The Dreadful Fate of Jonathan York

Merritt, Kory. The Dreadful Fate of Jonathan York: A Yarn for the Strange at Heart. 2015. 128p. ISBN 978-1-4494-7100-2. Available at GFX MER on the library shelves.

Mr. Jonathan York has led a very uneventful life, filled with nothing but the small comfort of daily living. When he decides to take a shortcut through the swamp, however, everything changes. Scared and lost, he follows three strangers to the Cankerbury Inn, the only shelter available for the night. Unfortunately, the price of the room is so high Mr. York can’t pay it: the innkeeper wants a story in exchange for a key to a room. All three guests tell their tale of woes, and in exchange obtain a key. But poor Mr. York is paralyzed. He’s never had a tale to tell. Unmoved, the innkeeper tosses him back in the swamp for the night. Mr. York is about to experience his first adventure with the denizens of the swamp.

Walking aimlessly amid the sounds and noises of the swamp, Mr. York encounters a shady character that provides him with directions to a shelter. It turns out that this shelter is currently occupied by the West Bleekport Gang, a monstrous group of criminals. Mr. York ends up recruited by the gang, and off they begin their trip through the swamp to retrieve lost treasure. Along the way he will have to confront a Bogglemyre, the Terraqueenpin, as well as survive encounters with a necromancer and, worse, public speaking!

Fans of Earthling! will appreciate the irreverent way in which these characters and monsters are drawn.