The Thorn of Dentonhill

Blending vigilante justice with epic fantasy, student mage Veranix Calbert fights crime in the city of Maradaine in this fast-paced debut novel • “Veranix is Batman, if Batman were a teenager and magically talented.” —Library Journal

Veranix Calbert leads a double life. By day, he’s a struggling magic student at the University of Maradaine. At night, he spoils the drug trade of Willem Fenmere, crime boss of Dentonhill and murderer of Veranix’s father. He’s determined to shut Fenmere down.
 
With that goal in mind, Veranix disrupts the delivery of two magical artifacts meant for Fenmere's clients, the mages of the Blue Hand Circle.  Using these power-filled objects in his fight, he quickly becomes a real thorn in Fenmere's side.
 
So much so that soon not only Fenmere, but powerful mages, assassins, and street gangs all want a piece of “The Thorn.” And with professors and prefects on the verge of discovering his secrets, Veranix’s double life might just fall apart. Unless, of course, Fenmere puts an end to it first.

Explore the back alleys of the city in this street-level fantasy adventure, the first novel of the Maradaine series. Then see Maradaine from a new perspective, with Maresca's second, concurrent series set in the same city: A Murder of Mages begins the Maradaine Constabulary novels, featuring an unlikely partnership of two detectives in the city’s constabulary.

Marshall Ryan Maresca grew up in upstate New York and studied film and video production at Penn State.  He now lives Austin with his wife and son.  His work appeared in Norton Anthology of Hint Fiction and Rick Klaw’s anthology Rayguns Over Texas. He also has had several short plays produced and has worked as a stage actor, a theatrical director and an amateur chef. His novels The Thorn of Dentonhill and A Murder of Mages each begin their own fantasy series, both set in the port city of Maradaine. For more information, visit Marshall’s website at www.mrmaresca.com.