When Martin and Leigha Vandorfer take a trip into the desert, strange things begin to happen. A sandstorm buries their car, forcing them to walk back to the campground, a horrible prospect for Leigha, who hates the desert. Along the way, they stop for the night in the shelter of a crumbling adobe. Martin awakes to find he has drifted through time, alone and at the mercy of a sorcerer, Maranther. There is something he must first learn about himself before Maranther will allow him to reunite with his wife. With the help of Running Feathers in the past, he is able to find Leigha, who also has past experiences to settle before she can move on. Once they find each other and travel into the future they find a group of survivors who help them develop inner strength so that they can confront Maranther and return to their lives.

Maranther's Deception is a very spiritual book that looks at how past experiences can hinder our present and future. The negativity that both Martin and Leigha keep inside depletes their inner strength and only once they confront these experiences can they build their strength. Mr. Colyer’s storytelling ability kept me reading, wanting to know how the two would be reunited and how they would defeat Maranther. Even though I have never been near a desert in my life, the descriptions gave me a firm idea of what the desert is like. The ending of the novel, though, seemed out of place to me. While interesting, the reason Maranther chose Martin and Leigha didn’t fit with the rest of the story

My Recommendation
Maranther's Deceptionis a good bet if you like a little mysticism in your fiction. While the themes are deep, the reading is not tedious or difficult. This is a good title to put on your casual summer reading list.

Maranther's Decption by Nik C. Colyer
Published by Singing Reed Press
302 pages

Maranther's Deception is available at Amazon.com