The Bane, a plague of monstrous, deadly creatures which started from a cursed island off Marillin’s coast, now threatens the neighboring Vales. There’s only a crumbling wall held together by weakening Wards and defended by a few brave men to keep the people safe. Vales has run out of mages to maintain the Wards, and they’ve run out of hunters willing to go ranging beyond the wall without true magic to keep them safe. As the danger of the Bane grows, perhaps the only rescue lies in an exiled ranger and a lord’s daughter shut away in a convent.

Banehunter (A Vereldan Tale) by Greg McLeod is a superb epic fantasy. I admire Arden, Lord Thorley’s only son, who initially appears as a weakling but matures quite quickly. He even got himself purposely ‘bitten’ (infected by the Bane) by a woman named Wulfwyn to help her and her people. I also admire Breanne, Arden’s sister, a young woman with great fortitude. Her strange seizures that bring sudden blind spells accompanied often by frightening visions make her more intriguing. The siblings are more than unloved children of a bitter lord. Along with Graeme, the exiled ranger, they are destined to be saviors.

I like McLeod’s handling of the story – there’s plenty of intrigue and tantalizing suspense as the plot unravels. The complex characters give Banehunter an added dimension and the fight scenes would satisfy action fans. On the whole, great characterization and solid writing make McLeod’s Banehunter a powerful fantasy tale.

In a devastated world in a time without much hope, heroes are hard to come by. Banehunter: A Vereldan Tale by Greg McLeod tells of Graeme Banehunter who is one such hero as he scours the no-man’s land between the walls to try to keep the Bane at bay and ensure the safety of the people of Baintry. His valiant efforts are undermined, however, by the unreasonable Lord of Thorhold who insists on Graeme taking his son into the Vales to try to make him into a man. Meanwhile, the lord’s daughter, Breanne, also incurs her father’s anger and retreats to the Sisters of Verelda with just one small piece of jewelry to remember her mother by.

With strange visions, the pull of her silver circlet, and a sudden understanding, Breanne leaves the Sisters to join Graeme in order to fulfill what she feels is her calling. Together with other volunteers who turn into heroes in their own right, Graeme and Breanne travel the country to find and eliminate the source of the Bane and restore peace to the land. Will they be able to combat the forces of evil unleashed from the dark god Amut by a power hungry mage who wants to rule the world?

A rich back story and well developed characters make up the world of Banehunter: A Vereldan Tale by Greg McLeod. The action pulls you in from the first page and the intensity of emotion and depth of dedication of the characters keep you riveted all the way to the end. This is an excellent book for fantasy devotees as it provides plenty of intrigue and heartfelt emotion in a sweeping tale of good versus evil, of gods and mere men.