Publisher's Synopsis
Stay and live or enter and die. The choice seems easy, until you read why...
Benjamin Arlin lives in a world that is stuck in a cycle of frequent wars with the Great Beasts of the Southern Mountains. They have taken the thing most important to him: his family. Now alone, he has left his position as a beast hunter and become a soldier for hire. But the scars of war and loss have left him hopeless, and he struggles to stay on mission. Yet, he has a job to do. One last job before he will take some time to himself. All he has to do is find an old book-or so he thinks, until he is given another assignment: kill the Beast of the Woods.
The mysterious being known as "the Beast" is an ancient creature that dwells in a dangerous plot of dense foliage called the Woods, which is said to be protected by a deadly invisible boundary. Legends surround the Beast, rumors of it luring people to their death and drawing the Great Beasts of the Southern Mountains to attack. But those rumors are just that. Rumors. Legends. Myths. Few believe the Beast is even real, and far fewer have actually seen it. So, when Benjamin is sent to kill the Beast, he doubts anything will come of the mission. But little does he know what lies at the end of the journey, for the Beast and the book he was tasked to find may be more connected than he thinks.
With friends old and new by his side, Benjamin must fight for his life and his purpose and learn to believe a story that some say holds the key to saving the world as he knows it. The adventure is just beginning!
If you like books like C.S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia, J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, and Leigh Bardugo's Shadow and Bone, this book is a must read! Filled with epic adventure, found family, powers unknown, and mysterious new worlds, this book will introduce you to places never before seen on an adventure that is just beginning!
