My brothers and I sometimes like to poke fun at our dad's book collection, which consists mostly of bulky fantasy novels in the J.R.R. Tolkien/Robert Jordan/Stephen R. Donaldson/Terry Brooks vein (though there are exceptions, including the horror novels of Stephen King and Peter Straub and about a million Alistair MacLean spy novels). Even my dad admits that he's purchased some crappy fantasy books over the years, and when pressed for example he'll usually mention Niel Hancock's "Circle of Light" series (originally published in the late 1970's), which he bought mainly because on the front cover there was a blurb recommending it to fans of the Lord of the Rings series. The cover art for the "Circle of Light" series during its original printing was done by Hancock's wife, are all pretty amusing, but the best cover award goes to book two in the series, 1977's Faragon Fairingay, which, as you can see, depicts a woman apparently nursing a sick otter lying in a human bed. The otter's little slippers on the floor nearby are an inspired artistic touch, I feel.
The plot of the book, taken from Amazon's description of the item: "Welcome to Atlanton Earth! In this second spellbinding adventure that began with Greyfax Grimwald, friends Bear, Dwarf, and Otter are joined by Faragon Fairingay, the valiant young warrior. Sent to Lower Earth at the request of Lorini, the Lady of Light, the four allies embark on a fateful quest in search for the legendary Arkenchest and its vital Five Secrets. Never before has the trio of friends ventured so far--and risked so much--for so glorious a prize."
I know that Hancock was inspired by Buddhist ideas, but the plot description of the book doesn't sound all that promising. Probably better to just admire the cover art instead.
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