Prophecy of the Guardian-J.W Baccaro

Prophecy of the Guardian
J.W Baccaro
Whiskey Creek, 2010, $17.95
ISBN: 9781611600247

The Second Great War between the forces of the Light and their eternal enemy the Dark has ignited. Leading the Dark is Abaddon the Demon Lord who has a strategy to end the endless war with his side victorious and the light forever stuffed out. He seeks the four ancient Wizard Crystals of the Elements with plans to turn them into evil weapons of mass destruction.

At the same time Nasharin warrior Darshun Luthais knows the significance of possessing the crystals. He and a few comrades search for the powerful crystals in order to thwart the schemes of Abaddon. Their quest is dangerous as the minion of the Dark attack them. However, Darshun’s greatest challenge is to remain true to the Light and avoid any shortcuts that would turn him and his party evil though it costs lives to his companions. If he is the Guardian as many hope and suspect, he must remain pure to the Light or Abaddon will have won even without the crystals.

This is an exciting fun to read quest fantasy starring a confident young warrior who believes strongly in his skills and hopefully wise enough to not give in to temptation of the Dark short cuts especially when he sees teammates he has known all his life die and has to face their family; think of Truman’s ethical dilemma of not using the A-bomb just after the Battle of Okinawa. The story line is action-packed from the onset though it enables the audience to observe the Nasharin belief system, a critical element in the thriller. Although not as vivid as I would prefer due to the entertaining faster than light plot, sub-genre fans will appreciate this superb opening act of the Guardian of the Seventh Realm.

Harriet Klausner