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Reviewed by Lit Amri for Readers' Favorite
Simon Cantan’s The Bite on the Line (Bytarend Series Book 1) is a fantasy novel interwoven with mystery, magic and humor. The story starts with the invasion of Latraio castle by the Ministrians. Seventeen-year-old Prince Tondbert escapes the raid and ends up at Wikeadward, trying to stay inconspicuous as Thief Kings are not welcome in the city. By fate, he somehow got himself enlisted as one of the City Guard. Meanwhile, Sergeant Osric Ward of the City Guard successfully nabbed a serial killer. Unfortunately, the crime involves a noble and injustice prevails. Osric and Tondbert, who accidentally got himself involved in the case, are sent to Bytarend as punishment – a small mountain town no one has heard from in almost a hundred years. The pace of the story starts to pick up at this moment, as one wonders about the duo’s fate and what lies in the mysterious town.
The world building is interesting with the different races that Cantan presented alongside humans – the short, blue skinned Desertmen, and the tall Greymen with their advanced technology. In Bytarend, protagonists Osric and Tondbert have to face the lifeleeches or dark mages who are addicted to the power, draining life from people and using the energy for themselves. Animal leeches, on the other hand, drain life from animals. Then there’s the lifeless, the bodies of the people that the lifeleeches have drained, which are certainly no different than zombies.
Characterization is solid and the straightforward prose helps to unfold the plot swiftly. Initially, the storyline is somewhat hectic and the backstory of each character seems loose and detached at first. That said, everything comes together as the story progresses and I truly enjoyed the action scenes and humor. Overall, an entertaining novel from Cantan.
