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Mad Shadows II:
Dorgo the Dowser and The Order of the Serpent
by
Joe Bonadonna
Cover and
interior map by Erika M. Szabo
“This eagerly awaited follow-up volume
to Joe Bonadonna’s classic, Mad Shadows:
The Weird Tales of Dorgo the Dowser, is exactly what I hoped for. This
continuation of Dorgo’s chronicle is comprised of three novellas: “The Girl Who
Loved Ghouls,” “The Book of Echoes” and “The Order of the Serpent.” This is
razor-edged fantasy at its best. In the first tale, Dorgo has some romance
going on in his life, with a witch. This is not a Harlequin romance.
Bonadonna’s masterful prose is ripe with images, appropriately gothic, spooky
as hell, and a delight for fans of classic fantasy-adventure fiction. I love
Bonadonna’s world building. Laced with autumnal winds and lonely graveyards,
Dorgo’s world is chilling and often deadly: “What little was left of Glacken
lay to the south, between Widow’s Fell and Baloo Fen. The fire blackened ruins
of Sahn Magnor, the old Estaerine church, stood on the outskirts of the ghost
town. The cemetery lay behind the church and had been part of its once-sacred
ground. I gave the supposedly haunted hamlet a wide birth, not wanting to
encounter any demons or devils…” (p.30) I love this type of natural exposition
where the writer can so deftly transport us into an imaginative and exotic
locale. Dorgo never has an easy time of it, but I’m always rooting for him to
overcome his tribulations. Bonadonna pits Dorgo against some fairly wicked
creatures. In “The Book of Echoes” Dorgo learns about “The Book of Echoes”
which seems to be on everyone’s mind. After being nearly killed, Dorgo learns
that the book can open realms beyond time and space, and holds answers to all
the riddles of the Echoverse, the secrets of life and death, and the Nine
Levels of Attainment. But such knowledge has a price. Those who are pure of
heart will become the Crystal Children, while those with evil intent will
become Endarkened Ones. Bonadonna brilliantly structures the tale and populates
it with plenty of weird characters, nasty monsters and rising tension. The
third novella, “The Order of the Serpent,” ties it all together and pits Dorgo
against a warlock, the leader of the Order of the Serpent. Engaging characters,
artful construction, scenes dripping with mood, and a world of castles, goblins
and wild monsters are all hallmarks of Joe Bonadonna’s Dorgo the Dowser tales.
Impossible to put to down, Mad Shadows
II: Dorgo the Dowser and The Order of the Serpent is a richly imagined
collection. The great cover artwork is by Erika M. Szabo.” — Amazon review by
Thomas McNulty, author of Showdown at
Snakebite Creek, Trail of the Burned Man, Coffin for An Outlaw, Werewolves!,
Wind Rider, and The Life and Career
of Errol Flynn.
Magic, murder, mystery, monsters and
mayhem all await you in Mad Shadows II:
Dorgo the Dowser and the Order of the Serpent. Available in paperback,
Kindle, and Nook editions.
#heroicfantasy #swordandsorcery #occult #paranormal
#adventure #horror
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