The final volume in the Aurora Award–winning author’s epic fantasy series. “Duncan’s plots add up and his characters have personalities” ( 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’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, Thaïle, 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.

About the Author

Dave Duncan (1933–2018) was born in Scotland, and 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 lived with his wife. Duncan 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.

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. In May 2013, Duncan, a 1989 founding member of SFCanada, was honored by election as a lifetime member by his fellow writers, editors, and academics. He passed away in 2018. Visit https://www.daveduncanauthor.com/ for more information on the author.