Elf Warfare

This book is for anyone who likes epic fantasy and elves. There was a lot of information about the different kind of elves, their weapons and their battle strategies. I liked the short stories about the different sections and I wish they were longer and more a part of the layout. The epic battle at the end was my favorite part, it brought together all information that was just learned and painted a wonderful picture. I gave this book four stars because I could tell that a lot of research went into each chapter and they were well written. This is definitely a niche book and might not be interesting to readers who don't read enjoy epic fantasy or fantasy world building.

This review was written by Confessions of an Ex-Ballerina http://www.exballerina.com and will be live on 5-20

Disclaimer: ARC via Netgalley

My love of elves dates back to the first time I read Lord of the Rings. It was because they were ageless, spoke funny, or seemed so wise. It was because they used bows and arrows. This is because one of the first movies I ever saw was Robin Hood. Honesty, if the orcs had been as skilled with bows as Robin was, I would be constantly wondering why everyone painted those poor, misunderstand orcs as evil.

It’s true.

Osprey’s book about Elf Warfare written by Chris Pramas taps into the fascination that many people have with elves, whether or not said people only like them because of the Robin Hood collection. The book is ideal for any gamer or writer. Osprey presents the various fighter types as well as various battle formats. It is in one part source book and one part history, with a sprinkling of storytelling thrown in.

Highlights include a nice bit about how elves work with allies- be they human or animal and a detailed discussion about how elven armies and how they are designed. There is at least one illustration that looks like it was Bloom’s Legolas inspired, and one does wonder a bit about some of the Elven women’s battle dress. But those are quibbles.

It is a quick fun read that can spark creativity.

* * *
3 / 5

This book is intended, I believe, as a sort of supplement to various tabletop and roleplaying games, to add a bit of flavour to their interpretation of Elves. As I don't play these sorts of games, I was mostly interested in Elf Warfare because it promised lovely illustrations and I was not disappointed.

Elf Warfare is split into four sections: The Elves, a fictional historical account of elves discussing their origins, gods, and magic; Elf Troop Types, from basic unit types like archers to some creative kinds like moon elf infiltrators, as well as some information about elven allies like human tribes; Elf Strategies and Tactics, an interesting look at how elves might lay siege, fight on land or at sea; Elf Victories, an account of five great elvish battle victories illustrating how these tactics might be used.

This is a very short book, barely sixty pages but it has densely packed but easy to read text. There's also small in-text sketches and diagrams as well as full-page artistic pieces, all of which are very nicely done. The writing is perhaps aimed at a slightly younger age than I was expecting - I had pictured a college/university aged audience - as it often says something like "the earth elves got into squabbles". I also think that the pages could have been formatted better, for example by setting each topic out on a new page, as there are occasionally massive, blocky chunks of text. I would also have appreciated diagrams in the strategy section.

I do envision that this book would be great for roleplaying purposes. It divides elves into six different groups and explain the qualities and attributes of each group. I was also pleased to see that the book deviated from the Tolkien-type elf, which has become the most common depiction of the fantasy elf and in this book is referred to as the "wood" or "green" elf, by creating types like the "Gold elves" which have qualities one might classically attribute to dwarves. I particularly like the idea of nomadic sea elves!

I would recommend this little book to a roleplaying group looking for elvish inspiration.

Fantastic read! I could not put this title down, I feel into the world on the first page. And even after finishing the book, i find myself wanting to pick it up again.
highly recommend

Many thanks to Chris Pramas, Osprey Publising, and Netgalley for the free copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

Loved this book!!! What a gem

Read it in a couple of hours and closed it with a deeper appreciation for eleven folklore. I understand this is actually a series with various creatures as the subject matter and I want them all. These would be great for D&D kids I think.
My only complaint is that the gorgeous illustrations didn't translate in the electronic version of this book.