KILMER'S GHOST

Protected by a hereditary ghost, a warrior must battle the demons of a cursed forest in this high fantasy sequel.

Five years after the Battle of Mauveguard Pass, Capt. Kilmer leads a party of soldiers into the Sanguine Forest in search of the king’s First Archer, Yori. Yori has been waylaid by the demonic seductress Langula, who subjects both him and Kilmer to her depravities. (Langula makes for an especially confrontational character.) Kilmer’s only hope lies in a ghost whose foreboding warnings he trusts. Will Kilmer and his men ever escape from Langula and rid their minds of the forest’s dark enchantments? Nine years before Mauveguard Pass, young Darius Plum experienced a vision of his village burning and his family dying. Darius had always suffered from bad dreams, visited upon him by a ghost he named Hollow Face. When this latest vision came true, Darius sought refuge in the local orphanage. He took the name Kilmer, after a disabled beggar from the village, and, when he came of age, joined the Amalgamate armies to fight against those who butchered his family. Will Darius/Kilmer find those responsible and take his revenge? Lyon writes from an omniscient viewpoint, focusing mainly on Kilmer but devoting time to many other stock characters, including the antagonists. Unlike the series opener, this sequel offers a plot and pacing that are more in keeping with traditional fantasy tales. But one notable difference is that, despite a framework built around portents and destiny, neither Kilmer nor the others are conscious of what they are questing for. The upshot is an edgy disparity between fate and free will. The author heightens this juxtaposition by moving the narrative about in time and revisiting certain events from the first book. The prose throughout is more functional than elevated. The dialogue lacks realism, at times sounding as if the characters are toy figurines being made to act out a child’s make-believe story. At one point, Yori’s spotter, Isse, reveals: “Oh, Yori, I can’t explain it, but I am so scared. I don’t know why.” Though potentially off-putting, such emotive phrasing is not entirely out of keeping with the tale’s epic narrative style. Fantasists will likely forgive any infelicities.

A singular and absorbing fantasy, familiar in its grand sweep yet unsettling in the details.