The Thorn of Dentonhill

August 3, 2015
Vigilante justice meets magical mayhem in this lively fantasy series debut. Veranix Calbert leads a double life: by day he's a student of magic at the prestigious University of Maradaine, but at night, he becomes the Thorn, an avenger taking on dealers of the dangerous drug effitteâa drug that destroyed his family. When Veranix accidentally captures a sack full of magical artifacts bound for a shady group of powerful mages, he stirs up far more trouble than he ever expected. The story moves briskly, and Maresca's characters are well-rounded and believable. Maradaine is a fabulous city brimming with possibilities, with its streets filled with students and professors, street gangs, mages, merchants, and regular folk. Fans of tricky capers and intrigue will enjoy this colorful series opener.

Starred review from February 15, 2015

As a student mage at the University of Maradaine, Veranix has a secret: at night he sneaks off campus to thwart the drug dealers operating in the slums of nearby Dentonhill. He is determined to get as much of the drug known as effitte off the streets as possible, having seen its devastating effects when his own mother was forcibly fed the drug and left brain dead. Balancing his studies and his secret work as a vigilante gets much more difficult after he takes something stolen from the local crime boss that a local mage circle desperately want back. VERDICT Veranix is Batman, if Batman were a teenager and magically talented. His uncompromising devotion to crushing the local crime boss encourages him to take foolish risks, but his resourcefulness keeps our hero one step ahead of those who seek to bring him down. Action, adventure, and magic in a school setting will appeal to those who love Harry Potter and Patrick Rothfuss's The Name of the Wind.

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