself on a planet where magic real.
The story and writing are marvelous. Read this book. It is old but so is Shakespeare. I envy everyone who is reading the book for the first time. Y’all are in for a treat.
March 3, 2018
I liked this better than the first one, though I read the first one last year sometime and my memory of it is fuzzy. This one seemed to have more strong women characters, which I appreciated. Daley kept a lot of narrative balls in the air with this one, and it worked out for him. I was skeptical of how much ammo Gil had, but eh.
December 28, 2022
This book started out slow for me. The author does a great job of describing battles, but struggles with basic story line. That explains why my former Marine and retired SRT commander hubby recommended it to me -- he liked the action. The fighting is vivid. But the story went the way of a story line in porn flicks or a musical; the narrative isjust an excuse for setting up the next "good part".
July 29, 2019
Read this series as a kid, and never forgot it.
November 25, 2015
I should have read this book more closely in time to when I read the first installment of the Coramonde duology. By the time I picked up Starfollowers I had forgotten who a lot of the characters were apart from Gil and Springbuck. There are so many 'principle' characters among the various peoples of Coramonde who join the epic army marching south against Bey that some of them got jumbled in my old brain. Also, while I appreciate Daley's mastery of the English language from a conversational point of view, from an actually reading the book point of view, good grief, what delicious, and unknown, goodies await the reader! At first I was writing down new (to me) words for look up later but that exercise got tedious and I just rolled with each new vocabulary lesson, typically one per page or two pages! Mechanics aside, the book did seem more disjointed that the first. Interesting to me was that the true villains (behind the known villains) are merely introduced in the first chapter and then not seen again until the very end, yet the pawns (both good and evil) end up being the ones having to duke it out. I suppose there's nothing wrong with that but the 5 gods ended up being more of an "eh" at the end rather than something truly feared.
I read this book and the 1st installment out of a sense of morbid loyalty to Daley, may he rest in peace, from my absolute love of his writing of the scripts of the Star Wars radio dramatizations. I picked these two up on a whim when I realized Daley had written them. I'm glad I tried out his epic fantasy experiment but I'm also relieved there were only two of these, as the characters were so varied and scattered and shared so much page-time (especially in 2nd book) that I never really became attached to any of them. I'm glad I tried this series but given it took me 6 months to motivate myself to finish reading the second one I think it is safe to say I'm glad there's not a third in the series!
I read this book and the 1st installment out of a sense of morbid loyalty to Daley, may he rest in peace, from my absolute love of his writing of the scripts of the Star Wars radio dramatizations. I picked these two up on a whim when I realized Daley had written them. I'm glad I tried out his epic fantasy experiment but I'm also relieved there were only two of these, as the characters were so varied and scattered and shared so much page-time (especially in 2nd book) that I never really became attached to any of them. I'm glad I tried this series but given it took me 6 months to motivate myself to finish reading the second one I think it is safe to say I'm glad there's not a third in the series!
October 6, 2022
This one could have been drawn out a little longer, the ending seemed rushed. Still it was pretty damn good. And if it wasn't based on somebody's D&D campaign, I'd be really surprised.
*EDIT*
Wow, I just read in his bio that he was also "Jack McKinney", whose Robotech novels I enjoyed as a kid- I guess I owe him more than I realized!
*EDIT*
Wow, I just read in his bio that he was also "Jack McKinney", whose Robotech novels I enjoyed as a kid- I guess I owe him more than I realized!
February 2, 2015
This really isn't well written. The whole book seems to be a bunch of dialogue exercises loosely connected by backstory or exposition. It's too bad because I had quite a bit of nostalgia for this and the pervious of the pair. Like the first book, this one would have benefitted from a more solid outline and thoughts about causes and effect.
September 7, 2013
Been a long time since I finished the book, but remember it fondly.
November 11, 2014
grade D, no date listed
December 22, 2015
I enjoyed this as much as the first volume, but was dismayed that the author never wrote any more in this series.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews