THE LAST GUARDIAN

By Stephen LaFevers
RFI West, Inc 1-58697-452-1
E-book
$4.95

One night in 1978 at Fairbanks, Alaska, Ed and his nephew Sunny are eating in a diner where a half-naked (vertically naked), blue-skinned princess named Alyssa comes to their table only to be pulled away by a gargantuan warrior. So starts out the hyperactive, sc-fi, fantasy adventure through the multiverse written by Mr. Lafevers.

Our universe is one of 12, connected by Gates protected by Guardians. But there is this mad mutha fucker names Lord Syndox Grimm who has killed off all the Guardians and wants to keeps the Gates open and have the multiverse blend together, setting off a domino effect of natural disaster.

Enter Sunny, an asthmatic, idiotic, heart-of-gold buffoon who, when he wears a special peace of jewelry, becomes the last of the Guardians, growing a few feet taller with muscles and an amazing ability to kill people with skill. He looks so mean and dangerous, Sunny is often mistaken for Lord Grimm.

LaFevers seems to capture something that is hard to do. He created an unpretentious fantasy story that doesn't alienate the reader. So much Sc-Fi/ Fantasy out there thinks it has to prove itself to its genre by creating this over-descriptive world. In my experience, when books like that come my way, I find that they are extremely weak in character. LaFevers describes setting as he goes and often does it in a passing by manner. Also, the story is told in first person through uncle Ed, a handy, middle-aged, regular kind of guy, keeping the story well grounded.

At times, the plot seemed a bit repetitious. But it felt like I was sitting in a car with people I liked; there was always something witty or funny happening. It really didn't bother me.

There is some excellent banter between Ed and Sunny, and between Lyssa, the cosmic princess, and the working-class, belly-dancing college girl named Jane who unwillingly falls into the adventure.

The action is hard and furious at some points, but that doesn't upset the light tone of the story. LaFevers is such a master of this kind of tone and I wish I can capture it in this review, but I can only throw out a few references that seem to share with this book: Douglas Adams, Kurt Vonnegut, S.P. Somtow, and Terry Gilliam.

So, if you are looking for a highly entertaining read with plenty of hilariously off-kilter characters that bounce around through different worlds, then this is the best damn book you are gonna find of the subject.

Review by Mike Purfield

Critical Raves for Mike Purfield's "Dirty Boots."

"If you're looking for a good read, something you've never experienced before, then this is the book for you." Paul Kane of Terror Tales.

Rated 3 out of 4 by Unhinged Magazine.

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