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 | The Blackgloom Bounty by Jon F. Baxley | Reviewed by Midge Baker | |
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| Publisher: Five Star Publishing & Thorndike Press
http://www.gale.com/fivestar ISBN: 1594144516 Genre: Fiction Subgenre: Fantasy/Imtimate Adventure Release date: April 2006 Format: Hard cover and eBook Pages: 445 Price: $25.95 for hard cover and $7.95 for the eBook | |||
| Long dead and his magic weakened, the spirit of Merlin of Pendragon seeks revenge for his death. He asks his former apprentice, magician Kruze Makshare, to destroy another former apprentice, the vile sorcerer known as The Seed of Ceberus. The Seed's stronghold is Blackgloom Keep, which can only be entered by sorcery. The Merlin yields to Kruse the only help he can offer, a rolled oilskin scroll and its mysterious contents. Needing help, since his Magicians' Guild vows forbid using sorcery, Kruse concocts a plan.
He enlists young, innocent Daynin McKinnon. Daynin and his grandfather, Ean, are the exiled sole survivors of Clan McKlennan, the rest of their kin slaughtered through treachey. Though longing for return to their native Scotia, the pair are now simple farmers in Hafdeway, a village in Anglia. While plowing their fields, they find an immense stone covered with cryptic runes. In his guise of the hideous Boozer, whose blemished visage is the result of The Seed's curse, Kruse tells Daynin the unusual stone massif may be the fabled Stone of Scythia. With the promise of riches, Kruse/Boozer enlists Daynin's help to take the Stone where its identity can be certified - to the Al Cazar in Tendalfief, the Sheriff of Northern Anglia. On the way, they stop at The Never Inn, ten leagues short of their goal. Daynin becomes enamored with Sabritha, the crusty but beautiful indentured servant of the Marquis, bastard cousin of Duke Harold. Enraged when the Marquis abuses Sabritha, Daynin kills him, bringing down the wrath of the Duke and a bounty on all their heads. The three flee, headed for a meeting with the Al Cazar. When the Al Cazar betrays them to the Duke, they are forced to flee again, this time headed for the border of Scotia itself. To hide themselves, they join the throngs of pilgrims heading for the great Briar Circle for the season's rites. On the road, they are joined by Cale McCloud and his friend, Toobar the Ferret. Despite the danger, Kruse/Boozer hopes their increasing notoriety will draw the attention of The Seed. His ruse succeeds. Just short of the border to Scotia and with capture by the Duke's men imminent, Kruse, Daynin, Sabritha, Cale, Toobar, and one of the Duke's soldiers are swept up in a whirlwind sent by The Seed. Transported into Blackgloom Keep, they are swiftly captured by The Seed's mind-controlled paladins and monstrous ogrerats. When Daynin and Sabritha are taken off separately, Kruse, Cale, and the others plot a mission of escape and rescue. During the resultant melee, which not all survive, Sabritha and Daynin are saved and The Seed destroyed. The survivors take away with them the Bounty of Blackgloom, the treasures amassed by the Seed. All this is just the beginning phase of this epic adventure. Because of the bounty - and the Duke's bounty on their heads - our friends find themselves chased all over the map by every bounty hunter in the countryside, as Daynin fights to return to his ancestral Scotian home. Set in a detailed background of history and legends-come-to-life, The Blackgloom Bounty will appeal strongly to lovers of mediaeval romance, fantasy, and good old Swords-and-Sorcery of the classic Conan variety. | |||
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