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The Lantern Menace
Princess Castria is a hurricane in a tiara that pushes her royal powers (and her best friend Finch Balfour’s nerves) to their absolute limits with her pranks. But when she steals a dusty old lantern belonging to a one-eyed wizard, not only has she put the kingdom of Fanthia at risk, there’s a distinct possibility that the Wold itself might be in danger…
Castria has no idea that the lantern contains the incarcerated soul of D’Monica the witch single-handedly responsible for the darkest period in the Wold’s history – and now it has fallen into Fanthia’s most hated enemies’ hands, with plans to reconstitute the ultimate evil into flesh, blood and bone once more.
Along with Fanthia’s resident spell-crafter, Rufus Lightfoot, the troublesome princess (with Finch swept up in her wake) must set forth on a race against time to retrieve the lantern before D’Monica’s soul is reborn and the Wold is plunged into despair. It’s going to be an impossible journey with danger and betrayal at every turn, and many factions conspiring against Finch and Castria, determined to see them fail…
Castria has no idea that the lantern contains the incarcerated soul of D’Monica the witch single-handedly responsible for the darkest period in the Wold’s history – and now it has fallen into Fanthia’s most hated enemies’ hands, with plans to reconstitute the ultimate evil into flesh, blood and bone once more.
Along with Fanthia’s resident spell-crafter, Rufus Lightfoot, the troublesome princess (with Finch swept up in her wake) must set forth on a race against time to retrieve the lantern before D’Monica’s soul is reborn and the Wold is plunged into despair. It’s going to be an impossible journey with danger and betrayal at every turn, and many factions conspiring against Finch and Castria, determined to see them fail…
ebook
First published May 17, 2012
6 people want to read
About the author
Darren Craske
27 books11 followersIllustrator & Author - THE QUAINT CHRONICLES, THE LANTERN MENACE, ABOVE HIS STATION, LEXI DRAKE, THE ARGONAUT'S ALMANAC and more.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 18, 2012
Please note that I am a real live adult, so not part of the actual target audience of this book. But I really enjoyed it anyway. The characters and their interactions are a lot of fun, although not without moments of tension.
I have to figure out whether my nephews are old enough yet for a copy.
The book is not without its editing bugs, but the level of enjoyment enabled me to look beyond it. I have to send one critical wrong word bug to the author.
I recommend it to the young at heart, not just the young.
I have to figure out whether my nephews are old enough yet for a copy.
The book is not without its editing bugs, but the level of enjoyment enabled me to look beyond it. I have to send one critical wrong word bug to the author.
I recommend it to the young at heart, not just the young.
March 4, 2017
Witty and Well-Plotted
At the outset this feels like it will be a perfectly fine action/adventure quest. Princess Castria and her frenemy Finch steal a Limbo Lamp from spell crafter Rufus for a lark. Turns out this prank was a very dangerous mistake, since the lamp contains a decidedly evil spirit and has been stolen by evil plotters. Castria, Finch and Rufus must travel through the many Kingdoms of Wold in order to find and recover the lamp. Fine. This is a perfectly acceptable quest outline. But wait.
There is much more to the plot than at first appears, and little bits of business scattered throughout the tale all swirl around and rejoin to make for a ripping and very satisfying ending.
And, the three main characters are not only appealing, they each get some very amusing and drop dead funny lines. Rufus alternates among exasperated, deadpan, sarcastic, and wistful, and comes across as a Gandalf lite if only Gandalf had had a sense of humor. Princess Castria starts out as a spoiled brat but very quickly transforms into a spunky and tart heroine. She is the perfect foil for long suffering Finch, whose lines and observations run to dry and understated humor. The three characters together make for an especially amusing and engaging quest party.
As a bonus, the narration itself is loaded with witty and clever throwaway lines, and is punched up by set pieces involving over a dozen passing supporting characters. There are puns, actual jokes, bits of winking parody, and some sly references to other classic quest books. While the setting is vaguely medieval the narration and dialogue reflect a hip current awareness, and this adds freshness and energy to the project.
The upshot is that this ended up being a sneaky and unexpected winner, and a great deal more fun than most of the heavily promoted mainstream competition in this book's category. A very nice and rewarding find.
(Please note that I found this book a while ago while browsing Amazon Kindle freebies. I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)
At the outset this feels like it will be a perfectly fine action/adventure quest. Princess Castria and her frenemy Finch steal a Limbo Lamp from spell crafter Rufus for a lark. Turns out this prank was a very dangerous mistake, since the lamp contains a decidedly evil spirit and has been stolen by evil plotters. Castria, Finch and Rufus must travel through the many Kingdoms of Wold in order to find and recover the lamp. Fine. This is a perfectly acceptable quest outline. But wait.
There is much more to the plot than at first appears, and little bits of business scattered throughout the tale all swirl around and rejoin to make for a ripping and very satisfying ending.
And, the three main characters are not only appealing, they each get some very amusing and drop dead funny lines. Rufus alternates among exasperated, deadpan, sarcastic, and wistful, and comes across as a Gandalf lite if only Gandalf had had a sense of humor. Princess Castria starts out as a spoiled brat but very quickly transforms into a spunky and tart heroine. She is the perfect foil for long suffering Finch, whose lines and observations run to dry and understated humor. The three characters together make for an especially amusing and engaging quest party.
As a bonus, the narration itself is loaded with witty and clever throwaway lines, and is punched up by set pieces involving over a dozen passing supporting characters. There are puns, actual jokes, bits of winking parody, and some sly references to other classic quest books. While the setting is vaguely medieval the narration and dialogue reflect a hip current awareness, and this adds freshness and energy to the project.
The upshot is that this ended up being a sneaky and unexpected winner, and a great deal more fun than most of the heavily promoted mainstream competition in this book's category. A very nice and rewarding find.
(Please note that I found this book a while ago while browsing Amazon Kindle freebies. I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)
July 3, 2012
For a fantasy novel, I'm impressed. For my full review please see www.peaceloveandya.blogspot.com
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews