The Thorn of Dentonhill
Ratings4
Average rating3.6
Blending vigilante justice with epic fantasy, student mage Veranix Calbert fights crime in the city of Maradaine in this fast-paced debut novel • “Veranix is Batman, if Batman were a teenager and magically talented.” —Library Journal Veranix Calbert leads a double life. By day, he’s a struggling magic student at the University of Maradaine. At night, he spoils the drug trade of Willem Fenmere, crime boss of Dentonhill and murderer of Veranix’s father. He’s determined to shut Fenmere down. With that goal in mind, Veranix disrupts the delivery of two magical artifacts meant for Fenmere's clients, the mages of the Blue Hand Circle. Using these power-filled objects in his fight, he quickly becomes a real thorn in Fenmere's side. So much so that soon not only Fenmere, but powerful mages, assassins, and street gangs all want a piece of “The Thorn.” And with professors and prefects on the verge of discovering his secrets, Veranix’s double life might just fall apart. Unless, of course, Fenmere puts an end to it first. Explore the back alleys of the city in this street-level fantasy adventure, the first novel of the Maradaine series. Then see Maradaine from a new perspective, with Maresca's second, concurrent series set in the same city: A Murder of Mages begins the Maradaine Constabulary novels, featuring an unlikely partnership of two detectives in the city’s constabulary.
Series
Series
12 primary books13 released books#1 in Maradaine Sequence
Maradaine Sequence is a 13-book series with 13 primary works first released in 2015 with contributions by Marshall Ryan Maresca.
Series
3 primary books#1 in Maradaine
Maradaine is a 3-book series with 3 primary works first released in 2015 with contributions by Marshall Ryan Maresca.
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This is a somewhat diverting and readable novel about a student at a university of magic who carries on a secret lone feud against the powerful drug dealer who destroyed his parents. The young hero, Veranix, is supposed to be fairly intelligent, but recklessly pursues his feud daily at constant risk of death, distracting from his magical education, and without giving himself time to recover from injuries. It seems a bit over the top. At least take the odd day off now and then and live like a normal student. Although he's resourceful, his survival is at least in part a matter of luck; and his adventures endanger his friends, too.Characterization is merely adequate. There are a number of distinct characters here, and we get a vague sense of them, but I didn't emerge from the book feeling involved with any of them, not even with Veranix himself.It feels to me like a book deliberately written for teenage readers; written quite well, but not a completely adult novel. Though it is of course readable by adults.After reading this, I was interested enough to try another book by the same author, but I skipped to his Constabulary series ([b:A Murder of Mages 23590634 A Murder of Mages (The Maradaine Constabulary, #1) Marshall Ryan Maresca https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1428684947s/23590634.jpg 43193391]) instead of carrying on with the sequel to this one.
