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

431 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 10, 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."