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The Death Wizard Chronicles #2
Chained By Fear
Author's note: This edition is out of print but new editions are being released in 2025.
For more than seventy years, the most powerful sorcerer in the world has held a woman prisoner in a magical tower.
Invictus forces Laylah, his own sister, to be his queen.
Even the immense power Laylah draws from moonlight does not give her the strength to free herself . . . until she forms an unlikely alliance with two of the sorcerer's most trusted soldiers as well as an ancient demon with diabolical motives.
Laylah's dramatic escape leads her to the one man who might be able to save her-Torg, the Death-Knower wizard. Drawn together by supernatural passion, the pair attempts to outrun Invictus' minions and reach the safety of the White City.
For more than seventy years, the most powerful sorcerer in the world has held a woman prisoner in a magical tower.
Invictus forces Laylah, his own sister, to be his queen.
Even the immense power Laylah draws from moonlight does not give her the strength to free herself . . . until she forms an unlikely alliance with two of the sorcerer's most trusted soldiers as well as an ancient demon with diabolical motives.
Laylah's dramatic escape leads her to the one man who might be able to save her-Torg, the Death-Knower wizard. Drawn together by supernatural passion, the pair attempts to outrun Invictus' minions and reach the safety of the White City.
- GenresFantasy
262 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2007
5 people are currently reading
82 people want to read
About the author
Jim Melvin
21 books50 followersJim grew up on the shores of western Florida, and he spent much of his childhood swimming in shark-infested waters long before the movie "Jaws" put a scare into everyone. At the time, he probably was too skinny to attract a bull shark's attention. About ten other boys Jim's age lived on his same street, and they hung out morning, noon and night playing the usual sports that young boys love — football, baseball, "kill the carrier," etc. — but as a group they also played fantastical games that contained magic, monsters and superheroes. It was in this setting that Jim's imagination was born and nurtured.
Jim's latest work is an updated edition of "The Death Wizard Chronicles," an action-packed dark fantasy for mature audiences. Volume 1 debuted April 2025. Volume 2 is set for July 2025 and Volume 3 in October 2025.
Literary Titan's 5-star review of Volume 1 included the following: "For the seasoned fantasy fan craving something fierce and different, this hits like thunder."
Jim also recently published a teen fantasy adventure trilogy titled "Dark Circles," which is about a group of kids who are transported to a magical land where it can be deadly to sleep. This is a great coming-of-age series for fans of J.K. Rowling, Neil Gaiman, and Brandon Sanderson.
Kirkus Reviews described book 1 as "a delightful beginning to a promising series that’s sure to appeal to teen readers who feel like outsiders."
"Dark Circles" is the winner of fourteen awards, including double finalist in the 21st annual Best Book Awards.
Jim is also the author of two books of nonfiction.
"The Adventures of a Florida Boy" chronicles
Jim's boyhood spent in Florida in the 1960s on an island called Coquina Key. His parents’ waterfront home overlooked a large expanse of Tampa Bay. Back then, parts of the island were undeveloped, which left plenty of room for outdoor adventures.
One reviewer said this: “A joyous glimpse into a childhood we all wish we’d had: fun, carefree, and near the sea.”
Jim was also the lead writer and editor for the nonfiction book "Eclipse Over Clemson: The day Tigertown will never forget," which chronicled the Aug. 21, 2017, total solar eclipse that passed over Clemson University. The on-campus event which Jim coordinated was a once-in-a-lifetime experience attended by more than 50,000 people.
Jim lives in a valley surrounded by mountains in the Southern Appalachians. He was previously an award-winning journalist at several national newspapers and a communications director at a major university.
Jim's latest work is an updated edition of "The Death Wizard Chronicles," an action-packed dark fantasy for mature audiences. Volume 1 debuted April 2025. Volume 2 is set for July 2025 and Volume 3 in October 2025.
Literary Titan's 5-star review of Volume 1 included the following: "For the seasoned fantasy fan craving something fierce and different, this hits like thunder."
Jim also recently published a teen fantasy adventure trilogy titled "Dark Circles," which is about a group of kids who are transported to a magical land where it can be deadly to sleep. This is a great coming-of-age series for fans of J.K. Rowling, Neil Gaiman, and Brandon Sanderson.
Kirkus Reviews described book 1 as "a delightful beginning to a promising series that’s sure to appeal to teen readers who feel like outsiders."
"Dark Circles" is the winner of fourteen awards, including double finalist in the 21st annual Best Book Awards.
Jim is also the author of two books of nonfiction.
"The Adventures of a Florida Boy" chronicles
Jim's boyhood spent in Florida in the 1960s on an island called Coquina Key. His parents’ waterfront home overlooked a large expanse of Tampa Bay. Back then, parts of the island were undeveloped, which left plenty of room for outdoor adventures.
One reviewer said this: “A joyous glimpse into a childhood we all wish we’d had: fun, carefree, and near the sea.”
Jim was also the lead writer and editor for the nonfiction book "Eclipse Over Clemson: The day Tigertown will never forget," which chronicled the Aug. 21, 2017, total solar eclipse that passed over Clemson University. The on-campus event which Jim coordinated was a once-in-a-lifetime experience attended by more than 50,000 people.
Jim lives in a valley surrounded by mountains in the Southern Appalachians. He was previously an award-winning journalist at several national newspapers and a communications director at a major university.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 5, 2020
Does not disappoint!
Book 2 in the series and I could not put it down. Interesting character development and plot twists. Thoroughly enjoyed!
Book 2 in the series and I could not put it down. Interesting character development and plot twists. Thoroughly enjoyed!
April 2, 2014
Chained by Fear, book two in Jim Melvin’s Death Wizard Chronicles, begins the story of Laylah, the beautiful sister of the evil sorcerer Invictus. Invictus has imprisoned Laylah in a magical tower, hoping that she’ll one day become his queen and rule the world of Triken with him.
Laylah, however, happens to be the sane one in the family. She’s repulsed at the thought of marrying her own brother, let alone spending her life with a depraved lunatic with god-like powers. She’s locked away for seventy years—her demon blood gives her long life—before finally escaping with the help of Invictus’s former allies.
While on the run, she meets Torg the Death-Knower, a powerful wizard in his own right. We last saw Torg in Forged in Death, after he had escaped Invictus’s vile prison and made some roguish friends. When Laylah and Torg meet, sparks fly. Literally. They are drawn to each other in a supernatural passion that neither can explain. They only know that their fates are entwined and that they will live or die together.
But Invictus has something to say about this. He unleashes his hideous minions to retrieve Laylah and finally destroy the Death-Knower, the one being in all of Triken that can oppose him.
When you pick up a Jim Melvin novel, you know you’re in for two things:
(1) Melvin excels at world-building. Triken’s cultures, magic, and monsters all resonate with real-world mythologies. But Melvin adds unique twists that make them at once familiar and alien.
(2) Melvin’s Death Wizard Chronicles are adult fantasy. Make no mistake, this series if far more G.R.R. Martin than J.R.R. Tolkien due to its sexual content and violence. However, I did not think the sex and violence were gratuitous, and I thought it helped illustrate either the depravity or kindness of the characters.
Chained by Fear resolves a minor quibble I had with Forged in Death. Torg was too powerful in book one, and nothing could hurt him unless he allowed it. It’s the challenge that Superman's writers have dealt with for decades: how do you make readers worry about a character who can’t be hurt?
Melvin solved this by giving Torg cherished friends. He may not die if he fails, but his friends surely will, and in gruesome ways. Torg’s adventures were far more harrowing this time around, and gave him the chance to demonstrate his honor and strength while he protected the people he loves. Melvin nicely sets up a character in Torg who is the polar opposite of the wicked Invictus.
And the fact they love the same woman will make their inevitable battle viciously personal. I’m looking forward to it.
Highly recommended.
[Note: Cross-posted at The New Podler Review of Books.]
Laylah, however, happens to be the sane one in the family. She’s repulsed at the thought of marrying her own brother, let alone spending her life with a depraved lunatic with god-like powers. She’s locked away for seventy years—her demon blood gives her long life—before finally escaping with the help of Invictus’s former allies.
While on the run, she meets Torg the Death-Knower, a powerful wizard in his own right. We last saw Torg in Forged in Death, after he had escaped Invictus’s vile prison and made some roguish friends. When Laylah and Torg meet, sparks fly. Literally. They are drawn to each other in a supernatural passion that neither can explain. They only know that their fates are entwined and that they will live or die together.
But Invictus has something to say about this. He unleashes his hideous minions to retrieve Laylah and finally destroy the Death-Knower, the one being in all of Triken that can oppose him.
When you pick up a Jim Melvin novel, you know you’re in for two things:
(1) Melvin excels at world-building. Triken’s cultures, magic, and monsters all resonate with real-world mythologies. But Melvin adds unique twists that make them at once familiar and alien.
(2) Melvin’s Death Wizard Chronicles are adult fantasy. Make no mistake, this series if far more G.R.R. Martin than J.R.R. Tolkien due to its sexual content and violence. However, I did not think the sex and violence were gratuitous, and I thought it helped illustrate either the depravity or kindness of the characters.
Chained by Fear resolves a minor quibble I had with Forged in Death. Torg was too powerful in book one, and nothing could hurt him unless he allowed it. It’s the challenge that Superman's writers have dealt with for decades: how do you make readers worry about a character who can’t be hurt?
Melvin solved this by giving Torg cherished friends. He may not die if he fails, but his friends surely will, and in gruesome ways. Torg’s adventures were far more harrowing this time around, and gave him the chance to demonstrate his honor and strength while he protected the people he loves. Melvin nicely sets up a character in Torg who is the polar opposite of the wicked Invictus.
And the fact they love the same woman will make their inevitable battle viciously personal. I’m looking forward to it.
Highly recommended.
[Note: Cross-posted at The New Podler Review of Books.]
October 14, 2015
The first chapter is extraordinarily powerful: a chilling creation of the terrible “Sun God” Invictus in his youth, in love with his much younger sister Laylah, who is energised by the reflective moon. The magic is elemental, off the normal scale, and terrifying in both its invincibility and its cruelty; and the scale of the story is huge: a vast landscape of mountains, forests, streams and valleys, fortresses, towns and villages peopled by peasants, pirates, Mogols, giants, dwarves, dragons, dracools and innumerable other fantastical creatures, with demons and death knowers as the incredibly powerful protagonists, all linked to a time almost lost in the mists of time by terminology credibly derived from ancient Sanskrit.
It’s a vast canvas which takes some handling, and Jim Melvin’s writing is certainly up to the challenge. For me it reached its heights when dealing with the intensity of the interactions between characters and what that revealed of their personalities, and also when exploring situations which highlighted important moral questions about truth and beauty and the abuse of power. I was less interested in what they had for dinner or what they happened to be wearing, which made me conscious while reading it of which details I thought added most to the power of the telling and which I personally could have done without.
That point having been made (an observation, not a quibble) I found the cliffhanging end an admirable hook with which to draw readers on to Book 3, and I will certainly be downloading, reading and reviewing it.
It’s a vast canvas which takes some handling, and Jim Melvin’s writing is certainly up to the challenge. For me it reached its heights when dealing with the intensity of the interactions between characters and what that revealed of their personalities, and also when exploring situations which highlighted important moral questions about truth and beauty and the abuse of power. I was less interested in what they had for dinner or what they happened to be wearing, which made me conscious while reading it of which details I thought added most to the power of the telling and which I personally could have done without.
That point having been made (an observation, not a quibble) I found the cliffhanging end an admirable hook with which to draw readers on to Book 3, and I will certainly be downloading, reading and reviewing it.
May 10, 2013
Wow, Invictus sure is one sick puppy! When the book opens, we meet Laylah, the object of his affections and obsession. Who also happens to be his sister. Right there, despite the fact that this is a magical book, you know it's not meant for young eyes.
You can't help but fall in love with Laylah. Her story alone is worth reading. Eventually, she meets up with Torg from book one.
Chained by fear is an excellent read. It's brimming with action, suspense and has a good emotional punch. The characters and creatures are brought to life so they jump off the page. And the story keeps you in its grip, from start to finish!
You can't help but fall in love with Laylah. Her story alone is worth reading. Eventually, she meets up with Torg from book one.
Chained by fear is an excellent read. It's brimming with action, suspense and has a good emotional punch. The characters and creatures are brought to life so they jump off the page. And the story keeps you in its grip, from start to finish!
November 19, 2016
Great
Really getting into this book..the characters really grow on you and so very different then most books of this type of genre
Really getting into this book..the characters really grow on you and so very different then most books of this type of genre
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews