"The Great Deeds of Payven Larum" by Rod M. Santos
In "The Great Deeds of Payven Larum" by Rod M. Santos, Payven Larum has serious problems controlling his Fear riposte. And this monkey attached to his head. Don’t even ask about the dragon eggs. It’s all his roommate, Dimplemore’s fault. In an attempt to control his Hunger riposte, Dimp convinces Payven to accompany him on a quest to trap the Dire Boar of Daleekonia.
Payven the Craven, as Dimp dubs him, decides to go because “Everyone should have one story that can be told anyplace, whether it’s at a party, or on a date or—at their funeral.”
In this quick and pleasant read, Santos uses creative wordplay, allegory, and satire that teased a few giggles out of me. The action takes the reader along with the mages into the forest, through the Teleportals, and back to their dorm room where the Headmaster arrives to straighten out the mess.
The story is reminiscent of a Hogwart’s adventure crossed with a spring break experience. The humor is sarcastic and crude—fitting for the adolescent characters. Young adult readers will identify with Payven’s dilemma—do you control your fear or does fear control you? And is being fearful any worse than being just plain stupid?
No evil here; just the bumbling, poorly controlled magic of beginning mages. Payven has a story to tell, gets the monkey off his head, and realizes that the many faces of fear can limit one’s life: “a shield or a cage, a thief or a jailer, an invention or an inheritance.”