<div>The Aurora Award&ndash;winning author of the Man of His Word novels returns to the magical realm of Pandemia with the first in his Handful of Men series. For fifteen years, Queen Inos and King Rap&mdash;the former stable boy and secret sorcerer&mdash;have ruled Krasnegar wisely and happily, raising a family and prospering in their remote little kingdom. But a darkness is encroaching, foreshadowed by prophecies of unimagined cataclysms across Pandemia. Prince Emshandar, better known as Shandie to Krasnegar&rsquo;s royal family, is engaged in several conflicts along the Impire&rsquo;s borderlands, as armies of djinns, gnomes, and other races declare and wage war. His grandfather, the aged imperor himself, continues to behave more erratically and tyrannically with each passing hour. Rap dismisses the warnings as superstitious nonsense and the borderland battles as far from home and none of his kingdom&rsquo;s affair. But on the night of the birth of his fourth child, Rap is visited by a god who regales him with a cryptic tale of Pandemia&rsquo;s impending doom. Once upon a time, a young sorcerer made an error, an error that now threatens to nullify the Protocol, the treaty that has controlled the use of magic for a millennium. Without the Protocol, the realm will fall into chaos and certain destruction&mdash;unless Rap embarks on a dangerous quest to right his long ago wrong . . . The beginning of a new series by the author of the Seventh Sword novels and many other acclaimed works of fantasy, The Cutting Edge is &ldquo;deftly woven and set forth with a refreshingly unpretentious clarity and directness: imagine David Eddings rewritten by Kate Wilhelm. Grab this one&rdquo; (Kirkus Reviews). </div>

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The Cutting Edge

<div>The saga of Inos and Rap comes to its thrilling conclusion in the final Man of His Word novel from &ldquo;one of the leading masters of epic fantasy&rdquo; (Publishers Weekly). While Queen Inos and her new husband, the cursed Sultan Azak, head to the capital city to beg the emperor&rsquo;s aid, Rap is imprisoned and tortured in the sultan&rsquo;s dungeons. But a third magic word gives him power beyond his wildest dreams, allowing him to escape. Struggling with his newfound abilities&mdash;and his feelings for Inos&mdash;he follows after her. With his faithful companions, Rap will find himself battling old enemies, fulfilling prophecies, and navigating the empire&rsquo;s politics, forging his own destiny as one of the most feared men in the kingdom. &ldquo;If it&rsquo;s traditional fantasy adventure with a bit of nudge-nudge wink-wink you&rsquo;re after, Dave Duncan is your go-to guy. &rdquo;&mdash;SFReviews.net &ldquo;Duncan takes all the trusted fantasy ingredients, meticulously prepares them and brings them together with skill and relish. . . . The series bears resemblance to Robin Hobb&rsquo;s Farseer Trilogy.&rdquo; &mdash;Fantasy Book Review &ldquo;Duncan&rsquo;s unique concept of goblins, fauns, and imps adds a new twist to this imaginative fantasy adventure. Recommended.&rdquo; &mdash;Library Journal</div>

Overdrive

Emperor and Clown

<div>The author of Magic Casement returns to the fantastical world of Pandemia: &ldquo;The series bears resemblance to Robin Hobb&rsquo;s Farseer Trilogy&rdquo; (Fantasy Book Review). When Queen Inos was abducted through the magic casement and her friend, the stableboy Rap, tried to follow her, they arrived in places very strange&mdash;and very far apart . . . Inos finds herself in the country of Zark, captured by a powerful sorceress who rules over the desert land with a brutal magic. Meanwhile, Rap and his companions wind up in Faerie. Desperate to find Inos, he&rsquo;ll try anything, even though witches and warlocks abound&mdash;and trustworthy allies are hard to find. One, though, a sea captain, hires Rap as part of his crew, and they embark on a journey that could take him farther away from Inos&mdash;and deeper into a dangerous adventure . . . &ldquo;If it&rsquo;s traditional fantasy adventure with a bit of nudge-nudge wink-wink you&rsquo;re after, Dave Duncan is your go-to guy. &rdquo;&mdash;SFReviews.net &ldquo;Duncan takes all the trusted fantasy ingredients, meticulously prepares them and brings them together with skill and relish. . . . The series bears resemblance to Robin Hobb&rsquo;s Farseer Trilogy.&rdquo; &mdash;Fantasy Book Review &ldquo;Duncan&rsquo;s unique concept of goblins, fauns, and imps adds a new twist to this imaginative fantasy adventure. Recommended.&rdquo; &mdash;Library Journal</div>

Faery Lands Forlorn

<div>The final volume in the Aurora Award&ndash;winning author&rsquo;s epic fantasy series. &ldquo;Duncan&rsquo;s plots add up and his characters have personalities&rdquo; (Kirkus Reviews). War had engulfed the whole world. The imposter imperor ruling in Hub was the tool of the paranoid and almighty sorcerer Xinixo, who wielded the combined power of thousands of sorcerer slaves. And yet, despite his seeming omnipotence, the pathetic few who resisted him were still at liberty, even making a little progress. Xinixo&rsquo;s prime foe, Rap of Krasnegar, had rallied troll sorcerers to the cause and was about to try enlisting the incomprehensible elves. Fortunately, for his sanity, he did not know that his daughter, Kadie, had been carried off by goblin invaders or that his son, Gath, was heading for stark Nordland to deal with the fearsome jotnar, or that his wife, Inos, was in Guwash, negotiating with gnomes. Shandie, the rightful imperor, was with her, unaware that his wife, Impress Eshiala, believed him dead and had fled with Signifer Ylo, that notorious rake. And none of them knew about the sorcerers of Thume, especially the rebel pixie girl, Tha&iuml;le, who chafed against the secret binding of a thousand years. But the odds were still impossible and Longday was fast approaching. The sorcerers of the world foretold blood on Longday.</div>

The Living God

<div>The Man of His Word series debut&mdash;a novel &ldquo;with enough fresh ideas to allow it to sit unashamedly alongside the great fantasy books of recent times&rdquo; (Fantasy Book Review). &ldquo;Duncan&rsquo;s unique concept of goblins, fauns, and imps adds a new twist to this imaginative fantasy adventure&rdquo; as Princess Inosolan is forced to leave behind her carefree childhood&mdash;as well as her dear friend, the stableboy Rap (Library Journal). Now of marriageable age, she is sent to a finishing school to hone the skills that all noble ladies should possess. Mystery, menace, and the gods appear in short order, as Inos and Rap begin to discover their magical powers, even as Inos is courted by a charming man with motives far more dangerous than the eye&mdash;and heart&mdash;can see . . . &ldquo;Magic Casement has a charm and vibrant sense of humor. . . . If it&rsquo;s traditional fantasy adventure with a bit of nudge-nudge wink-wink you&rsquo;re after, Dave Duncan is your go-to guy.&rdquo; &mdash;SFReviews.net</div>

Magic Casement

<div>The epic fantasy adventure of Queen Inos continues as she is pursued by powerful warlocks, all the while convinced her beloved servant, Rap, is dead. Still stuck in the desert land of Zark&mdash;and mourning Rap&mdash;Queen Inos has conflicted feelings about Sultan Azak&rsquo;s proposal. Her heart lies with her beloved kingdom of Krasnegar and her duty to its people. But when she and Azak make a desperate escape, Inos is shocked by an image of Rap and knows that he must be alive&mdash;somewhere . . . On the island of Durthing, Rap&rsquo;s gift of farsight has made him too valuable to be truly free&mdash;until the evil Nordland raider Kalkor captures him after a bloody slaughter. Testing his magical wits against Kalkor, Rap searches for a chance to escape and restore Inos to her rightful throne. &ldquo;If it&rsquo;s traditional fantasy adventure with a bit of nudge-nudge wink-wink you&rsquo;re after, Dave Duncan is your go-to guy. &rdquo; &mdash;SFReviews.net &ldquo;Duncan takes all the trusted fantasy ingredients, meticulously prepares them and brings them together with skill and relish. . . . The series bears resemblance to Robin Hobb&rsquo;s Farseer Trilogy.&rdquo; &mdash;Fantasy Book Review &ldquo;Duncan&rsquo;s unique concept of goblins, fauns, and imps adds a new twist to this imaginative fantasy adventure. Recommended.&rdquo; &mdash;Library Journal</div>

Perilous Seas

<div>A king resists a sorcerer&rsquo;s rule over the Impire in this fantasy series from the Aurora Award&ndash;winning author of the Man of His Word novels. 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 a 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 . . . </div>

The Stricken Field

<div>A young imperor flees his own kingdom to escape an army of sorcerers in this &ldquo;lively adventure&rdquo; of a fantasy novel from the author of The Cutting Edge (Publishers Weekly). The old imperor was dead at last. His popular soldier grandson, known as Shandie, had succeeded him . . . had he not? No, he had not. The man who sat on the opal throne was not Shandie, but an illusion created by the mad dwarf Xinixo. Year after year, he had been stealthily ensorcelling sorcerers, turning them into loyal minions. Now, wielding their combined power, he was irresistible. He ruled the Impire, so he ruled the world. He would continue to rule it for centuries. Anyone who knew the truth or opposed him in any way, he would destroy or enslave. That especially included his old enemy, King Rap of Krasnegar; Shandie, the rightful imperor; and all their supporters, their friends, their families. All of them! But first he had to catch them. With his infinite magic, that ought to be easy. Rap and Shandie had other ideas, but even they could see that their cause looked hopeless.</div>

Upland Outlaws

<div>A barbarian warrior faces the forces of the Fire God in this thrilling adventure from the acclaimed author of Children of Chaos. Wallie Smith is staring death in the face; only a miracle can save him. And then one does! The Goddess appears to preserve his soul, but she does much more than that. She promises to bestow upon him a new and powerful body, and, more important, to endow him with the fabled Sapphire Sword of Chioxin. But nothing in this world or any other comes without a price. The Goddess demands that, for her services, Wallie become her champion. It will be an honor to serve such a presence, to have the chance to be victorious over all challengers. But Wallie and his sword quickly find themselves outmatched in a world of high-stakes magic. Even the Goddess&rsquo;s priests cannot offer any resistance to the invading sorcerers and their quest to conquer souls for the Fire God. Wallie will need to find in himself and in the world the powers that will save all mortals. He will need to find the Coming of Wisdom. </div>

The Coming of Wisdom

<div>&ldquo;A complex and gripping story&rdquo; of plague, prophecy, and a woman&rsquo;s quest for freedom from the author of Portal of a Thousand Worlds (Booklist). The world was desperate. Since the empire had fallen a hundred years ago, Gwin and her people had nearly given up hope that the Renewer would come. Gwin had lost everything. Her husband was killed in one of the wars. Her children died of Star Sickness. Even her work at the hostel was in jeopardy because the politicians had it out for her. The cursed Gwin, therefore, had nothing to lose. When she took in the girl, a survivor of the Star Sickness, it was a dreadful crime. Gwin was at the end of her rope, and possibly the end of her life if she was found out. But the Sickness had left the girl with certain magic, certain powers, which could prove very useful to them both. Was it possible that this young survivor could save their lives and the empire? Was a new life for Gwin and her world finally at hand?</div>

The Cursed

<div>In this masterful sword-and-sorcery epic, &ldquo;Duncan has created strong and moving characters . . . and a world as rich and layered as our own&rdquo; (Iceberg Ink). For fifteen years, the truce has held. Swordsmen of the Tryst of Casr have kept the peace and extended the rule of law over half the world, but now sorcerers have started killing swordsmen again, and swordsmen traitors are aiding them. Shonsu&mdash;who was Wallie Smith before he became a swordsman of the seventh rank and liege lord of the Tryst&mdash;must once more gird on the seventh sword of Chioxin, and this time he rides out to fight the war that he hoped would never come. As he leads his army forth, its two most junior members are Vixini, son of Shonsu, and Addis, son of Nnanji, who has an oath of vengeance to fulfill. Their failure or success will determine the fate of the world for the next thousand years.</div>

The Death of Nnanji

<div>Longdirk, the hero of medieval Europe, faces his greatest threat. &ldquo;Duncan excels at old-fashioned swashbuckling fantasy&rdquo; (RT Book Reviews). The Scottish outlaw Toby Strangerson, known as Longdirk, has used gramarye, dark magic, to defeat the Fiend and save Europe from abject slavery&mdash;but he has also made himself the most feared and envied man in all of Italy. The hordes are reorganizing and plan to sweep over the Alps once more and retake their lost prize of power and conquest. Toby and his friend Hamish struggle to unite the quarreling city-states into a single, powerful force to resist the invasion in a world where no ally can be trusted and traitors lurk in every shadow. But there is more at stake than freedom and the destiny of a continent. A woman&rsquo;s love is also hanging in the balance. This book was originally published under the name Ken Hood. </div>

Demon Knight

<div>In medieval Scotland, an outlaw seeks his freedom&mdash;from both the merciless khan who conquered Europe, and the demon spirit that possesses him. All of Europe is ruled by the Khan, whose Golden Horde swept its conquering way across Europe in 1244. The Scottish outlaw Toby Strangerson, known as Longdirk, is ruled by an even harsher master. He is possessed by a &ldquo;hob,&rdquo; a demon spirit murderous as a child, although inherently neither good nor evil. Toby wants his freedom&mdash;and the spirit of the tyrant-demon Nevil, ensorcelled in amethyst, can be traded for the exorcism of the hob. In order to make the exchange, though, Toby and his friend and ally Hamish must face the hexer Oreste on his own ground, in the dank and fetid dungeons of Barcelona, where souls are racked and tortured and destroyed on the relentless wheel of the Inquisition. This book was originally published under the pseudonym Ken Hood.</div>

Demon Rider

<div>In medieval Scotland, a Highlander picks up his sword against his oppressors. &ldquo;Duncan excels at old-fashioned swashbuckling fantasy&rdquo; (RT Book Reviews). All of Europe is under the control of the Khan, whose conquering armies swept across the West in 1244. Scotland, in addition, lies under the heel of England. Young Toby Strangerson, a half-English bastard, reared by a witchwife, wants only to shed his hated &ldquo;Sassenach&rdquo; blood and free his beloved highlands. Toby wields a sword as the outlaw Longdirk. The sword can cut down men like so many stalks of corn. But stranger winds are swirling and howling across the lochs, eldritch winds that are ridden by &ldquo;hobs&rdquo; and &ldquo;wisps&rdquo; and demons. The enemy Sassenach king is also a sorcerer. His demon soul needs a body and his Black Arts can free Europe from the Khan&#39;s Golden Horde. This book was originally published under the pseudonym Ken Hood.</div>

Demon Sword

<div>A sword-and-sorcery classic from the Aurora Award&ndash;winning author of the King&rsquo;s Blades series. Wally Smith, having died on Earth, finds himself reincarnated as a swordsman in another world and entrusted by the presiding goddess with a mission that has no appeal for him at all. Can he bring together all the swordsmen to finally defeat the sorcerors and their terrible technology? Wally is not quite convinced he should, but goddesses can be very persuasive . . . This is the third and final exciting book, after The Reluctant Swordsman and The Coming of Wisdom, in the Seventh Sword Trilogy. </div>

The Destiny of the Sword

<div>The &ldquo;tightly written, intelligent, and original&rdquo; fantasy epic of interdimensional war comes to &ldquo;a decisive and satisfactory end&rdquo; (Booklist). In a place called Nextdoor&mdash;the farthest flung outpost of British imperialism&mdash;earthborn mortals possess the power of gods. Young Englishman Edward Exeter has spent five years trying to escape the magnetic and powerfully magical pull of the Great Game, which has designated him as its most important player. But war and bloodthirsty intrigue rage on both sides of magical portals and across worlds, and Exeter can resist his destiny no longer. He accepts the mantle of Liberator that has been thrust upon him, and the decision turns old friends into foes and old enemies into acolytes as he is surrounded by murderous plots and betrayals. But this is not the uninformed Edward Exeter who came naked into this hidden realm years ago. He has lived the Game and learned it well&mdash;and he intends to play it boldly to its shocking, worlds-shattering conclusion. </div>

Future Indefinite

<div>A spacefaring military adventure of one man&rsquo;s meteoric rise through the ranks from &ldquo;a great world-builder&rdquo; and award-winning author (SFReview). Space opera at its finest and most action-filled, from the bestselling author of fantasy quests, epic tales, and swashbuckling adventures. Vaun, born a peasant in the stinking mud flats of Ult, a thriving colony planet, claws his way to survival and fame by becoming the toughest young officer in the Space Patrol. A veteran of the brutal training academy, he seizes opportunities as they arise, leading the first ship out against a surprise attack by the mysterious Brotherhood. He returns to a hero&rsquo;s welcome as the Brotherhood ship falls to the surface of his home planet in shattered pieces. The Brotherhood is elsewhere unstoppable, though, as neighboring planets, one by one, fall silent, conquered. And then, the Patrol detects a huge spacecraft launched from one of the now-silent worlds and headed for Ult. Facing a challenge greater than he can truly hope to overcome, Vaun nonetheless sets out to save Ult for a second time.</div>

Hero!

<div>First seen in The Reaver Road&mdash;&ldquo;a fun, very readable fantasy with agreeable, intelligent characters&rdquo;&mdash;Omar the Storyteller returns (Metaphorosis Reviews). Omar often gets into trouble as a result of his role as the world&#39;s greatest storyteller. The wrong tale told at the wrong time to the wrong audience could prove fatal. When a slighted innkeeper threatens to kill Omar by tossing him out into the vicious storm that rages just outside the door, Omar has the chance to redeem himself by using his gift. If he can top the most outrageous tales invents by the inn&#39;s guests, he may get away with his neck intact. Soon, Omar not only tells a series of stories that would astonish the most gifted bard, but also corrects the errors of the others and weaves everything together into one absolutely compelling tale of adventure.</div>

The Hunters' Haunt

<div>&ldquo;Complicated politics and family scandals twist through this tale of courtly intrigue from prolific fantasist Duncan&rdquo; (Publishers Weekly). Though Quirt&rsquo;s name is little known, his skills as a gladiator are quickly obvious and hard to match. In Aureity, noblemen battle in the arena circuit, using their powers of teleportation and telekinesis to prove their breeding and strength. The prizes at play are not only silver and bronze but also the chance to rise amongst the nobility and mate with the ruling class of women. Older than most players, Quirt still manages to draw attention and awe through his mastery of the games. Some of that attention comes from Humate, a brash young competitor with unbelievable power and little patience or control. To him, Quirt is a mystery he can&rsquo;t resist. However, that mystery soon proves much bigger than all of them. Ancient crimes, struggles for status, romance, vengeance, duty&mdash;Humate has a lot to learn from the world-wise Quirt. As the secret of Quirt&rsquo;s true identity and past unfolds, Humate and Quirt race to bring justice to the murderer and madman whose blood links the two gladiators together. With Ill Met in the Arena, award-winning fantasy author Dave Duncan creates yet another new, fully realized world filled with complex cultures and brisk adventure. Intrigue, politics, action, humor&mdash;this book will grab you from page one and not let go until the final word.</div>

Ill Met in the Arena

<div>&ldquo;Exceptional . . . Duncan can swashbuckle with the best, but his characters feel more deeply and think more clearly than most&rdquo; (Publishers Weekly). Raider and Wasp have spent five years at Ironhall studying to become Blades, expert swordsmen whose talents stand unmatched. Magic both enhances the Blades&rsquo; fighting skills and binds them to lifelong duty. But when Raider and Wasp are selected to protect the king of Chivial himself, they refuse, an act unprecedented in the living history of the Blades. Now on the run for their &ldquo;treasonous&rdquo; act, the two gifted swordsmen must escape to the Fire Lands, where pirates, monsters, and mixed allegiances wait around every corner. As old hatreds and still-fresh tragedies come to light, these young swashbucklers must confront both harsh truths from the past and a present swarming with their would-be brothers at arms seeking vengeance and intending punishment. Dave Duncan&rsquo;s Lord of the Fire Lands serves as a splendid sequel and companion to his earlier book The Gilded Chain, and his later Tale of the King&rsquo;s Blades Sky of Swords. Engaging and complex, it may be enjoyed as a standalone novel or in combination with the rest of the trilogy. Either way, readers are in for a smart, thrilling adventure that cuts like a knife.</div>

Lord of the Fire Lands

<div>A new link in the tale begun in The Gilded Chain from &ldquo;one of the great unsung figures of Canadian fantasy and science fiction&rdquo; (Quill &amp; Quire). Originally issued as a YA trilogy called the King&rsquo;s Daggers (including volumes Sir Stalwart, The Crooked House, and Silvercloak), The Monster War works equally well as a single novel. The story fills a gap in the first Blades novel, The Gilded Chain, when King Ambrose sought to shut down the evil sorcery of the Elementaries, and the sorcerers fought back by trying to kill him. The same great characters are all here: Ambrose himself, Grand Master, and Blades Durendal, Bandit, and Snake. Appearing for the first time are Sir Stalwart, the only Blade who does not bear a binding scar, and Emerald of the White Sisters, the only girl ever enrolled in Ironhall. The action wanders across Chivial from the White Sisters&rsquo; headquarters at Oakendown, to Grandon, and into the heart of Ironhall, for the evil penetrates even there. If you missed this one the first time (and most Blades fans did), then here is your chance to join the action as the King&rsquo;s Blades ride again!</div>

The Monster War

<div>First in the WWI alternate reality trilogy. &ldquo;Duncan has a wonderful knack of conjuring up wacky scenarios and making them believable and fascinating&rdquo; (Kirkus Reviews). The Great Game of Gods is afoot in a world on the brink of madness . . . In the summer of 1914, a young man of reputation beyond reproach awakens under police guard&mdash;grievously injured and accused of heinous, impossible murder. And in a strange, distant place, the youngest member of a penniless acting troupe has been taken prisoner by the loyal minions of a corrupt, vengeful goddess. For an ancient prophecy has divided the realm&rsquo;s ruling deities into warring factions&mdash;a prophecy that mentions the crippled captive child and a youth recovering from inexplicable wounds in a British hospital bed. The game weaves through worlds and dimensions as it has since time immemorial&mdash;a deadly contest of skill and manipulations that ruthlessly creates wizards, destroys human pawns, and transforms ordinary men, women, and children into something more. </div>

Past Imperative

<div>As WWI rages on, two immortal enemies engage in a war between alternate worlds in book two of this epic fantasy series. In the midst of the horror of the First World War, a stranger falls from nowhere into the mud and death of Flanders battlefield&mdash;bruised, babbling, and stark naked . . . with a remarkable story to tell. The Great Game&mdash;the timeless diversion of human gods, a ruthless contest of treachery, magic, betrayal, and manipulation, created to relieve the tedium of immortality&mdash;goes on.</div>

Present Tense

<div>This fantasy by the author of the Seventh Sword series offers &ldquo;a madcap mix of outrageous prose and superlative wit&rdquo; (Times-Colonist, Victoria B.C.). Omar is the finest storyteller the world has ever known, captivating audiences everywhere, from the fires of soldier camps to the plush residences of nobility. In times of turmoil, people can still appreciate a good tale that offers respite from their troubles. But as hordes of barbarian soldiers surround the unvanquished city of Zanadon after ravaging the surrounding countryside, few things are certain any longer. Omar has been guided to the city by prophetic dreams, yet finds himself in an increasingly dangerous situation as the people grow more desperate and the gift of a glib tongue turns into a curse. </div>

The Reaver Road

<div>A young man is transformed into a barbarian fighter in this adventure from &ldquo;one of the leading masters of epic fantasy&rdquo; (Publishers Weekly).Wallie Smith can feel the pain. He goes to the hospital and remembers the doctors and the commotion, but when he wakes up it all seems like a dream. However, if that was a dream, how do you explain waking up in another body and in another world? Little Wallie finds himself in the physique of a barbarian swordsman, accompanied by both an eccentric priest babbling about the Goddess and a voluptuous slave girl. Is this a rude awakening or a dream come true? What in the world will Wallie do now that he has found himself stranded in a strange realm? Well, it just so happens that the Goddess is in need of a swordsman. It will not be easy, but if he succeeds he will have everything he wants. If he does not, things could get ugly. Wallie is reluctant but sees his chance. If only he had the faintest clue as to the adventure he is about to unleash! If only he could imagine the forces that will be out to vanquish him! </div>

The Reluctant Swordsman

<div>The city of Mera is a fortress hidden from the rest of humanity, a sanctuary for the diverse group of people rescued from death by the Oracle that rules the city. The Oracle has brought together the citizens of Mera from every land and every time period, protecting them from the ravages of time, death, and the evil demon forces that howl outside the city at night. All that the Oracle asks in return is a willingness to aid the rest of humanity, calling the citizens to go forth on various missions of rescue to mortals in need of aid. The Oracle sends Jerry out into the wilderness, accompanied by his ancient Greek friend Killer, a world-famous lecher and juvenile delinquent with deadly combat skills. There they must rescue a woman named Ariadne, on the run with her children and seeking shelter. But children are not allowed in Mera, and Ariadne will not leave them while Mera&rsquo;s evil demon enemies move closer and closer to Jerry and Killer&rsquo;s temporary place of respite. </div>

A Rose-Red City

<div>A royal bodyguard takes the flight of his life through a fantastical realm on a medieval planet&mdash;from the author of the Seventh Sword series. Sald Harl would like nothing more than to soar on the wings of his noble eagle, but his youthful rides in the sky are cut short by an appointment to guard the prince. Sald watches his dreams of flight fade with his name and independence as he takes over his bodyguard duties. During a perilous journey to the edges of the kingdom, a dark secret comes to life. Now the great Prince Shadow is accused of treason, and Sald must orchestrate a desperate plan of escape or he will lose the one thing he has been ordered to defend. His only option for freedom is a dangerous flight that no one has ever survived. Once again Sald hopes to feel the freedom of soaring though the air unshackled from servitude.</div>

Shadow

<div>The first novel from &ldquo;one of the leading masters of epic fantasy&rdquo;&mdash;a tale of a place where death holds no sway and heroes are born (Publishers Weekly). Alya has an almost magical talent. Her hunches are never wrong. The scientists of planet 4-I want to use her talent and promise her a spot on the next off-world colonization team in return for her assessment of the potential of the latest worlds they have discovered. But Alya meets Cedric, the grandson of the brilliant and tyrannical director of 4-I, and she begins to doubt her own intuition. Cedric has dreamed of becoming a scout and exploring new worlds, and when he meets Alya, he is more determined than ever to leave 4-I with her. His grandmother needs him on 4-I, though, because she has schemes afoot to protect her planet and to cover up a murder, and she does not intend to let him go. However, she has underestimated her grandson&mdash;and the young woman whose intuition is strong and whose destiny is linked to Cedric&rsquo;s.</div>

Strings

<div>The Aurora Award&ndash;winning novel of a remote far-future world caught in a cycle of destruction, from the author of the Seventh Sword saga. On the distant planet of Vernier, a single day lasts an eternity. Lifetimes pass before a region fully experiences dawn, midday, and dusk. With each new daybreak comes a new generation, with no memory of the catastrophes that occurred when the sun crawled across the sky&mdash;entire civilizations scorched into oblivion. Only Vernier&rsquo;s &ldquo;angels&rdquo; possess the ancient knowledge to preserve past technologies that will save the world&rsquo;s population from the ruthless cycle of destruction. Knobil was born during the west of January among the herdsmen, a primitive culture in which the men fight to the death to preserve their own lineage. He is also the son of an &ldquo;angel,&rdquo; who left him the means to enter Heaven. It is an odyssey that will take Knobil among all the other peoples of his world&mdash;the beautiful but unthinking seafolk, the cruel slavers, the manipulative traders, the secretive spinsters&mdash;to a destiny he may die before embracing at the far end of December. Of epic scope, this is a novel of the struggle for survival in a hostile environment from the author of The Reluctant Swordsman and Portal of a Thousand Worlds, &ldquo;an expert at producing page-turning adventure&rdquo; (Locus). </div>

West of January

<div>A crew of space age prospectors search for valuable resources on an unknown&mdash;and potentially unfriendly&mdash;planet in this &ldquo;action packed thriller&rdquo; (SFRevu.com). As long as there is money to be made, there will be wildcatters. Throughout human history, wildcatters, the first great explorers and prospectors to lay claim to newly discovered lands, have marched to the beat of a different drummer&mdash;motivated by a deep yearning to be the first to walk on uncharted land and benefit from treasures yet to be discovered. In the future, wildcatters in space will travel to exoplanets, located in the Big Nothing, to search for new chemicals that, when transformed into pharmaceuticals, will bring untold wealth and fame to the individuals and corporations that stake their claim for exclusive exploitation rights. Such is the quest of the crew of the independent starship Golden Hind, whose mission is to travel a year and a half to &ldquo;Cacafuego,&rdquo; beat the larger corporations to the exoplanet&rsquo;s resources, and strike it rich for themselves. But will a yellow warning flag, planted above the planet, stop them? Or will the Golden Hind&rsquo;s prospector foray to the planet&rsquo;s surface, possibly never to return alive? Wildcatter is a raucous tale of mystery, greed, and passion, told by master storyteller Dave Duncan, who was once himself a real wildcatter!</div>

Wildcatter

<div>Fantasy at its most enchanting: An original and absorbing tale from a master storyteller about the profound effects of a single life on the battle against ultimate evil It is Midsummer Day, the beginning of the year 700, in the city of Benign. All the children born in the year 684 celebrate their joint sixteenth birthday by passing in front of the statue of the blind goddess Caprice&mdash;but only one will become the Chosen and join the Seventy who govern and guide the city. Much to her surprise, Irona Matrinko, one of the many children of an impoverished fisherman, is chosen. Irona 700 moves into the palace and, with the help of a new mentor, recognizes and cultivates her great talent for guiding wars: strategy and tactics, leadership and inspiration. As Irona gives her life to the city, an ancient enemy, Maleficence, attacks again and again, corrupting Irona&rsquo;s friends, destroying her lover, and continually defeating her grandest plans for peace and harmony. Along the way, Irona becomes a masterful politician, a shrewd judge of character, and, even at great cost to her personal happiness, a true heroine. </div>

Irona 700

<div>Journey to a quarantined planet in this &ldquo;entertaining, fast-moving, and thoughtful&rdquo; science fiction novel (S. M. Stirling). On the outskirts of the Ayne Sector sits Pock&rsquo;s World. Years ago, humankind settled the planet. Now, it might or might not have been infested by humanoid aliens, hidden amongst the populace, waiting to interbreed and use humans as incubators for their parasitic spawn. Five people are chosen to travel to the quarantined Pock&rsquo;s World to find out whether it should be sterilized of all life--a ruthless priest, a scandal-seeking reporter, an ambitious politician, a bureaucrat, and a questionable billionaire. Each has his or her own agenda as to what they wish to find on that distant planet. Instead, they discover the unexpected--a web of deceit, love, politics, and religion. With very little time left, there don&rsquo;t seem to be any simple answers in the complicated universe of Pock&rsquo;s World. From the celebrated author of Portal of a Thousand Worlds and the Seventh Sword series, this is a suspenseful adventure from Dave Duncan, who &ldquo;has produced one excellent book after another&rdquo; (Locus). </div>

Pock's World

<div>The looming threat of a once-in-a-millennium magical event sends nineteenth-century China into violent chaos in this epic alternate-history fantasy. Author of the Seventh Sword series Dave Duncan transports us to Imperial China in an alternate nineteenth century&mdash;an Asian epoch not unlike the Boxer Rebellion era&mdash;with a spellbinding tale of rebellion, political intrigue, larceny, seduction, shape-shifting, dark magic, and murder. These are troubled years in the Good Land. Ten centuries have passed since the last time the Portal of a Thousand Worlds opened, bringing chaos, upheaval, and radical change to the then-ruling dynasty, and now the mystical gateway is rumored to be on the verge of opening once more. Only the Firstborn&mdash;he who has been reincarnated through countless generations and remembers all he has ever learned&mdash;knows what the future holds, but he has been imprisoned for refusing to comply with a repressive imperial government&rsquo;s wishes. Now, those hoping to seize the opportunity for wealth and position are hatching sinister plots. And as the cold-hearted dowager empress closely guards a fateful secret, and a rebel army led by a fanatical zealot gathers strength under the Bamboo Banner, the cataclysm approaches. . . . The recipient of two Aurora Awards and numerous Locus and Endeavour Award nominations, Dave Duncan is an acknowledged master of sword-and-sorcery adventure on par with George R. R. Martin of Game of Thrones fame. A sprawling epic with a colorful cast of royals, thieves, prostitutes, gods, warriors, dragons, assassins, merchants, and mages set against the backdrop of a volatile alternate Asia, Portal of a Thousand Worlds is a magnificent work of invention from one of the premier fantasists of our day.</div>

Portal of a Thousand Worlds

<div>A young couple battles forces determined to keep them apart in this high fantasy series by &ldquo;one of the leading masters of epic fantasy&rdquo; (Publishers Weekly). These four fantasy novels of love and adventure follow the exploits of childhood friends Inos and Rap as their feelings are tested by the direst of circumstances. But while abduction, magic, and imprisonment conspire to separate them, the two remain steadfast in their determination to be together. Magic Casement: Inos enjoys an idyllic childhood with her friend Rap, but friendship between a princess and a stable boy can never be simple. Soon, they are thrust into adulthood and a magical world full of infinite surprises. Faery Lands Forlorn: When Inos is abducted through the magic casement and Rap tries to follow her, they arrive in two very strange new lands. With Rap in Faerie and Inos in Zark, they are at opposite ends of the world, but that doesn&rsquo;t stop the young stable boy from heading to Zark to rescue his princess. And Inos is equally determined to head home to Krasnegar to claim her kingdom. Perilous Seas: Hunted by the fearsome warlock wardens who rule the world, Inos is convinced that Rap has died. Little does she know, he is alive and, with the aid of his magic wand, trying to bring happiness to his beloved queen. But when the evil Nordland raider, Kalkor, arrives in port, Rap&rsquo;s plans begin to fall apart. Emperor and Clown: With Inos married to the wrong man and Rap dying in a dungeon, their cause seems hopeless. Only Aunt Kade refuses to admit defeat. Taking events into her own hands, she knows exactly the five men she can coerce into helping her . . .</div>

A Man of His Word

<div>The Aurora Award&ndash;winning author of the Man of His Word novels returns to the magical realm of Pandemia with this high fantasy series. In these four epic novels of sword and sorcery, discord rages throughout the land of Pandemia and the rightful rulers fight an unjust imperor. The Cutting Edge: For fifteen years, Queen Inos and King Rap have ruled Krasnegar peacefully, but now darkness encroaches. When a royal family grows tyrannical and armies wage war along the Impire&rsquo;s borderlands, Rap ignores them&mdash;until he learns the Protocol, a treaty controlling the use of magic, is in danger of being destroyed. Upland Outlaws: The mad dwarf, Xinixo, rules as the imperor, enchanting his subjects and enemies to believe he is Shandie, the rightful ruler. Wielding the combined power of all the sorcerers under his control, he destroys or enslaves any who oppose him. But his greatest enemies, King Rap and the true Shandie, will stop at nothing to end his reign. The Stricken Field: The sorcerer Xinixo still rules the Impire, but King Rap and Shandie continue to resist his reign, enlisting the help of the remaining free sorcerers of the world to destroy him. Their chances of victory remain slim . . . until a young pixie girl decides to join their cause. The Living God: The imposter Xinixo continues to rule as war wages in the Impire. The troll sorcerers have joined the resistance and Rap is rallying the elves to his cause. His wife, Queen Inos, and Shandie negotiate with gnomes while the sorcerers of Thume and the pixie girl secretly organize a resistance to Xinixo&rsquo;s rule. But the odds are against them as the prophesied Longday draws nearer.</div>

A Handful of Men

<div>A young man is transformed into a barbarian fighter in this adventurous series from &ldquo;one of the leading masters of epic fantasy&rdquo; (Publishers Weekly). In this complete collection of the high fantasy Seventh Sword series by Aurora Award&ndash;winning author Dave Duncan, Wallie Smith must face a new destiny and save an unfamiliar world from evil forces. The Reluctant Swordsman: Wallie goes to the hospital and wakes up in the body of a barbarian swordsman, accompanied by a voluptuous slave girl and an eccentric priest babbling about the Goddess. When he learns the Goddess needs a swordsman, he reluctantly agrees to set off on her quest. The Coming of Wisdom: Wallie is staring death in the face when the Goddess gives him a new body and the fabled Sapphire Sword in return for being her champion. But Wallie and his weapon quickly find themselves outmatched in a world of high-stakes magic. The Destiny of the Sword: Wallie is entrusted by the presiding goddess with a mission to bring together all the swordsmen to finally defeat the sorcerers and their terrible technology. And while he&rsquo;s not quite convinced he should oblige, goddesses can be very persuasive . . . The Death of Nnanji: For fifteen years the truce has held, but now sorcerers have started killing swordsmen again and swordsmen traitors are aiding them. Wallie, known now as Shonshu, must ride out to fight the war he hoped would never come, and his failure or success will determine the fate of the world for the next thousand years.</div>

The Seventh Sword

<div>The complete fantasy trilogy of a feared Scottish outlaw&mdash;from the author of the Seventh Sword series and &ldquo;one of the leading masters of epic fantasy&rdquo; (Publishers Weekly). In his action-packed fantasy saga, originally written under the pseudonym Ken Hood, Scottish-born, Aurora Award&ndash;winning author Dave Duncan tells the tale of Scottish outlaw Toby Strangerson, known and feared by the name Longdirk. In 1244, all of Europe is under the control of Genghis Khan, whose conquering Golden Horde has cut a swath of devastation. Scotland, in addition, lies under the heel of England. But out of the battle-scarred highlands, a hero will rise . . . Demon Sword: Young Toby Strangerson, a half-English bastard reared by a witchwife, wants only to shed his hated Sassenach blood and free his beloved highlands. As the outlaw Longdirk, Toby wields a sword that can cut down men like stalks of corn. But stranger winds are swirling across the lochs&mdash;eldritch winds that are ridden by hobs and wisps and demons. The enemy Sassenach king is also a sorcerer. His demon soul needs a body, and his Black Arts can free Europe from the Khan&rsquo;s Golden Horde. Demon Rider: Longdirk has become possessed by a hob, a murderous demon spirit, as amoral as a child, neither inherently good nor evil. Toby wants his freedom&mdash;and the spirit of the tyrant-demon Nevil, ensorcelled in amethyst, can be traded for the exorcism of the hob. In order to make the exchange, though, Toby and his ally Hamish must face the hexer Oreste on his own ground, in the dank and fetid dungeons of Barcelona, where souls are racked and tortured&mdash;and ultimately destroyed on the relentless wheel of the Inquisition. Demon Knight: Longdirk has used gramarye&mdash;dark magic&mdash;to defeat the Fiend and save Europe from abject slavery, but he has also made himself the most feared and envied man in all of Italy. The hordes are reorganizing and plan to sweep over the Alps once more to retake their lost prize of power and conquest. Toby and his friend Hamish struggle to unite the quarreling city-states into a single, powerful force to resist the invasion, in a world where no ally can be trusted and traitors lurk in every shadow. But there is more at stake than freedom and the destiny of a continent&mdash;a woman&rsquo;s love hangs in the balance . . .</div>

Dave Duncan

Books By Dave Duncan (37 Books)

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