Krull is a 1983 science fantasy novel written by Alan Dean Foster and published by Severn House Publishers Ltd. Based on the film of the same name and is set on the distant planet of Krull, where two warring empires join together in a deadly battle against the forces of evil led by the Beast.

Set in the world of Krull, an alien force led by the Beast in its Black Fortress rains death and destruction. After the death of this father at the hands of the Beast and the capture of his betrothed, Prince Colwyn takes up the mantel of champion to fight the otherworldly threat.  Aiding him on his journey are a band of newly freed felons, an aged Seer, a young boy, a Cyclops, and the magician Ergo. The story is pretty generic with no interesting twists or cool sidestories.  Also, I’m a sucker for backstories and the book seriously lacks them. (2 out of 5)

The characters are decent but most are not really all that memorable.  Colwyn is the main protagonist of the story, a prince daring life and limb to save his betrothed from an alien menace.  Colwyn is the generic hero with little more to him than him being the obvious hero. Ergo the Magnificent is literally one of the worst and most useless characters of the story.  He talks big but does little to aid the other characters.  The Beast is the main antagonist of the story and although sounds cool really doesn’t come off as memorable. (2 out of 5)

It’s a decent novelization but unfortunately it follows the film too faithfully.  There were plenty of elements that I’d hoped the book would flesh out that the movie failed on. There is a serious lack of character development as well as world-building unfortunately.  The magical Glaive was pretty awesome but I really wished they would’ve went into more detail about it.  Where did it come from? What’s it made of? Why aren’t there any other magical weapons? Alan Dean Foster could’ve done a bit more and filled in the world, perhaps show what’s going on in different parts of the world, or perhaps what led up to the events of the novel.  I don’t know, maybe a war waging between the army of good against evil. The dialogue is pretty decent but nothing really memorable.  (2 out of 5)

The Verdict:  In the end, Krull is a decent read though it lacks enough content to make the journey or the story compelling.  Sure, we have a good, a damsel in distress, and a bad guy but there isn’t much else going on to keep the stakes of the book interesting. Krull gets 2 out of 5.