First Hunter is the first novel in a fantasy trilogy by Wellington writer Dale Elvy. In it, Tane, the "First Hunter" of the title; Sajha, a renegade mage; and a number of other thieves, bards and the like come together to fight for the independence and survival of the indigenous people of the island of Maragon. Their adversaries are invaders from the neighbouring continent, where militarised, slave-owning Great Houses compete among themselves for honour and Empire. Sajha is a runaway daughter of House Yakoso.
There's a couple of key points here. First, the book is in many respects a standard first novel of a fantasy trilogy, introducing characters, setting up relationships, and foreshadowing battles to come. Second, the hero is a member of a tribal indigenous culture whose personal names and social organisation are very reminiscent of Maori in the 19th Century.
The political parallels are there, but First Hunter is primarily an adventure with added magic. One of the book's best features is its brevity: what many fantasy authors might have laboured over for 600-plus pages, Dale Elvy dispatches in under 400, ensuring a page-turning velocity. Some key scenes early in the book — Tane's confrontation with the creature that killed his son, a bardic recounting of an ancient legend — are underwritten and perfunctory, but once the author settles into his storytelling rhythm only some lamentable proofreading lapses distract from the story, which is at its peak when the action moves outside the invaders' city and into the jungles of Maragon.
That storytelling ability makes me want to read the remaining volumes in the trilogy. There is room for improvement: the invaders' culture is too strongly reminiscent of the Tsurani culture in Raymond E. Feist's and Janny Wurts' Empire series; and the characterisation is sometimes inconsistent, with even the most evil of characters suddenly turning helpful and talkative when the plot requires it. If Dale Elvy can better integrate character and setting with his sheer storytelling ability, the next two volumes will be truly satisfying additions to the fantasy genre.

(Review written for the Evening Post newspaper, Wellington, New Zealand) ( )