Arena picks up right where Manhounds of Antares leaves off. Dray travels to Yamman to help the Miglas regain their rightful footing on the land they once owned. After a not-so baleful battle and sweet victory in their grips, that damnable blue radiance and a talking scorpion once again envelopes Pur Dray and whisks him off to Hyrklana for apparently some unfinished business. I think Dray’s life and that of his wife and 2 small children would be a lot easier and stress free if the Star Lords just gave Dray a list of all the evil in the world and thus he could take his mighty army and eradicate this issue like you would any common pest, systematically from the biggest to the smallest. But obviously we all know that would make for a garbage storyline and we would never have a chance to be introduced to all of the amazing characters and discover how Dray actually fights his way from the ground up, in more ways than one, to be the greatest Hero 2 worlds has ever seen.

To be completely honest, about halfway through this book I felt like Dray would in fact be stuck in Hyrklana for quite a ridiculously unnecessary amount of time. But being the complete and total badass that Dray is, and in the end he even figured out a way to make his stay comfortable and even got a lift back home to Valka, or so we believe. Also, have I mentioned he slayed a 16-foot 6 tusks, trunk-less giant mammoth? Epic…

Overall, the Dray Prescot Series is becoming quicker and much easier to read, although most of the names and places are a mouthful [thanks A.B.A.] the pacing and intensity is electric and all-consuming for the reader. 7 down, 45 to go. ( )