Greedy as a Ghoul - Book Review

Greedy as a Ghoul, by Casey Sutton, is a three-chapter short story prequel to a fantasy novel to be released in June 2023. The dark mystical story opens with Malfus contemplating why he had left the academy where his training would lead to a mage license, a man of magic. He acknowledges that he left the structure and the security of the academy to continue his research to save someone named Kiara. He also left because he felt persecuted for what he focused on in his research.

When Malfus leaves the academy he is destitute and starving. Fortunately, salvation arrives in the form of a flock of screeching buzzards flying overhead. He followed the swarm of carrion eaters to the site of a battle. The ground is covered with corpses being munched on by various birds. Not caring about the cause of the deaths, only in what valuables he might retrieve, Malfus began to plunder the dead. Suddenly a concentration of negative energy alerted him to danger. Referencing his book of spells and magic, he began to chant a spell. Two scruffy men appeared out of the mist and confronted him. They lay claim to the booty of the dead.

When the two assailants confront him, he didn't back down. Instead, he unleashed a powerful energy string that wrapped around one of the men's legs. Malfus summons a zombie and the sight of a corpse rising up was enough to make the robbers flee in terror. The zombie was only the first of many dead summoned. While the robbers ran for their lives, Malfus ordered his undead servants to scavenge for weapons and valuable items among the corpses. It was a display of both power and cunning and one that left no doubt as to who was in control.

A sinister ghoul appears and sets about savagely devouring the remains of an undead. Its arrival sets the stage for a spine-chilling showdown with the zombies. While both are supernatural and malevolent beings who sustain themselves by feeding on corpses, the zombies rely on biting to draw blood like a vampire. In contrast, ghouls consume decaying human flesh often pilfered from graves. It is a ghastly and horrifying struggle as these creatures clash over the dead.

Malfus, is a skilled wizard, who carries a secret box wrapped in black velvet. Within the box lies the key to his forbidden research - a spell to communicate with the dead. Every day since leaving the academy, Malfus has practiced this necromancy in the hopes of resurrecting his beloved Kiara. With the power to command spirits telepathically, Malfus is determined to bring her back to life, no matter the consequences. Fear and uncertainty may haunt most of the living, but Malfus will stop at nothing to break the barrier between life and death.

With this short story as a teaser, readers will hungrily anticipate the full-length dark fantasy, Malfus: Necromancer Unchained.