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The Perilous Keep
An undead necromancer. A curse written in blood.
Sier Bryn hoped her return would provide the chance to rebuild her life, but her new knighthood quickly earns the animosity of her fellow warriors. After learning of a family curse that claims the lives of innocents, Bryn journeys to the Perilous Keep to confront her undead, curse-casting ancestor. But in those ancestral halls, Bryn must pay a terrible price. Can she regain what she lost at the Perilous Keep and prove her worth to the person who doubts it the most: herself?
Sier Bryn hoped her return would provide the chance to rebuild her life, but her new knighthood quickly earns the animosity of her fellow warriors. After learning of a family curse that claims the lives of innocents, Bryn journeys to the Perilous Keep to confront her undead, curse-casting ancestor. But in those ancestral halls, Bryn must pay a terrible price. Can she regain what she lost at the Perilous Keep and prove her worth to the person who doubts it the most: herself?
322 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 12, 2022
1 person want to read
About the author
Melion Traverse
11 books8 followersMelion Traverse lives with one spouse, two dogs, and a mostly acceptable amount of chaos. Melion's short stories have appeared in a variety of publications including Deep Magic, Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores, and Cast of Wonders. Melion is the author of the YA fantasy novel Exile.
When not writing, Melion trains in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and other martial arts, practices historical fencing, reads Latin, lifts weights, and wages the eternal Battle of the Dog Fur while consuming an unhealthy amount of caffeine.
When not writing, Melion trains in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and other martial arts, practices historical fencing, reads Latin, lifts weights, and wages the eternal Battle of the Dog Fur while consuming an unhealthy amount of caffeine.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
June 11, 2022
Melion Does it Again.
I gushed about Exile and I'll do the more of it for The Perilous Keep. The same strong emotions that Exile stirred up get restirred here. The redemptive theme picks right up where it left off, demonstrated in the way Bryn treats those below her new station and by how certain bonds and oaths are formed and sworn. I can't get into specifics without blundering into spoiler central, so pardon my vagueness.
Not sure if the droll observational humor is stronger in this book or if I'm just paying more attention:
-"The world is full of stupid people...What is the point of you and Bryn getting killed by one of them?"
-"Your weird attempts at romance are upsetting my delicate constitution."
-"In my day, we respected our elders. In your day, the gods were still shaping the world."
-"On the one hoof, he’s got a reputation as a man of valor and piety. On the other hoof, it certainly strains any person's hospitality to have the undead show up on their doorstep. But on the third hoof, I don't want to be blasted into oblivion by lightning..." "And what's on the fourth hoof?" Bryn inquired. "On the fourth hoof, there's a lot of mud." [He] lifted up a dripping foot. Bryn groaned. "We're done speaking."
-"Well…seeing as we have a moment where nobody is attempting to kill me, I thought I would like to return to Ostbridge."
-And at around the 87% mark, after a solemn ceremony, I like how Bryn and compamy soon devolve into slapping and cutting up.
About the characters, my vexing vagueness must continue. Some characters are so awesome that to give any details would constitute a massive spoiler! Let's just say you're in for some good surprises. And the idea of two characters sharing one life was fascinating, used to great effect in the story.
Perilous Keep has a stronger opening chapter than Exile did. The first few chapters are altogether engrossing. For those of you who like to listen on text-to-speech, don't even think about trying to multi-task during that part :)
The prose is just as vivid as before:
-"letting her thoughts drift as sleep curled around her"
-"and when dusk smoothed itself across the sky"
-"before winter crouched over the land"
-"Just as her anger had rippled far through the water of her life, so must her atonement."
Bryn's keen military observations impressed me all over again:
-"To have put in the effort and resources to build such a structure told Bryn that whoever sat as lord of the castle expected enemies. Who, she wondered, were those enemies?"
-"Bryn could tell from the smooth pace of the riders that their mounts were hunting horses, bred with stamina for the chase."
-"Visor down, her breath echoed in a ragged rattling inside the metal. Gone were the sky and the clouds… All that existed through the slits was one warrior atop a horse."
-"From the lack of warriors and archers, Bryn guessed the group was headed to a tournament rather than out on some patrol."
-"That belonged to a past she’d tossed over her shoulder and left fluttering to the wind"
The author's craftsmanship never lets up. Clear, polished, and compelling all the way through. As a reader, you're in good gauntleted hands here. In my review of Exile, I said that the world needed more books like this. Now it has one more.
I gushed about Exile and I'll do the more of it for The Perilous Keep. The same strong emotions that Exile stirred up get restirred here. The redemptive theme picks right up where it left off, demonstrated in the way Bryn treats those below her new station and by how certain bonds and oaths are formed and sworn. I can't get into specifics without blundering into spoiler central, so pardon my vagueness.
Not sure if the droll observational humor is stronger in this book or if I'm just paying more attention:
-"The world is full of stupid people...What is the point of you and Bryn getting killed by one of them?"
-"Your weird attempts at romance are upsetting my delicate constitution."
-"In my day, we respected our elders. In your day, the gods were still shaping the world."
-"On the one hoof, he’s got a reputation as a man of valor and piety. On the other hoof, it certainly strains any person's hospitality to have the undead show up on their doorstep. But on the third hoof, I don't want to be blasted into oblivion by lightning..." "And what's on the fourth hoof?" Bryn inquired. "On the fourth hoof, there's a lot of mud." [He] lifted up a dripping foot. Bryn groaned. "We're done speaking."
-"Well…seeing as we have a moment where nobody is attempting to kill me, I thought I would like to return to Ostbridge."
-And at around the 87% mark, after a solemn ceremony, I like how Bryn and compamy soon devolve into slapping and cutting up.
About the characters, my vexing vagueness must continue. Some characters are so awesome that to give any details would constitute a massive spoiler! Let's just say you're in for some good surprises. And the idea of two characters sharing one life was fascinating, used to great effect in the story.
Perilous Keep has a stronger opening chapter than Exile did. The first few chapters are altogether engrossing. For those of you who like to listen on text-to-speech, don't even think about trying to multi-task during that part :)
The prose is just as vivid as before:
-"letting her thoughts drift as sleep curled around her"
-"and when dusk smoothed itself across the sky"
-"before winter crouched over the land"
-"Just as her anger had rippled far through the water of her life, so must her atonement."
Bryn's keen military observations impressed me all over again:
-"To have put in the effort and resources to build such a structure told Bryn that whoever sat as lord of the castle expected enemies. Who, she wondered, were those enemies?"
-"Bryn could tell from the smooth pace of the riders that their mounts were hunting horses, bred with stamina for the chase."
-"Visor down, her breath echoed in a ragged rattling inside the metal. Gone were the sky and the clouds… All that existed through the slits was one warrior atop a horse."
-"From the lack of warriors and archers, Bryn guessed the group was headed to a tournament rather than out on some patrol."
-"That belonged to a past she’d tossed over her shoulder and left fluttering to the wind"
The author's craftsmanship never lets up. Clear, polished, and compelling all the way through. As a reader, you're in good gauntleted hands here. In my review of Exile, I said that the world needed more books like this. Now it has one more.
Displaying 1 of 1 review