Devil's Garden (The Paladin Sequence)

The Paladin Sequence is an introduction to a world on the brink of apocalypse. Told through the eyes of Matthew Paladin, an exorcist who knows all too well what it means to be a thrall to an infernal force, the Paladin Sequence is a retrospective account of the events that have led Matthew to the end of what seems to be mankind’s best hope for salvation. As his allies fall around him, he remembers what brought them together to do battle with forces that were ancient when man first walked the earth. Through a series of flashbacks, we meet the people that are trapped in a web of prophecy written in the religious scriptures of the world, all bound by the presences of two key players: Paladin and Azrael. Devil’s Garden introduces Gerald Ironblood, Alpha Exorcist of the Holy See, American Liaison with the Bureau Of Exorcism, and mentor of Matthew Paladin. The occult forces that have drawn Paladin and Ironblood together unfold as a possessed girl’s family deals with the terrifying reality of the Infernals. An apparently simple exorcism spirals into a series of encounters orchestrated by something from beyond. As the players are revealed, Matthew joins Ironblood on a mission to bring an errant priest back into the fold. In the green paradise of what was the Mayan Empire, something dark has begun. Father Lamas has been performing exorcisms without Papal authorization, but it doesn’t stop there. Reports of missing children lead Paladin to the depths of the jungle, where the Shadows are alive and well. Nothing is as it seems as Gerald and Matthew learn what has awakened in the Devil’s Garden!

About the Author

Born in 1970, Lance Tuck was raised in the shadows of the Great Chalk Pyramids of Western Kansas. His formative years were spent exploring the fossil beds and ecosystems of the great plains, guided by his grandfather, a Navy officer and scientist who encouraged a rational, scientific view of the world around us. His grandmother and mother encouraged his appetites for the fantastic, teaching him about the mythologies and religions around the world, and the esoteric orders that forged the realities of history. The surprisingly effective public school system added the final elements that created the information processing systems responsible for the literary efforts you hold before you. His literary influences include Robert E. Howard, Lord Dunsany, H.P. Lovecraft, Frank Herbert, Michael Moorcock, Richard Adams and Stephen King. Alan Moore, Chris Claremont, Garth Ennis and Kieron Gillen have made significant impacts on his storytelling styles. His uncle Dan's comic collection spanned the sixties and seventies; his father's pulp novels from the forties and fifties were fodder for his imagination as well. Graduating from Kansas State University with degrees in Psychology and Anthropology led to a lifelong love of tattooing. Lance is a practitioner and instructor of tattooing in Kansas, and has been plying this trade for nearly twenty five years. And through all that time, there have been stories to tell. You might hear a verbal history of Ancient Egypt, or the Indus River valley, or maybe a classic multi-issue arc from one of his favorite comic series. He might perform a film, or, if you are very lucky, he might tell you one of his own. This oral tradition is what forged Paladin and all the characters from his world, as well as dozens of others. His first foray into professional writing is The Paladin Sequence.

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