CASTLE HILL

Returning heroes vow to free kidnapped shape-shifters from despicable villains in this fifth installment of Hinsley’s dark fantasy series.

Six warriors and fellow travelers battle a fire demon who’s recently escaped a centuries-long banishment. This isn’t the only threat in their world; the brawny half-elf Boudreaux, the small but formidable Gnome, and the four others hear word of a heinous plan underway. It seems hunters are targeting shape-shifters with vicious but nonlethal weapons, and the victims are being taken to a place called Castle Hill. The warriors now head there, with the goal of finding and liberating any captive shape-shifters. Elsewhere, in the village of Westover, the archer Helga searches abandoned goblin tunnels for a missing child, only to discover a lingering malevolence. Over in the city of Rockmoor, the were-cat assassin Sunoor and her working partner, the one-eyed hunter Ratchet, team up with well-intentioned thieves to help preyed-upon innocents. All the while, that fire demon wreaks havoc throughout the land, stoking some individuals’ already “fiery anger.” Hinsley once again delivers a brisk tale that features series regulars and various fantastical settings. As in preceding installments, the multiple subplots ultimately mesh, including Helga’s harrowing ordeal in the tunnels and the “human-animal transmogrification experiments” that Jana, a Witch, has perfected. The author’s pithy writing provides sublime depictions of the cast and the atmosphere: The Pit, for example, is a “walled sandy [fighting] arena topped with rows of short blades that gleamed in the afternoon sun.” The text, as in previous entries, is complemented by Garretsen’s black-and-white artwork, which is stylized to resemble etchings. Highlights among the illustrations include images of Sunoor, who, even if she’s on the side of good, boasts a menacing presence. Plenty is left unresolved for the sequel(s) to pick up from.

A richly detailed and fleet-footed story of clashing steel and sorcery.