Windmaster's Bane: Book One of the Tales of David Sullivan Book

Tom Deitz was one of the first authors I really ever connected with in large part due to dawning of the internet age, as I was able to exchange emails with him. He provided me with information about his David Sullivan books and even signed a few of his books for me over the years. I have to say he was a very gracious author who seemed to like, and cared about, his fans. This is one of the primary reasons I enjoyed his writing so much as he took time to correspond with his fans.

It was then no surprise to me that after a period, where I had a lack of yearning to do any reading, I picked up one of his books. I remembered at that moment why I loved to read and this why I am posting this review of the book Windmaster's Bane.

The book takes the reader into the world of David Sullivan who lives in rural Georgia. David has a fascination for things for history and old lore. He may not be as interested in the world around him but his interest in Irish and Celtic folklore is one thing he cares about deeply. He even at one time went through a phase where he tried to turn himself, and his best friend Alec, into werewolves. This incident of course is mentioned in the book and offers some of the humor found within the pages. Then of course he had the perfect car, in my opinion, a Ford Mustang.

It is fortunate for David that this is the time in his life where he is reading about the Sidhe. Those Celtic fairies that became all too real one evening after an unfortunate fall. It seems that while David had chased his little brother he fell and happened to catch a local funeral procession while looking through his legs. One has to admit that had to be quite a scene as one ends upside down looking through his legs. It is then that a power within David is awoken and that evening he will discover that other world that comes so close to his own. What David suddenly develops is something called second sight and gives him the ability to see the fairy folk. This new "power" will bring him a great gift, or potentially a dark curse.

The book just drew me in as a teen and did that again as an adult. I had read the story before but fell in love with it again as an adult. Reading how David, Alec and his friend Liz must face challenges together to survive. Family members will be brought into the eventual war between David and one of the Sidhe. The Windmaster, Ailill, who lost a contest of intelligence to young David and has even deeper thoughts on how to interact with the world of man. This chance meeting that David had with Sidhe, that first evening, with the sight will start the long journey within the pages.

The great thing about Windmaster's Bane is it has some of the elements of great quest books that came before it, but is not a clone. The story will take the reader into history and what some may not realize is Deitz even used Native American lore as a fact check for this book. I can simply say that this is a book that helped reenergize my love of reading as a teen and has done it again as an adult. The characters are well developed and it was easy to picture myself as David. His love of reading about history and ancient cultures is something I still do to this day. The friendships, and closeness of his family, are so well portrayed it is hard not to get drawn into the book.

If Mr. Deitz was with us today I would send him a thank you note from this reader but sadly he has passed on. However, he left thousands of reader's minds full of wonderment reading his many books. I for one am so glad I never parted with this book from the late 1980's as it is a treasure in my collection. I hope others stumble across one of his many books he shared with the world. The man was a much underrated author that at least touched this person through his writing.

Thank you Tom Deitz and may your memory live on in your writing and the minds of those who find your books yet today.