Hit & Fade: Forgotten Ruin book 2 by Jason Anspach and Nick Cole is an even crazier ride than the first book, if such a thing is even possible. I thought the last book was intense and high-stakes, but this one tops it. This time around we’ll be looking at the ebook, as the audiobook won’t be ready until June, but the ebook comes out April 1st on Amazon.

There is of course no rest for the righteous. Hit & Fade picks up only two weeks after the Rangers seized a castle in Forgotten Ruin. In that time, the Rangers have of course been busy, but unlike the Roman legions, their primary recreational activities do not involve draining marshes and building roads, let alone fixing the castle defenses. Knowing Rangers, what it probably did involve was PT, range time, and trying to catch the eye of the elven women who started trickling in from the wilds once the castle had been liberated.

Freshly resupplied, and having done whatever passes for rest with them, the Rangers now need to deal with masses of something advancing on the castle. If you want an idea of what we are getting into here, just check out that glorious cover art by Tommaso Renieri. Talker, Last of Autumn, and the Rangers are going to be absolutely buried by the restless dead.

Skeletons, zombies, and other shambling undead in D&D are typically numerous but fragile, best managed by a sturdy cleric that can counter the foul magic that animates them. Or, if you are a Ranger, high explosives and kinetic violence. A fun detail from D&D is that skeletons move silently, which is not something I would have expected, but I chanced upon a summary of undead monsters in AD&D recently. Private Kennedy strikes again.

Unfortunately, when necromancy is involved, you don’t just have to deal with such mindless hordes, but also their dark master. If it was easy, anyone could do it.

If you want to see how this all goes down, and you thought Forgotten Ruin was the most fun you’ve had in ages, why not grab a copy now? I certainly got what I came for.

I was provided a review copy by the authors. ( )