Barnaby the thief is an optimist. He believes the glass or purse is half full. In fact, it is almost always empty and needs topping up.
Barnaby's home city-state, Corenthal, is in an economic renaissance and provides a lucrative base to ply his trade.
Darker forces are having their renaissance in lands to the east. A sinister wizard has risen to power guiding a titular monarch. Barnaby's way of life is threatened, as wizards rarely tolerate his chosen lifestyle. Barnaby endures trials by fire, water, earth, wind, and magic, climaxing in an all-out attack upon Corenthal by all five elements combined.
Barnaby's knowledge, contacts and circumstance force him into a role of spy, then reluctant leader. The battle between enlightenment and sorcery test the thief's resolve while offering financial opportunity. Will his greed overcome his inner hero?
The Five Perils is the anti-heroic fantasy story of imaginative men and women enduring barbarous times.
Autorentext
Al lives on Vancouver Island with his wife Sandra. Shadowed Passage is his eighth novel following Javenny, Transient City, Rogue Town, The Sixth Helix, The Fourth Vertex, The Third Redux and Barnacle Passage.