Andrew Post has penned an imaginative fantasy adventure for young adults that brings together unexpected allies who band together to protect themselves and the city of Geyser. Nineteen-year-old Clyde, oddly clueless about the outside world, sees his master, Mr. Wilkshire, slain and vows to avenge him. Clyde is a fabrick weaver, this world's form of magic. With this ability bad luck befalls those who confess their sins to him. Soon after Clyde begins his quest, he meets a motley group of companions who join his cause including a mouflon, a mercenary with animal-like characteristics, Flam;, a Fabrick weaver or "Stitcher" named Nevele; and a collection of intelligent mice known as Rohm.

Their journey takes them on a wild ride to the tunnels below the city with lots of unbelievable incidents and factions including crashing elevators, mining tunnels, treasure, a corrupt king, a crazy pursuer, an alien species, pirates and more. Apparently, this is the first in a series of tales about the fabrick weavers.

Post does a fabulous job with his characters, making most of them gray rather than black or white. The story does have its villains, but the majority is quite realistic. Post has a terrific imagination and the story introduces many interesting ideas. That said, this reviewer thinks he tries to do too much with numerous storylines that don't quite gel. The tale meanders in the middle. The story does have many moments of intrigue and surprise as well as a certain charm. The question is whether the tale's characters and ideas are enough to outweigh its drawbacks. Personally, I don't think they do.

Book Summary

The city of Geyser is in ruins. Clyde comes out of his cellar bedroom to find his master murdered and a world he doesn’t understand destroyed. All he knows is that he can ease men’s minds when they confess their sins to him. But it comes at a price: a jinx in exact balance to whatever crime they committed.

Clyde sets off on a journey to bring the person responsible for killing his master to justice. He’s guided by Flam, the Mouflon treasure hunter with his brawn and blunderbuss; Nevele, the Royal Stitcher who’s covered from head to toe in sutures; and Rohm, a hyperintelligent pack of talking frisk mice that can assemble into human form. Clyde’s never even been out of his master’s home before. But now he’s on a self-appointed quest that’ll take him through a razed city, to the underground, back up, and to the palace beyond—all to make things right again.