Wilbur Arron in his 'Laughing Gods' -- the second book in the trilogy -- has given a good mix of fantasy, concepts and necessary ingredients, thus making it into a very good story. Well-portrayed situations and apt characterizations of protagonists and antagonists with brilliant plans outsmarting each other make it effective. The deceptive plot schemes by the antagonists and the dramatic plot twists are interesting. It just got better and better as I kept reading.
Alexio Sopholus is authentically portrayed as a powerful mage. He just wants to lead a very simple life with a singular aim to protect his friends, though saddened that his meritorious deeds to save his homeland were denounced by his ruler and Brotherhood of Mages.
Alex never relinquishes his responsibility to protect his State, his people and forest-friends against all challenges posed by his enemies. Wilbur has maintained the continuity of this core theme. I remembered a famous line from 'The story of my experiments with truth' of Gandhi -- "All his talks had referenced only to the good of the country and were absolutely free from any trace of untruth or insincerity."
A military onslaught by the barbarians forces Alex to undertake an ambassador role, to seek aid from the king of a distant land. There he faces numerous challenges, multitudes of conflicts and complicated situations. He faces political betrayals and cruel realities. His life is threatened. He has to identify the true enemies and outsmart them. He is compelled to make frightening decisions. After thwarting such attempts when he arrives back home, he finds the dangers to his homeland are much deeper. He becomes vulnerable to strange threats from unexpected enemies. He does get extraordinary powers to protect his fraternity but how is he going to deploy it against his enemies?
Wilbur has given engaging moments for the readers. He has beautifully depicted Alex as one who possesses great magical powers which empower him to audaciously challenge even his ruler of deceit. Also, as a noble, ethical and moral soul, he pardons the same ruler though he made Alex's life miserable. Alex is clear in his principle of non-violence and is non-revengeful. Alex’s love for his wife to lead a typical family life, dearest care for the lives of even non-human friends and such multitudes of emotions of various characters is genuine. A reader can see himself in the pitch-perfect character of Alex.
Wilbur's storyline flows describing things in simple terms but in detail, sometimes sarcastically. His flights of imagination and scenic portrayals are delightful. The situations where Alex never falls for temptation to wield wealth and power are well-described. The portrayal of power delusions and the fact that absolute power corrupts absolutely add liveliness to the story. Wilbur's writing style is impressive. He is firm on his focus and the direction of the storyline. His three portrayals are convincing:- 1) Alex's sensibilities to use his magical powers only for protecting his people rather than to rule the world. 2) Alex remains a humble human, thus reluctant to accept powerful magic stones, even when offered by God. 3) The acceptance by people can only be won by solving their problems and never by sheer domination.
Well, the book caused some confusion in names and places of events. Though it has over-abundant characters, it didn't lessen my interest.
Readers who love fantasy books, especially stories of Greek world of ~200 BC would like this book as the characters, settings, religion, morality, and politics truly reflect that period.