TRACES OF MAGIC IN A HARSH AND BLOODY LAND

In Dolan’s fantasy series starter, a gang of assassins in North America plot revenge after their attempt to procure more power is thwarted.

The Markasandra Valley, as it’s known, is populated by many different types of people, including druids, paladins, rangers, mages, barbarians, and members of the clergy; its towns and cities exist in relative peace and harmony. Beneath the calm surface of society, however, an assassins’ guild wields power and influence. Led by Nadine Wilson, also known as the Nightshade, the guild operates like an organized crime syndicate: Members hide behind legitimate businesses while extorting others with “protection fees” and quietly controlling the flow of commerce between their city and neighboring towns. The guild decides to expand the scope of its power by investing in magic to control the weather. To accomplish this, the members plan to eliminate the animal guardians of the land: unicorns, winged horses, and “glow dogs.” But a group of magically inclined young adults, while gathering holly branches for Holy Week, foil an attempt to kill or disperse a herd of unicorns. Patrick Elfkind, a cleric; rangers Kilian Eagle-claw and Alex Running-bear; druidess Heather Prairie-dove; and Mike Stilwater, a paladin, save most of the herd and kill the strike force of assassins. The guild, as a result, becomes determined to exact revenge. This first book in Dolan’s fantasy series has an intriguing premise, which the author discusses in some detail in the foreword; in it, he intriguingly notes that the inspiration for this novel came from his own speculation on what a Celtic-Norse community might have been like if, in the 12th century, it had settled in an uninhabited region of what’s now Kentucky. The execution of the concept doesn’t quite come together in a satisfying way, however. The villains’ lengthy speeches, a tendency toward overly long exposition, and a detached prose style make the pacing drag. The large cast of underdeveloped characters doesn’t help matters, and readers may find the book’s handling of its Christian themes to be heavy-handed as well.

An ambitious but meandering magical adventure in an intriguing setting.