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Pub date October 31, 2021
ISBN 978-1956189056
Price $12.99 (USD) Paperback, $29.99 Hardcover, $0.00 Kindle edition
Equal parts fantasy and horror, Lyon’s second installment in his epic fantasy series is a fast-paced, wholly entertaining tale that blends high emotional stakes with genuine scares. As a young boy, Kilmer has seen it all; bloodshed, violence, loss, grief, and trauma. And he has left it all behind. But it’s Hollow Face, a ghost, who still accompanies Kilmer at every step of the way. When the king’s archer goes missing in the supposedly haunted Sanguine Forest, Kilmer assembles a hunting party to look for the missing man. But his mission throws him into the face of a new-born evil. Will he be able to get out alive? Steeped in the present, the story makes effective use of past flashbacks that beautifully unravel the characters’ backstory. The tightly constructed plot is high on both action and suspense and the pacing flows smoothly. Lyon is excellent when it comes to executing the plot, but it’s his characterization that makes this book truly remarkable: besides the troubled, resilient Kilmer, there’s Hollow Face, who’s more than just the ghost, Darla, who always knows what she wants, and Langula, the half-female-half-snake demon, who will go to any length to protect her master. Readers will wait anxiously for the next installment of their absorbing adventures. A stunner.