Title: The Death Maze
Author: Richard Parnes
Publisher: Writers Branding, LLC
ASIN: B09F5JM3PC
Genre: Sci-Fi / Fantasy
Pages: 391
Reviewed by: David Allen
Hollywood Book Reviews
The Death Maze is a book which literally has it all. In author Richard Parnes’ skillful hands, a tale of fantasy, science fiction, eco-mindedness and drama comes together in the tiny town of Arione, California. The geographic hopscotch from Miami to Arizona, to Florida, to California, with occasional side commentaries on New York City, will be welcome to those who know or want to know these places.
Something evil is lurking in the desert and a small town in the southwest. A survivor of an ancient race of Nubians, a master wizard, has been capturing human beings and subjecting them to the fatal rigors of a labyrinth, located somewhere on the business end of a time portal. Daniel Adams, a geothermal chemist who studies heat sinks and traps within the Earth, happens upon a portal and becomes a pawn in Apep’s (Apep is the Nubian sorcerer) sick game of ‘find your way out of the maze or die.’ Many have tried and failed. Dr. Dan Adams gets to be the next hapless fly under the magnifying glass.
At one-point Apep informs Dr. Adams that Adams has really provoked him by interfering with the ancient layering of Earth, hence the retribution. Richard Parnes is to be lauded for including this eco-perspective at a time when all media platforms cry out for greater awareness of the environmental doom we might be facing. Victims of the time portal wind up in the sixth dimension where they encounter stunning replays of their earliest childhood experiences.
The love interests in this captivating yarn are also ably detailed. Dr. Adam’s grief over his lost love is eventually assuaged by Ruth Putnam, who barely survives a highway crash to become Adams’ assistant. A very believable and charming cast of characters accompany Adams and Ruth – sometimes to their unwitting detriment – in their arc toward danger and ultimate triumph.
The labyrinth and the sadistic antics of Apep are an excellent vehicle for fascinating backstories related to magic, Ancient Egypt, and the marvels of time, physics, and chemistry. The Death Maze follows in the grand tradition of labyrinth stories, starting with Aridne’s thread in the cave of the Minotaur, on up to Gothic fiction, then to Jorge Luis Borges. The Death Maze is written in a fluent, highly descriptive style, with impressive fleshing out of the main characters and their evolving conflicts. Next time you’re on the beach, or trapped in a labyrinth, pick this volume up. It is heady stuff, good fantasy/science fiction, and a terrific read.