This could have been so much better. War of the Flowers is about the tension between the Mortal and Faerie world. Theo Vilmos, a layabout musician from California, is given the shock of his thus far unproductive life, when he’s rescued from a weird monster by a tiny, foul-mouthed fairy. He’s dragged through a portal into Faerie and there begins the adventure.

Naturally at this stage, Theo and readers all want to know why? The answer to this question is a long time coming as we are forced to familiarise ourselves (along with Theo) with a new world. This wouldn’t be so bad, but Theo is such a tedious companion. Despite being 30, he’s still filled with teen angst and self-pity about the death of his mother, and the break-up of his relationship after his girlfriend miscarries. Ok, these are awful events, but you never quite get the feeling that Theo really cares beyond how they affect him.

Faerie is in a bad way. Oberon and Titania are missing, presumed dead, and the running of things has been left to 7 big Flower Houses or noble families, who are periodically at war with each other over the ‘Mortal Issue’. Some Houses believe that Fairies and Mortals can co-exist; others want to destroy Mortals as it transpires both worlds compete for the same resources to live, and mortal greed is having a detrimental affect on Faerie.

Most of the novel tackles Theo’s struggle to remain one step ahead of those Houses who want him dead, whilst trying to figure out whilst he’s so important to everyone. I say this could be better, because rather than having Theo at the centre of lordly machinations, the author instead has him scuttling about in shadows, avoiding the interesting action. Despite these flaws, I enjoyed this novel and would recommend Tad Williams to anyone interested in well-written fantasy.

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