Book description
Eight hundred years have passed since King Connavar of the Rigante
and his bastard son,Bane,defeated the invading army of Stone. In
that time, Connavar has become a legend, and the Rigante have lost the
freedom so many gave their lives to preserve. A conquered people, they
live and die under the iron rule of the Varlish, their culture all but destroyed.
One woman remains who follows the ancient paths once trod by the
Rigante. She is the Wyrd of Wishing Tree Wood, and she alone knows
the nature of the evil soon to be unleashed on a doomed and
unsuspecting world.
In a perilous land, facing an uncertain destiny, she pins her
initial hopes on two men: Jaim Grymauch, the giant Rigante fighter, a
man haunted by his failure to save the friend he loved from betrayal,
and Kaelin Ring, a youth whose deadly talents will earn him the enmity
of all Varlish. One will become the Ravenheart, an outlaw leader whose
daring exploits will inspire the Rigante. The other will forge a
legend and light the fires of
rebellion.
The Wyrd knows that ultimately all hopes will rest on a third man.
Of the bloodline of Connavar the King, he will need to overcome
generations of fear and hatred if he is to achieve his destiny. For he
is a Varlish nobleman, and - worse - the son of the Rigante's greatest
enemy . . .
David A. Gemmell's first novel, Legend, was first
published in 1984 and went on to become a classic. His most recent
Drenai and Rigante novels are available as Corgi paperbacks; all are
Sunday Times bestsellers.
Widely regarded as the finest writer of heroic fantasy, David
Gemmell lived in Sussex until his tragic death in July 2006.
