Tor's Quest Series

"Dying is becoming rather inconvenient" – Lord Patrick de Cowen. Prince Tor of Remeny never wanted to take part in the quest to claim the throne after his father's death and now he has no choice but to continue. What started off as an adventure, a chance to make new friends and catch-up with old acquaintances, has turned into a deadly nightmare. Tor is only part way through the quest, but already he has lost companions and witnessed the death of one of his brothers, making him realise how serious the quest really is. Follow the journey of Tor and his band of men, women, wizards, elves, dwarfs and sprites as they use all of their wits, skills and magical ability to find and solve the remaining clues before any more of them are killed.   The latest clue requires them to seek "a guide from another world". Finding the person is the easy part; persuading them to risk their life for a group of strangers will be a bigger challenge. And what will Tor do if the 'guide' refuses to help?   This is not the usual type of fantasy novel where Good versus Evil and it all ends in a big battle. It is the journey that is important, not the final destination. As you get to know the characters, and they get to know each other, you will grow to love or hate them and will find yourself eager to know what happens next. Tor's Quest is a 5 part series, starting with The Guide.  The Maze, The Bard, The Pendant and The Assassin are also available.

Death and betrayal When the King died, leaving his throne to whoever succeeds in a quest, Prince Tor's brothers readily accepted the challenge. Tor was more reluctant. Now that he has lost friends and at least one brother is dead. When a clue required Tor and his companions to find 'a guide from another world', a witch dragged a young woman from her own world to a land filled with magic, mythical creatures and dangerous monsters. Having convinced her to aid him in his quest, Tor has successfully procured the latest clue and is one step closer to obtaining the throne. Now he just has to persuade her to go through agony in order to find the next clue, or another guide must be found. When the group discover that they need to enter a maze, from which nobody has ever escaped, one of the team must be left behind. Once inside the maze, they will need to solve a series of puzzles to continue the quest, with death being the penalty for each wrong answer. Nobody is safe, as one of Tor's brothers finds out the hard way, and Tor discovers that he cannot trust all of his friends when he uncovers a betrayal. A chance remark leads to one of the team finding out that the quest has a twist, making it even more deadly than any of those taking part could ever have imagined.

Abandoning the quest is no longer an option  The king is dead and his sons must complete a quest in order to take over the throne. What started off as an adventure has become a nightmare. Prince Tor has witnessed the deaths of friends and brothers and has discovered that the quest is designed to kill all who take part. When a clue required Tor and his companions to find 'a guide from another world', a witch dragged a young woman from her own world to a land filled with magic, mythical creatures and dangerous monsters. She risked her life and went through agony in order to obtain the latest clue; now she must make an even bigger sacrifice. The group has to find the mysterious Bard and convince him to help them, but not everyone they meet can be trusted, as one of them discovers when she pays the ultimate price for having faith in the wrong person. The surprising truth about one of them is revealed and another's true past is discovered. When Tor is forced to visit a place no man wishes to go, he uncovers the reality of the nightly rituals that take place there. New allies will join them while others are left behind as the quest makes them revisit familiar places, with deadly consequences. They meet old friends once more, as well as old enemies, and discover that the dangers they must face are far from over.

The quest finally comes to an end  The quest for the throne of Remeny is almost at and end; the Guide has been summoned, the Maze has been conquered and the Bard has been found, but never have Tor and his companions been in more danger. The recent losses are greatly felt by all, but they will not be the last. Who is Brodin's companion who seems to know Sam and will his presence cause more problems for the Princes or will he fill the void that now exists in the team? When the group is forced to split into two, not all will live to be reunited. Some will be forced to return to a land they never wanted to set foot in again and the quest becomes the least of Tor's concerns as he worries whether one of his team will try to commit regicide. As one half of the team meet strange and unique creatures, the other is forced to confront an old enemy. One member of the group is plagued by terrifying nightmares that may be more than just bad dreams while another encounters a ghost from their past who will change their life forever. With the help of flying horses, ogres and centaurs, Tor and his friends must overcome zombies and deadly secret societies if they are to survive.

Find out how it all began. When his father died, Tor had no intention of taking over the throne and initially refused to take part in the quest. However, when the opportunity presented itself to help a friend, he reluctantly agreed to compete against his brothers.  When he gathers a team to help him, collecting new friends and old along the way, little does he know the dangers they will all face. The clues they have to solve are not easy and the challenges they have to overcome seem almost impossible at times, but teamwork and friendship will keep them going forward.  When asked to commit murder, Tor tries to refuse, but is given no choice. He almost quits when a companion has to walk into fire in order for the team to continue on the quest, but it is the death of one of them that makes him question whether the quest is worth the sacrifices he and his friends are forced to make.  When the issues one of his team has with the ruler of another country causes problems for everyone, Tor begins to doubt the wisdom of travelling with friends instead of hired mercenaries, until he finds out the hard way just how uncontrollable 'thugs for hire' can be. 

Death still hunts Tor and his team  The quest for the throne of Remeny is over and those who have survived have returned to their homes, hoping to live out the rest of their lives in peace. This proves to be impossible, however, when the disturbing news that more of their friends have died leads them to discover that an assassin is hunting down everyone who took part in the quest. Deciding that there is safely in numbers, Tor and some of his companions on the quest decide to seek all of their friends who are still alive. As they travel from county to country, they must uncover who hired the assassin, and why, all the while avoiding the deadly traps laid in their path and praying that they can reach their friends before the assassin does. Meeting old acquaintances they thought never to see again is not the joyful event it should be and some reunions cause more problems than they solve. When one of the group is taken seriously ill, it is a race to find a cure before it is too late. Meanwhile, Patrick's reputation with women causes problems for him and a face from Dal's past threatens to destroy her marriage. How can they kill a skilled assassin before he kills them? And if they succeed, how do they stop their enemy sending another assassin after them when they have no idea who he or she is?

Tor's Quest meets Diary of a Journey through Hell.   After hundreds of years hating his life, Patrick has finally found happiness, but when a mysterious girl arrives on his island he realises it isn't as secure as he thought.  How did she get there and is she really a demi-god, as she claims?  And who is the other stranger who arrives later, causing her to flee? When Kris had to suddenly leave the underworld, he had no idea he would end up in a world full of witches, wizards, elves and vampires.  Now he is trapped while his relatives fight a war they cannot win. Will he find a way home before it is too late to save the gods and demi-gods or will Cronus find his way to Earth and destroy all humans?   With Patrick's help, he seeks out the wizards  They may have a way to trap Cronus, but will they be prepared to help.  And if so, what use will it be if he can't find a way back home?   This latest book in the Tor's Quest series is filled with some of your favourite characters and merges with the world from Diary of a Journey through Hell.  New friendships are formed and new enemies become known, one of which may destroy both worlds if he cannot be stopped.