Mad Shadows - The Heroes of Echo Gate

by Joe Bonadonna

Dorgo's Greatest Challenge

During an arduous and dangerous trek through the Scarlet Desert in search of the fabled Well of Tears, Dorgo the Dowser and his companions accidentally uncover an ancient artifact buried for eons beneath the blood-colored sand. After a harrowing, action-packed journey through the desert they find the Well of Tears, the repository of God’s tears, and there encounter the ghosts of the Sisters of the Blue Light, the Guardians of the Well. The nuns tell them about the relic of antiquity they it is a thing of cosmic evil — a thing not of their world, a thing which must be destroyed. But the answer to destroying that artifact is a riddle Dorgo and his companions must discover for themselves.

When the Spirit trapped inside the artifact is set free by one of their companions, Dorgo and the others learn that the evil now threatens not only their world, but all the Otherworlds of the multi-dimensional Echoverse. The key to destroying this evil is somehow tied in with the demons seeking to control Echo Gate — the master portal that leads not only to every world in the Echoverse, but through Space and Time, as well. As a great battle erupts on the island of Thavarar, where Echo Gate is located, Dorgo and his companions must unravel the mystery of the thing they found in the desert, and discover the means by which it can be destroyed.

"There are three acts that follow the classic setup, rising tension, and an epic battle. The climax consumes a full third of the book and resonates with all the grandeur of defending Tolkien’s Helm’s Deep. The city of Soolaflan, on the island of Thavarar, is the fortress and it is situated around Echo Gate. Demons from across time want access to it. The portals across the world of Tanyime (and even across time and space) echo those from C. J. Cherryh’s Morgaine Cycle and even Raymond E. Feist’s Riftwar Saga."
― SE Lindberg, Black Gate Magazine

369 pages, Paperback

Published April 11, 2022

About the author

I've published a number of short stories, and authored and co-authored eight novels, and five screenplays. I'm a former board member of the Chicago's Screenwriter Network, where I lectured on the history of science fiction, horror, and fantasy in films, as well as on writing screenplays. I'm also a former rock and roll guitarist and songwriter from the Golden Age of 1964-1984. I've written numerous reviews and articles for Black Gate online magazine.

MAD SHADOWS - Book 1: THE WEIRD TALES OF DORGO THE DOWSER.

MAD SHADOWS - Book 2: THE ORDER OF THE SERPENT,

MAD SHADOWS - BOOK 3: THE HEROES OF ECHO GATE.

THREE AGAINST THE STARS

THE MECHMEN OF CANIS-9

WATERS OF DARKNESS, co-authored with David C. Smith.

THREE GHOSTS AND A BLACK PUMPKIN and THE POWER OF THE SAPPHIRE WAND, co-authored with and illustrated by Erika M Szabo

QUEEN OF TOADS appears in the Kindle anthology, Here Be Ghosts.

SAMUEL MEANTWELL AND THE LITTLE BLACK CLOUD OF THE APOCALYPSE appears in the shared-world anthology, Shad'Dadd: Toy, co-authored with Shebat Legion.

THE BOOK OF ECHOES, appears in the brand-new "shared-theme" anthology from Heathen Oracle, ARTIFACTS AND RELICS: EXTREME SWORD AND SORCERY.

THE BLOOD OF THE LION appears in the Sword and Soul Fantasy anthology GRIOTS 2: SISTERS OF THE SPEAR, edited by Charles Saunders and Milton Davis.

For author Janet Morris' highly-acclaimed series, HEROES IN HELL, I have published stories in Poets in Hell, Doctors in Hell, Pirates in Hell, Lovers in Hell, Mystics in Hell, Liars in Hell, and Monsters in Hell.

My story, SINBAD AND THE GOLDEN FLEECE, appears in the shared-world anthology, SINBAD: THE NEW VOYAGES, VOL. 4. m.

My story, "The Dragon's Horde," has been published in HEROIKA 1: DRAGON EATERS.

In collaboration with David C. Smith, our story, "To Save Hermesia," appears in the shared-world anthology, THE LOST EMPIRE OF SOL.

I have published poems in Stand Together: A Collection of Poems and Short Stories for Ukraine.

My story, "The Vampire Tree," appears in SAVAGE REALMS MONTHLY, MARCH 2022.

My story, "Just Another Day in Heaven, appears in the anthology UNBREAKABLE INK.

My story, "The Goblin Herd," appears in the anthology, LEGION PRESS.

As Editor:
"Hello, My Name is Max, and I Have Autism: An Insight into the Autistic Mind," written and with drawings by Max Miller.

"Being Max's Mom," by Rebecca Miller.

"Libertine: Awakenings," written by Cat Ravenelle.

For author A.L. Butcher I have edited "The Kitchen Imps," and "Tales of Erana: The Warrior's Curse."

Reviews

[S.E. Lindberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review posted on Black Gate: FUN, FRESH FANTASY: MAD SHADOWS: THE HEROES OF ECHO GATE BY JOE BONADONNA

Mad
Shadows III: The Heroes of Echo Gate (Pulp Hero Press, February
2021). Cover artist uncredited

Joe Bonadonna’s third installment of his Mad Shadows,
Dorgo the Dowser series, The Heroes of Echo Gate, was announced this Feb 2021 at Black Gate. We covered Dorgo’s world and Bonadonnoa’s cinematic narrative, which we’ll touch upon again during this review. Also on Black Gate, the author of the internationally acclaimed IX Series, Andrew Paul Weston, reviewed all three books of the Mad Shadow series. This post reinforces those articles and highlights this fresh fantasy adventure’s (a) Epic Scope, (b) Cinematic Style, and (c) Faith theme.

The Heroes of Echo Gate is fun, fresh fantasy. Dorgo and his fellowship of Harryhausen-like creatures defend a magical portal from a horde of demons. Epic!

As the cover implies, we have our beloved weird-fiction investigator & mercenary Dorgo (the guy front and center on the cover with the dowsing rod and sword) defending the titular portal with a band of friends (most of whom could have stared in a Ray Harryhausen movie. For the young readers take note that Harryhausen was the “Frank Frazetta” of cinema who gave life to the fantastical creatures before computer graphics were invented. There are three acts that follow the classic purposes: setup, rising tension, and an epic battle. The climax consumes a full third of the book and resonates with all the grandeur of defending Tolkien’s Helm’s Deep. The city of Soolaflan, on the island of Thavarar, is the fortress and it is situated around Echo Gate. Demons from across time want access to it. The portals across the world of Tanyime (and even across time and space) echo those from C. J. Cherryh’s Morgaine Cycle and even Raymond E. Feist’s Riftwar Saga.

(a) Epic Scope

Read the first two books to appreciate the players and the
role of the Wandering Swords group: Book One: Mad Shadows by Joe Bonadonna and Book Two: Dorgo the Dowser and the Order of the Serpent. The first two are episodic weird-mystery with Dorgo taking the spotlight. The adventures are more “Crime & Sorcery” than “Sword & Sorcery.” Dorgo is not an official constable or justice keeper, but he is a hired layman with investigative skills and a magical dowsing rod. Bonadonna brands his Dorgo tales “Gothic Noir” which is fitting. Despite the weirdness of Valdar city and the threatening necromancy that abounds, we know Dorgo will survive and resolve any case as surely as Fritz Leiber’s Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser did.

Heroes of Echo Gate is simply more epic than the first two. First, the structure abandons the episodic set of stories for one epic tale. Secondly, the point of view (although maintaining a focus on Dorgo) pans back to feature a party of 6-8 heroes.  Also, at 318pages, it is larger than the first two (at 270 and 233 pages). With these changes, combined with the prevalence of non-human creatures and some engagement of royalty, Heroes of Echo Gate fits a high-fantasy mold.

(b) Cinematic Style & A Fellowship of Harryhausen Creatures

Joe Bonadonna weaves in Easter Eggs to his many relationships/bibliography. Two obvious ones I caught were: (1) the “Rogue Blades” mercenary group, a call out to Jason M. Waltz’s Rogue Blades Foundation publishing (Bonadonna has a contribution with David C. Smith in RBF’s Scott Oden Presents: The Lost Empire of Sol); (2), a description of weird terrain that contained Waters of Darkness (the title of a book Bonadonna co-wrote with David C. Smith).

Bonadonna has written articles for Black Gate wherein he describes how cinema informed his style.  Prior/in-addition-to writing, he was a rock guitarist, songwriter, and even a board member of the Chicago Screenwriter’s Network. So he composes as if he is writing for the camera, and his mind has been influenced by the masters. This reads like a homage to classic fantasy films. Dorgo’s group comprises creatures right out of the 1958 7th Voyage of Sinbad and the 1963 Jason
and the Argonauts. This time, many of the Harryhausen-like beings are heroes rather than villainous monsters; for instance, the cyclops Quedemas (with his hilariously named warhammer “Daisy”) and his compatriot Saburo the minotaur serve as warriors with Dorgo. Incidentally, those two are like brothers and their comradery is emotionally engaging. Plenty of animated skeletons, evil harpies, and some Talos-like automatons are also present.

The Heroes of Echo Gate begs to be put into stop-motion,
cinematic form.

Screen shots from Ray Harryhausen films

(c) Conflict: Faith

Like lots of fantasy, there are themes of spirituality or faith being explored. There is nothing heavy-handed here. Expect just the right amount of thought-provoking tidbits one may expect when protagonists are battling angelic/demonic powers. As much as the monsters are drawn from Mount Olympus and cinema, the angels reflect various Christian manifestations (i.e., nuns). Everyone, good or evil, seems to play with Odyllic power, the same magic that empowers Dorgo and his dowsing rod.  At root of the conflict is the corruptibility of those without faith in gods versus those who are faithful.  Also at play is the faith in companionship/brotherhood (outside of religion).

The Heroes of Echo Gate expands the scope and influence of
Dorgo the Dowser. Check out his adventures in the Mad Shadows series:

Joe Bonadonna

Joe Bonadonna is the author of the heroic fantasies Mad Shadows-Book 1: The Weird Tales of Dorgo the Dowser (winner of the 2017 Golden Book Readers’ Choice Award for Fantasy); Mad Shadows-Book 2: Dorgo the Dowser and the Order of the Serpent; Mad Shadows-Book 3: The Heroes of Echo Gate; the space operas Three Against The Stars and The MechMen of Canis-9; and the sword & sorcery adventure, Waters of Darkness (in collaboration with David C. Smith.) With co-writer Erika M Szabo, he wrote Three Ghosts in a Black Pumpkin (winner of the 2017 Golden
Books Judge’s Choice Award for Children’s Fantasy), and The Power of the Sapphire Wand. He also has stories appearing in: Azieran—Artifacts and Relics; GRIOTS 2: Sisters of the Spear; Heroika: Dragon Eaters; Poets in Hell; Doctors in Hell; Pirates in Hell; Lovers in Hell; Mystics in Hell; Sinbad: The New Voyages, Volume 4; Unbreakable Ink; Sha’Daa Toys (in collaboration with Shebat Legion), and The Lost Empire of Sol (with David C. Smith.) In addition to his fiction, he has written a number of articles and book reviews for Black Gate online magazine.

Visit his Amazon Author’s page or
his Facebook author’s page, called Bonadonna’s Bookshelf.

 

[S.E. Lindberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reviewing coming

[Andrew Weston · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been looking forward to the latest Mad Shadows adventure for quite a while now. And I’m glad to say, Dorgo Mikawber’s company is just as enjoyable as ever. He’s a true friend. Down-to-earth. Pragmatic – most of the time – and just the kind of person you want by your side when the end of the world comes upon you . . . as it inevitably does when he’s around.
Here’s the blurb from this latest adventure to prepare you for what’s in store.
*******
During an arduous and dangerous trek through the Scarlet Desert in search of the fabled Well of Tears, Dorgo the Dowser and his companions accidentally uncover an ancient artifact buried for eons beneath the blood-colored sand. After a harrowing, action-packed journey through the desert they find the Well of Tears, the repository of God’s tears, and there encounter the ghosts of the Sisters of the Blue Light, the Guardians of the Well. The nuns tell them about the relic of antiquity they found: it is a thing of cosmic evil — a thing not of their world, a thing which must be destroyed. But the answer to destroying that artifact is a riddle Dorgo and his companions must discover for themselves.
When the Spirit trapped inside the artifact is set free by one of their companions, Dorgo and the others learn that the evil now threatens not only their world, but all the Otherworlds of the multi-dimensional Echoverse. The key to destroying this evil is somehow tied in with the demons seeking to control Echo Gate — the master portal that leads not only to every world in the Echoverse, but through Space and Time, as well. As a great battle erupts on the island of Thavarar, where Echo Gate is located, Dorgo and his companions must unravel the mystery of the thing they found in the desert, and discover the means by which it can be destroyed.

*******
Yes, life is never dull around Dorgo. And that’s a good thing, for not only do we delve more deeply into the history of the Echoverse and the worlds incorporated within it, but we learn more about the origins of Echo Gate itself and the role it plays in the greater scheme of things.
Joe Bonadonna has a vivid imagination, which, incorporated into his unique writing style presents us with a fast paced, action packed extravaganza, filled with battles, double-crosses, puzzle solving and suspense galore.
I really enjoyed it. The interplay between characters is engaging; the story arc builds toward a ‘will they-won’t they’ crescendo (because main characters do die – kudos there); and there’s just the right amount irony and self-denial among our heroes and heroines to keep things real.
Great fun and easy to read.

[David C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Be prepared for an epic. Unlike the first two Mad Shadows books, which were anthologies of short stories, The Heroes of Echo Gate is 100,000-plus words of pretty much nonstop adventure and action of the sort that Joe Bonadonna has become so well known for. Crossing the Scarlet Desert in search of the fabled Well of Tears, Dorgo Mikawber—Dorgo the Dowser—in the company of a couple of witches, a minotaur, a cyclops, his sometime-friend Mazo, and others, find a damned relic and thereby is thrown into a series of escalating adventures, show-downs, and gruesome battles to save the all-important Echo Gate of the title, a portal that connects all the worlds of the universe. Dorgo is a solid Everyman with a weakness for the ladies, a dry sense of humor, and that dowsing rod of his, which acts up and even makes him sick when its in the vicinity of any odylic phenomena. And he sure knows how to use his saber. The story is a page-turner, and the characters work well together most of the time, even though the minotaur and cyclops, true friends but short-tempered, often wind up in fisticuffs. This novel reminded me of those serials Weird Tales published in the thirties, such as Golden Blood. Settle back and enjoy an old-time adventure; Bonadonna admits he has been influenced by everyone from Robert E. Howard to Ray Harryhausen to J.R.R. Tolkien to Ted C. Rypel’s Gonji novels. Go with it!