Book description
Paranoid but almighty, the sorcerer Xinixo had seized control of the
Impire. But ruling the imps and most of the world was not enough. He
would never feel safe until he was universally loved, so he would smash
everything and then rebuild the whole world in his own insane image. Who
could resist him? King Rap of Krasnegar and Shandie, the rightful
Imperor, were still at large and determined to resist the evil, however
slender their chances. Their one, faint hope was to enlist the help of
the remaining free sorcerers of the world, those not already spellbound
by Xinixo. Their quest soon ran into disaster. Their messengers were
betrayed or ensnared. A rampaging goblin army had captured Shandie and
was about to torture him to death. Rap was mired in tropical jungle,
hoping his wife and children were safe, back home in Krasnegar. They
were not in Krasnegar and certainly not safe. As the flames of war raged
across Pandemia, news of the disasters penetrated even into Thume, the
Accursed Land. Outsiders believed that the pixies had been extinct for a
thousand years, but they still lived there, hoarding their magic. Their
ruler, the Keeper, adamantly refused to meddle in events outside her
borders, but one young pixie girl was prepared to rebel against the
ancient order... Dave Duncan, born in Scotland in 1933, is a Canadian
citizen. He received his diploma from Dundee High School and got his
college education at the University of Saint Andrews. He moved to Canada
in 1955, where he still lives with his wife. He has three grown children
and four grandchildren. He spent thirty years as a petroleum geologist.
He has had dozens of fantasy and science fiction novels published, among
them A ROSE-RED CITY, MAGIC CASEMENT and THE REAVER ROAD, as well as a
highly praised historical novel, DAUGHTER OF TROY, published, for
commercial reasons, under the pseudonym Sarah B. Franklin. He also
published the "Longdirk" series of novels, DEMON SWORD, DEMON
KNIGHT and DEMON RIDER, under the name Ken Hood. His website is
DaveDuncan. com. In the Fall of 2007, Duncan's 2006 novel, CHILDREN OF
CHAOS, published by Tor Books, was nominated for both the Prix Aurora
Award and the Endeavour Award.
