Book Review: Season of Peril

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Season of Peril     Amazon US PB Amazon Canada PB
Michales Warwick Joy
Class/Genre:   Fantasy
Tigress Press, Apr 2004, $12.95, 268 pp.

Inside the Walled City, magic is banned with anyone caught violating the taboo suffering death from assassins paid to eliminate practitioners. Within the walls resides Margar a former Redcape hunter of magicians and more dangerous things, but that was then and this is now.

However, malevolent beings surface with evil power to destroy everyone living inside the Walled City. The clairvoyant, the blind Sister glimpsed the wicked ones, reacted in fear and lunacy, which led to her killing herself. The Prince assigns Margar, who first trailed the monster in a fog, to slay the beast. However, he will soon learn the hard way there is a second beast when two of his men die in a skirmish. Accompanying Margar on his quest are Glazier the hunter, Coover the warrior, Okogawa the fighting little islander, and Aneka the Order Adept. Although the members of this group will fight their deadly foes, each one expects to die in the attempt.

Sword and sorcery, fantasy, horror fans with a bit of a mystery thrown in will appreciate Margar’s journey as he and his troupe travel the Walled City seeking the monsters, but soon journey the world (and its underground too) in a seemingly hopeless quest. Margar is a solid everyday person who wears the mantle of hero with doubt and would prefer to remain in bed with his beloved Dree, but knows he must do the right thing. His teammates add action and facilitate the audience feeling the lurking dangers. However, what makes this cross genre appeal tale terrific is the malevolence that the audience knows lurks just beyond the next paragraph.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner