Blurb:
From Philip C. Quaintrell, author of the popular fantasy series 'The Echoes Saga': The Ranger Archives trilogy is complete!
Rangers aren't born, they're forged
Never has this been more true for Asher, who must train a new ranger... or be the one to hunt him down. Surviving an encounter with a Werewolf has changed Russell Maybury's life forever. If he is to salvage anything, he must craft a new life using his abilities to do good. Should he stray, he will answer to Asher.
Learning to fight monsters is all the more difficult when the monsters are the ones hunting you. In his possession, Russell holds an artefact of great significance, a relic central to a shadow war waged for centuries untold. On the one side, the Werewolves bring their claws. On the other, the Vorska, blood fiends who know only the night, bring their fangs.
In over his head, Asher must navigate a war of monsters and the machinations of ancient mages if he is to survive. And should he survive, there is still the Assassin that dwells within, a monster of his own making, that fights for supremacy.
One way or another, the ranger is going to bleed...
Review: (contains spoilers)
“Rangers aren’t born, they’re forged.”
Quaintrell does it again in the epic conclusion to the Ranger Archives as we delve deeper into despicable monsters and enter a centuries old conflict between battling foes of the night. Again, as someone who has not read the Echoes Saga, the Ranger Archives has served as my sole glimpse into the dangerous world of Verda. A Dance of Fang and Claw finds Asher continuing to search for monsters to kill, coin to gain, and a way to seek restitution for his damaged soul. He quickly finds himself enmeshed in a deadly conflict between the vampire-like Vorska and a savage pack of Werewolves. A miner in a local village has been bit by the Werewolf pack-leader, Creed, and Asher has been tasked with the job of killing him and ridding the town of their monthly terror. However, Asher sees himself in the newly turned Werewolf and decides to try to help him become a Ranger and find a way to control his Werewolf destruction during the full moons. Asher draws the parallel between Russell’s battle as a human and Werewolf with his own struggles as a Ranger trying to shed the weight of the Assassin. If he can save Russell, that proves that maybe he can be saved as well.
Quaintrell does a fantastic job of continuing to introduce a ton of new and deadly monsters into the world of Verda as we see Asher get to test his hunting skills to the extremes, especially while trying to control and train Russell. However, I think my favorite monster-based aspect of the story was the conflict between the Werewolves and the Vorska. The clashes between the Werewolves and Vorska were epic and bloody and the lore behind them both, centering around Kargon Iskander, was fascinating and continues to add to the worldbuilding that I’m anticipating will keep expanding with the Echoes Saga.
Kargon Iskander, in his dark experiments, created both the Vorska and Werewolves, imbuing them with extreme power but also severe, debilitating disabilities. A bulk of A Dance of Fang and Claw revolves around the acquisition of an orb that Russell is given when he is bitten by Creed, with a mandate to protect it from the Vorska. Each side, the Werewolves and the Vorska, believe that the orb contains hidden and forgotten spells from their long dead creator: Iskander. It is later revealed that the orb actually contains a key to Iskander’s underground lab, where he is not dead, but has cast a spell slowing down time in a bubble around himself, living out the last 800 years in the space of only 8 years for him.
There is lots of discussion about Iskander and his dark magics. There is also mention of Skaramangian Stones as a potential object hidden in the orb before the key is discovered. While we don’t learn much about these ancient Stones, it does get me extremely excited to learn more about them in future books.
Overall, the Ranger Archive is a very narrow look at Verda, solely through the eyes of Asher. While I know the world of Verda is vast and has deep, intense lore, it has been nice to have some of its secrets slowly exposed as Asher begins to venture out into the wider world. So much of the world and Asher remain a secret. We still have a dearth of understanding about Asher’s background. But we can tell how much of an anomaly he is, even in a world filled with monsters and mages. As ancient characters, like the original Vorska Merith, meet him, they all uniformly note that there is something unique and out of place with him. They can recognize something ancient and otherworldly about him, but so far, no one has been able to put their finger on what it is. Quaintrell knows how to keep a secret and keep pulling the readers along for the next reveal.
A Dance of Fang and Claw was an action-packed conclusion to the Ranger Archive and has set me up perfectly to enter the world of Verda via the Echoes Saga. I really enjoyed the personal introduction that Asher gave me into the world of Verda. While I don’t think it’s necessary to start with the Ranger Archive over the Echoes Saga, I do think it’s a great way to get introduced to Asher and Verda and get a flavor for the type of person Asher is. On to the Echoes Saga!
