Hiero Desteen is a telepathic priest and warrior who travels upon his mighty steed, the brave moose Klootz. Hiero's world is one of strong fantasy. The modern world has long collapsed allowing room for evil magicians and mutated giant mammals to live in the overgrown Great Lakes region of the United States. Fearing domination by an organization of evil psychics, known as the Dark Brotherhood or Masters of the Unclean, Hiero ventures across the landscape in search of answers. He meets and befriends a telepathic bear, enjoys the company of the Eleveners, a group of pacifist vegetarian environmentalists and rescues a young woman, Luchare, from sacrifice, thus precipitating a long romantic engagement. Lanier brings the dangerous and mutated world of Hiero Desteen to life through situations of the fantastic. Ancient, giant sea monsters live among the rusted remains of ancient cities, submerged by the flooded Great Lakes. Giant mutant animals roam the wilderness, little understood. Some have developed psychic talents. The world is fantastic. Telepathy and other psychic disciplines have emerged in humans and other animals, thus blurring their differences. Animals with psychic abilities tend to be humanized, while evil characters tend to bestial behavior. The magic of Lanier's world is one of pseudo-science whose origins are implied through the lingering presence of radiation and its mutating effects.Hiero's Journey is a great read in the tradition of the mythic quest. Lanier has filled his world with wonder and imagination and treats with respect and sincerity otherwise absurd concepts.
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