After a comet strikes the continent of Yohme, it’s left in shambles. Nations lay in rubble, magic has been corrupted, and a plague has turned most of the inhabitants into flesh-eating, undead, ghouls.

Traveling this apocalyptic landscape is Evan, a bounty hunter taking missions to survive. However, his latest quest to capture a thief leads to more than he bargained for. After uncovering an ancient map, he forms a party to hunt the sacred treasure inside the most formidable dungeon.

Once inside, they’ll have to overcome the trials of a god to reach it, and they’re not the only ones searching.

A comet brings zombies to a fantasy land. If that isn’t a fantastic hook, I don’t know what is.

Evan is a bounty hunter trying to survive in a world ravaged by the undead. After a chance encounter with a Gremling – a small, but fierce, green skinned creature – they team up to form a raiding party to secure a magical fruit.

Evan is a good character. He is knowledgeable about his world. He’s a good fighter that I’d want by my side in a dungeon crawl.

My favourite characters were Grymjer the Gremling and Elleya the Rehnarian cleric. I loved Elleya’s magic.

This book perfectly captures the adventure of a good Dungeons and Dragons campaign or an epic fantasy RPG session. The writing is smooth. The descriptions strong. The pace fast. It is easy to get lost in the adventure and be swept along by the action.

A large part of the book concerns Evan and his crew solving the different puzzles and tests they encounter on their quest. The tests were so fun to read about. They were well described, so I can see them clearly in my mind’s eye. I enjoyed reading how the characters solved the dangerous and thrilling puzzles set before them.

The story is fast paced. The characters have enough backstory to make you care about them.

Reading this book brought me back to the weekends I used to spend playing fantasy RPGs with my sister. This nostalgia gave me a warm feeling. I had a great time reading this book.

This is a well written fantasy adventure for fans of D&D and fantasy RPGs. It has a lot of the comfortable, familiar elements of a dungeon crawl while being set within a new fantasy world. I particularly liked the fox liked Rehnarians. I loved that the author put so much work into the different kinds of creatures that lived in Yohme. It was interesting to see the different beliefs held by the creatures, as well as the conflicts between the different species.

This is an imaginative, well thought out and nicely written fantasy book. It stays very firmly within the tracks of a dungeon crawl, which will be a strength to some readers and a weakness to others.

I love books that successfully capture the excitement and comradery of D&D. Especially when they are well written and draw you into the world rather than reading like a blow-by-blow account of a game. If you like this too, I recommend “The Silken Key” by Oliver Lea, or for a slightly darker more video game centred adventure, “Save Game” by Joseph Sale.

This book has a beautiful cover and interior illustrations by Batsky Starman. There are also very nice chapter heading illustrations by Arief Rachmad. I love when books have illustrations. It was great to see pictures of the different characters.

An absorbing and entertaining book that I recommend to fantasy fans, especially to those who love fantasy role playing games.

Bryan Asher is a native Washingtonian and lifelong fan of fiction in all its forms. He started out like many kids from the ’90s, being enthralled by all the superhero comics and cartoons crossing his vision. His love of literary fiction came when he was handed a copy of John Bellairs, “The Chessmen of Doom” by his local librarian. Bryan still credits John Bellairs as his greatest literary influence, with his books featuring multiple illustrations and stand-alone adventures, just like Bellairs.

​After years of dedication and planning, he debuted his first novel in 2020, “The Assassin of Malcoze.” The following year he released his second novel, “The Treasure of Lor-Rev,” which went on to win multiple awards.

​Bryan still lives in Renton Washington with his loving wife and two awesome children. He also still has the first comic book he ever purchased (which cost a quarter in 1990).

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