LORDSTAR HUNTER

A ragtag group braves a perilous land to find and deliver a valuable stone in Daniels’ YA fantasy novel, which kicks off a prospective trilogy.

After escaping the Field of Flame, a 15-year-old enslaved boy named Bastien runs into an “outfit” of Hunters comprised of three marauder brothers and father-and-son “pyromancers,” led by Landan o’Carreau. They invite Bastien to join them on their quest through the land of Valaan for a Lord Stone. After they find it, they travel north to get to the port town of Seasgain, where a buyer will pay a veritable fortune for it. Sadly, dissension seeps into the hunting party, as some want to sell the stone elsewhere. Then, one morning, Bastien wakes up with the pebble clenched in his hand, and he has no idea how it got there. He frets over covertly returning it to Landan’s chest, where it was originally kept. However, a sudden confrontation ends up splitting up the group up, sending them in shocking directions. Daniels eases readers into a story that’s already underway. Characters are introduced organically, with personality traits gradually coming to light, such as “yellowgut” marauder Symon Cadderall’s cowardly tendencies. The tension-filled narrative pits Bastien and company against Red Wardens from the Field of Flame, a cannibalistic megalomaniac, and other unnerving creatures who are responsible for a fair amount of violence and death. All the while, the author delivers vivid prose that effectively sets scenes: “In the front of the church grounds there once stood a statue of the Mother Aegatta atop a pedestal but it was shattered now. There remained only the white stone feet and legs of the fallen goddess, cut down at the waist and overgrown with creeping snakevine.” Unexpected plot turns ultimately put Bastien on a path that could lead him into darkness, giving readers plenty of incentive to watch out for sequels.

An often-exhilarating adventure tale enlivened by battles, suspense, and diabolical villains.