Book description
The Whims of Destiny Jorian, the one-time unbeheaded king, was now
safely retired from a long career of getting into trouble. But his
younger brother Kerin lacked such wisdom. The outraged father of Adeliza
had caught him in compromising circumstances with the maiden. So Kerin
had to be sent at once on a mission by sea to the Far East. But Kerin's
talent for trouble was not to be denied. First came Belinka, a sprite
sent by Adeliza to bring him back safe for her. The ship captain
believed Kerin was seducing his mistress. Though innocent this time,
Kerin left hastily in a rowboat. That got him to a hermit-wizard's
island - and a voyage on a pirate ship, where the kidnapped princess
Nogiri was held captive. Kerin was unable to save her - until he gained
the help of the hermit-wizard, who then betrayed him by seizing the girl
and fleeing with her to be used as a human sacrifice. From then on,
events became hectic as Kerin managed to save Nogiri again, helped by a
wizard who was the enemy of the first one. Belinka was much distressed
by what happened then between Kerin and Nogiri - with cause - as they
set out again, this time to the Emperor of the Farthest East. There
Kerin discovered more magic, and the Emperor learned that no man should
be absentminded when using a powerful spell. But it was later that Kerin
discovered the limitations of roller skates. Lyon Sprague de Camp was
born in 1907 and died in 2000. During a writing career that spanned
seven decades, he wrote over a hundred books in the areas of science
fiction, fantasy, historical fiction, non-fiction and biography.
Although arguably best known for his continuation of Robert E. Howard's
Conan stories, de Camp was an important figure in the formative period
of modern SF, alongside the likes of Isaac Asimov and Robert A.
Heinlein, and was a winner of the Hugo, World Fantasy Life Achievement
and SFWA Grand Master awards.
