Penultimate Quest

Lars Brown author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Iron Circus Comics

Published:19th Nov '20

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Penultimate Quest cover

"What begins as a twisty fantasy adventure ends as a call to action." — SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL, Starred Review

"Utterly surprising in its construction and philosophical scope." — BOOKLIST, Starred Review

"Complex, challenging, and ultimately rewarding." — KIRKUS

“Why are we going down there, anyway; some mystery to uncover, treasure to find? Why are we here?”

Far across the Western Ocean on a mist-shrouded island guarded by giant sea monsters, heroes come to explore the mysterious dungeons that lie below the surface. None have yet to reach the bottom and return to tell the tale. Each party gathers daily for a new round of potion-making, sword-sharpening, armor-buying, and dungeon-crawling, and after hours of leveling up in dangerous battles with monstrous creatures from the depths, they rest and try again the next day when everything repeats. That is, until one adventurer stops to ask why. Is it endlessly exciting, or simply endless?

In a witty, genre-defying tale of magic, mystery, and philosophy, brave warriors must learn the difference between diversion and escape as they try to break the cycle of a penultimate quest in which the final fantasy never arrives.

"What begins as a twisty fantasy adventure ends as a call to action, empowering readers to question the status quo and create a world in which we are stronger together." — SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL, Starred Review

"Utterly surprising in its construction and philosophical scope, this remarkable adventure is one that readers will happily repeat." — BOOKLIST, Starred Review

"Brown’s clever mashup smashes genre constraints, rendering this akin to It’s a Wonderful Life told through a delightfully snarky gamer’s lens, absent Christmas but heavy on the monsters. . . . . Complex, challenging, and ultimately rewarding." — KIRKUS

"With the book’s appealing mix of highbrow philosophizing with lowbrow humor, the silly paves the way for the profound." — FOREWORD

"Uses online multiplayer gaming tropes to explore themes of taking responsibility for one’s actions and the importance of facing challenges head-on." — PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

“No Exit meets Dungeons & Dragons, with a hulking existential crisis to go with its giant slug killing.” — io9

ISBN: 9781945820502

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: unknown

352 pages